Each year, Apple Hill Art Camp inspires 250 children in Okanogan County with hands-on art experiences from local, professional artists. The Camp requires a nominal $5 fee per day, and provides scholarships so that every child has an opportunity to make art. Next year, they will implement a new youth leadership program with help from a Regional Impact Grant.

The Community Foundation of North Central Washington has awarded $76,700 in grants from its Regional Impact Grant program, which provides up to $5,000 to support charitable programs that help create a better quality of life in the communities of North Central Washington.

To be eligible, a program must be: a nonprofit charitable organization with a 501c3 status; a public school or agency; or secure fiscal sponsorship from an eligible organization. Program applications are reviewed by the foundation’s Grants Committee – comprised of staff, board, and community leaders – who visit each applicant to learn more about the program and its organization.

Applicants are evaluated on various factors, including organization health, board participation, and impact of the program in the community.

“Sometimes we are the only source of grant funding for these organizations” said Denise Sorom, the foundation’s director of community philanthropy. “Providing a bit of financial support to passionate people can result in projects with significant impact.  This season’s grants include some projects that have been supported in the past as well as some as some highly innovative new projects; we are excited to see what unfolds in the year ahead.”

The following is a list of award recipients by program area:

Arts & Humanities

• Apple Hill Art Camp – $3,000 to support an annual summer art camp that serves 250 children in Okanogan County that is now establishing a youth leadership teaching program where some of older students will teach classes to the younger students and learn how to and run the camp.
• Wenatchee Jazz Workshop – $4,000 to bring professional jazz musicians to Wenatchee to teach local students in a week-long workshop featuring several days of intense jazz instruction, culminating with two public performances.

Education

• Invent Now – $3,000 to provide scholarships for Wenatchee elementary students to experience Camp Intervention Program in Summer 2015, a week-long camp utilizing hands-on activities in science, math, arts, and history to advance academic literacy.
• Junior Achievement of Washington – $3,000 to support 60 students from Manson Elementary and Westside High School to participate in Junior Achievement programs including JA World Programs, JA BizTown, and JA Finance Park.
• School’s Out Washington – $4,000 for four community workshops that provide professional development opportunities for after-school care providers to develop and improve their early childhood education skills.

Environmental & Animal Protection

• Chumstick Wildfire Stewardship Coalition – $4,500 to support general operations that focus on creating fire resilient communities through collaborations with local stakeholders and coordinating on-the-ground fuel reduction, biomass utilization, and regional wildfire education.
• Cascadia Conservation District – $2,000 to support the “Chelan County Clean Water Campaign” to help protect and improve water quality in Chelan County by building a community effort where citizens are involved in becoming better natural resource stewards.
• Green Okanogan – $5,000 to purchase a forklift to support the expansion of recycling opportunities in the Tonasket/Oroville area, where public recycling services are unavailable, offering a weekly drop-off point and the ability to process materials received on a regular basis.
• Okanogan Land Trust – $2,500 toward the development of a Conservation Plan that will help prioritize an influx of conservation easement projects across Okanogan County to ensure protection of the highest conservation values.
• Washington’s National Park Fund – $2,500 for the Northwest Youth Corps to recruit and staff a crew of 16-19 year old students from Eastern and Central Washington to work on trails and campground repair and maintenance, and native plant seed collection and restoration in the Stehekin River Valley.

Health & Human Services

• Chelan Douglas Health District – $3,200 to support The Health Promoter, a community health program that trains home-visiting volunteers from churches, nonprofit agencies, and other organized groups to provide basic healthcare screening and advice to home-bound individuals.
• Habitat for Humanity of Greater Wenatchee – $5,000 to purchase materials to build a home for a low-income single mother and her daughter.
• Literacy Council – $5,000 to support two AmeriCorps members, computers, and office equipment to provide support for tutors, basic literacy skills, and English and a Second Language instruction to adult learners in Chela and Douglas Counties.
• Manger Mall – $2,000 to purchase toys and gifts for children with families struggling during the holidays.
• More to Life – $2,000 to support operations for a program that hosts social gatherings, concerts, and other activities for teens in the Tonasket/Oroville area, in effort to reduce teen drinking, drugs, and provide healthy lifestyle choices.
• Together for a Drug Free Youth – $5,000 to support “Becoming a Love & Logic Parent” classes (a program that provides practical, positive tools for parents creating responsible kids)  in English and Spanish in Chelan and Douglas counties.
• YWCA of Wenatchee – $5,000 toward program costs toward a donor development system to help cultivate current and build new donor relationships.

Public & Social Benefit

• Ad Astra Per Aspera – $5,000 toward “To the Stars through Challenge”, a community funding challenge to build a portable planetarium that would be available for the North Central Washington region.
• City of Wenatchee – $5,000 toward replacement of the picnic shelter in Washington Park.
• Chelan County Sherriff’s Office – $5,000 to purchase portable radios for the Reserve Deputy Program.
• Leavenworth Ski Hill Heritage Foundation – $2,000 toward a feasibility study to help determine a budget for building and operating a public Ice Skating Rink in Leavenworth.
• Master Gardener Association of Chelan County – $5,000 to install an ADA ramp to the existing Community Education Garden, expanding accessibility the outdoor classroom used to educate and inspire individuals to develop sustainable home landscapes and gardening practices.
• Upper Valley Museum – $3,500 to help with one year of rent, a new expenditure to the museum, while they develop strategies for income and establish a new annual budget to cover this cost long term.
• Oroville Senior Citizens – $3,000 to purchase laptops for a computer training program teaching senior citizens basic computer and how to use the internet.
• Wenatchee Valley College Center for Entrepreneurship – $2,500 toward a Community Visioning Process that will gather feedback from citizens across the region on shared values and quality of life that will be used for future economic development planning.

For more information on grant opportunities, visit www.cfncw.org/grants.