Orcas Community Foundation Awarded $15,000 Grant from Philanthropy NW

Grants to Build Capacity, Enabling Community Foundations to be More Effective

By Philanthropy Northwest

Philanthropy Northwest is pleased to announce the recipients of its Community Foundation Initiative grants. Thanks to generous underwriting from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Philanthropy Northwest has granted one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) to nine Washington community foundations. These grants will help build the capacity of nonprofit organizations throughout the state. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant also supports a staff position at Philanthropy Northwest dedicated to supporting a peer network of community foundations.

The nine community foundations in Washington receiving grants include:

• Blue Mountain Community Foundation
• Greater Everett Community Foundation
• Jefferson County Community Foundation
• Kitsap Community Foundation
• Community Foundation of North Central Washington
• Orcas Island Community Foundation
• Community Foundation of South Puget Sound
• Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
• Whatcom Community Foundation

Grant awards ranged from $13,000 to $25,000. While the projects vary in size and focus, each project reflects the recipient’s unique strategy for building community and supporting nonprofit capacity in their area. The grants support a wide variety of strategies, including programs to address recruitment and training for nonprofit boards, support for collaborations among nonprofits; and professional development for nonprofit staff. Grant recipients will attend at least one convening to share their experiences with each other and more broadly with the community foundation and capacity building fields.

An advisory committee of Northwest leaders, with community foundation and nonprofit expertise, developed the grant criteria and reviewed the grant applications. The members of the Advisory Committee were:  Samin Dadelahi, Wyoming Community Foundation; Jock Edwards, Sherwood Trust; Kit Gillem, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust; Audrey Haberman, Pride Foundation; Carol Lewis, Philanthropy Northwest; Mark Putnam, Building Changes; Tawnya Rupe, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch; and Marie Sauter, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Community Foundation Initiative builds on a collaborative effort of seven Philanthropy Northwest member organizations committed to building Washington’s nonprofit sector, particularly in light of the economic downturn. Philanthropy Northwest supported this work through its consulting arm, The Giving Practice. A copy of their report, An Assessment of Capacity Building in Washington State, was completed in December 2009 and can be found here.

Philanthropy Northwest is a nonprofit membership association serving foundations, corporations and individuals in the six states of Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Philanthropy Northwest’s mission is to promote thoughtful and strategic philanthropy that strengthens communities and improves the quality of life for all.