Gates Foundation Grant Awarded to OICF

By Hilary Canty, Executive Director, Orcas Island Community Foundation

The Gates Foundation reached out again to Community Foundations to provide support to nonprofits. This year, the funding is directed towards capacity building programs to help nonprofits achieve their missions more effectively. Of the 26 Washington State Community Foundations invited to apply for funding, the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) was one of nine foundations selected and will receive $15,000 to fully fund our proposal.

OICF will use the grant funding to help Orcas organizations engage and retain board members needed to govern their organizations and assist in identifying measurable metrics to track progress. Orcas Island, with a population nearing 5,000, is home to over 100 active nonprofit, faith-based, and fraternal organizations, many times greater than the national average of 4.45 nonprofits per 1,000 residents. The preponderance of nonprofit organizations is due in part to our rural and remote location. With minimal local governance we rely on nonprofits to provide services and programs needed by our community.  While this remarkable number of organizations is a wonderful example of our tradition of taking care of each other, sustaining the human and financial resources required to run all these efforts is of concern.

OICF recognizes that strong boards and good governance are critical to program success and building capacity. OICF will hold a series of workshops to build board strength. The first will be a “Board Boot Camp for Beginners” on Tuesday May 17th from 1-4 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall. This program covers the basic rules and responsibilities for Board members and is aimed at those new to board service or who would like to increase their skills. Cost is $10 and the event is open to all.  It will be a great opportunity to learn more about the opportunities available on Orcas. Other workshops on nonprofit finances and sustainable funding will follow.

OICF is also working to raise awareness of the breadth and depth of the nonprofits and programs serving our community.  The Gates funding will also be used to manage the Orcas Nonprofit and Services directory, now available on line at www.oicf.us.  The goal of the directory is to connect donors, volunteers, and those in need to programs and services, as well as to connect nonprofits to one another. The directory was compiled by Iris Parker Pavitt, as part of Iris’s senior project with the high school, and OICF manager Kate Long, with technical support from Chris Sutton.

For more information, please contact the Foundation office, 376-6423, or follow us on Facebook.