The Community Foundation of NCW has awarded $120,855 in grants to local nonprofits from the fall cycle of its Regional Impact Grants. These grants are offered twice a year to nonprofit agencies for special projects, needs, and enhancements that benefit the region. The foundation received double the amount of grant requests than usual, making the grant more competitive. With a recent $40,000 gift from an anonymous donor from The Seattle Foundation, an additional $20,000 in grants was awarded. This gift will also allow the same support to the next cycle of Regional Impact Grants.

Congratulations to the following award recipients and their projects by area of interest:

Arts, Culture, and Humanities | $9,500

Icicle Creek Center for the Arts – $2,000 Basic kitchen equipment, commercial BBQ, outdoor tent for shaded seating, service-ware, and folding tables for student camps

Okanogan Valley Orchestra and Chorus – $2,500 Support for one concert in the 2013 season, which provides 3 concerts and one broadways show per year for the community

Performing Arts Center – $5,000 A lighting console that will upgrade the distribution of lighting data throughout the facility, establish wireless control, and installation

Education | $32,180

Columbia Elementary School – $4,000 Two sets of Second Step, a social skills curriculum for social and academic success

Eastmont School District – $1,900 Interlocking floor mats for indoor and outdoor play space for Wee Wildcats Integrated Preschool

Hearts Gathered – $1,500 Copier, laminator, and five computers for an immersive Salish Language school on the Colville Indian Reservation

Lake Chelan School District – $5,000 Equipment to establish a Biomedical Sciences program at Chelan High School in the Fall of 2013.

Mountain Sprouts Children’s Community – $3,500 General operations, supplies, and materials for preschool focused on hand-on exploration of art, music, community and nature

North Valley Community Schools – $3,000 General operations for an Okanogan County school that provides education, recreational, and cultural experiences and classes

Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program – $1,000 Books in Spanish for children from low-income families in Douglas and Okanogan counties

Rock Island Elementary – $1,500 Reading Corps volunteer to continue a reading program has been working to improve children’s literacy skills

SHIFT – $2,000 Through My Lens, a workshop that will train 24 teachers from Wenatchee and Eastmont School Districts on filmmaking and digital storytelling that will be incorporated in their curriculum

Tonasket Preschool Association – $3,280 Learning toys and games, four booster seats for vehicles, and outside playground equipment

Tonasket School District – $2,500 Administrative and supervisory costs for three VISTA volunteers that provide various services to the school, such as managing the school garden and coordinating a mentoring program

Upper Valley Cooperative Preschool – $3,000 Music programming including indoor and outdoor musical instruments and music-related curriculum for Leavenworth preschool

Environmental / Animal Protection | $17,275

Chelan-Douglas Land Trust – $5,000 Information kiosk at the Dry Gulch Preserve to increase awareness of management, use, rules, and trail etiquette

Hawkwatch International – $2,000 Stipend for volunteer biologist at Chelan Ridge Raptor Project which strives to increase public awareness of wildlife and ecosystem conservation and enhance stewardship

NCW Audubon Society – $2,275 Website designer to create a web-based birding guide covering Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan, and Ferry counties

Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board – $4,000 Forest Health Collaborative to provide a forum for stakeholders to determine design and implementation of restoration projects in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest that improve the health of the region’s watersheds, reduce risk of disease and catastrophic wildfires, and create timber jobs to strengthen economy

Wenatchee Valley Humane Society – $4,000 Spays and neuters of pets of low-income residents in Chelan and Douglas counties

Health and Human Services | $50,900

Aero Methow Rescue Service – $4,300 Adult CPR training mannequin to be used for Basic and Advanced Life Support and EMS courses to health care professionals in the Okanogan, North Douglas, and Chelan County service areas

Alatheia Riding Center – $2,500 Support general operations including, replacing saddles, hay, horse care, insurance, and gravel for a therapeutic riding center

Children’s Home Society – $5,000 Primary Intervention Program, a school-based early intervention mental health program, at Lincoln and Mission View Elementary schools

Columbia Valley Community Health – $2,000 Expansion of Girls on the Run program in Wenatchee Valley

Community Farm Connection – $4,000 Van with refrigeration system to transport produce to food banks, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscribers, chefs, and wholesale buyers

Complete the Loop Coalition – $2,000 Match for completion of Phase 2 of the expansion of Rocky Reach Trail

Continuum of Care – $2,400 Support publication expenses for Pathways, a guide to senior care and services in the Lake Chelan Valley

EASE Cancer Care Foundation – $4,000 Two-day cancer survivorship workshop and 12-week community based collaborative rehabilitation program

Lake Chelan Community Hospital Foundation – $3,000 Develop and implement Kids-Fit! Lake Chelan, a health and wellness program for ages 5-11

Lighthouse Christian Ministries – $800 General support for Gospel House, a new emergency shelter facility in Wenatchee for clean and sober families, individuals, and children

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Health Support) – $4,000 Furnishings and equipment to establish an office and meeting space at a new location that provides support groups, classes, and other meetings

Okanogan County Community Action Council – $4,000 Support the administrative, supervisory, and space costs for VISTA volunteers that are implementing some of the strategic plan’s short term goals and developing local volunteer and staff capacity for sustainability

Packing Friendship – $3,000 Collaborative program between 8 churches to provide bags of food for school children at risk of going hungry over the weekends and holidays

Upper Valley MEND – $2,500 Van to be used by MEND programs for a variety of needs and a primary vehicle for Cornerstone Community Adult Family Home

Wellness Place – $5,000 Support, recruitment, and equipment for Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) exercise program that focuses on fall prevention for aging adults

Wenatchee Youth Circus – $2,400 Repair and update of traveling cook shack wagon that feeds 770 people a day while traveling and performing

Public/Social Benefit | $11,000

Community Cultural Center of Tonasket – $3,000 Review of financial statements by CPA firm to ensure best practices, accountability, transparency, and any recommendations for improvements

Keep it in the Valley Foundation – $4,000 Equipment to make and sell caramel apples and cotton candy at the Apple Blossom Festival where proceeds will fund local scholarships

WSU Foundation / Northwest Public Radio – $4,000 Matching funds to donors in Chelan and Douglas counties who make pledges during the one-day on-air fund drive