The Community Foundation of NCW has awarded $216,950 in Regional Impact Grants to 28 nonprofits across North Central Washington.

The Regional Impact Grant (RIG) is an annual grant open to any 501c3 charitable nonprofit or public agency in Chelan, Douglas, or Okanogan counties to support specific projects or general operations for programs that make a positive impact in their communities.

Each applicant is visited by a team of Community Foundation staff and Trustees to learn more about their organization and grant request to determine award recipients. Over 60 applications were submitted, making this year’s grant very competitive.

“We are really excited about the list of recipients this year,” said Claire Oatey, director of community grants. “They are so diverse – from arts to environment, health services to youth programs – all reaching different areas of our region to improve quality of life.”

Each of the grant recipients received a portion of their grant request, as the amount of requests received far exceeded the amount the foundation was able to award. That’s where Give NCW comes in.

Give NCW is an online crowdfunding campaign that showcases each of the nonprofit’s projects and programs and asks the community to donate to help them reach their initial fundraising goal.

“We started Give NCW to build awareness of the great nonprofit work happening in our communities across the region,” said Jennifer Dolge, director of donor service and communications. “Last year, the public gave more to organizations on Give NCW than the foundation awarded in Regional Impact Grants – and to us, that was a huge success. Seeing your community come out and support its nonprofits is what makes our region so special.”

To view the list of participants and donate to their projects, visit www.givencw.org from Thanksgiving Day to December 31st.

Minimum donation is $10, and the Community Foundation is absorbing all credit cards fees so 100% of the donation supports the nonprofit.

Donations can support multiple projects in one transaction, or the Give to All option allows your gift to be divided among each organization.

Regional Impact Grant Recipients / Give NCW Participants

• Apple Pie Jamboree – $6,000 Event improvements
• Art on the Avenues – $7,500 Beauty of Bronze, an arts education program for 5^th graders in Wenatchee School District
• Cascade Columbia Fisheries – $9,000 Expanded education and outreach to adults in NCW
• Cascade Medical Foundation – $11,000 Colonoscope replacement and upgrades to colonoscopy suite
• Chelan-Douglas Land Trust – $7,500 Wenatchee Foothills invasive species control
• Children’s Home Society of Washington – $7,500 Readiness to Learn, an early intervention dropout reduction program
• Confluence Health Foundation – $5,000 Miracle Milk for Babies, a program supporting donated breastmilk for newborn babies who need special care
• EASE Cancer Care Foundation – $10,000 Journey to Wellness 2-day educational workshop and a 12-week Cancer Survivorship rehabilitation program
• Invent Now, Inc. – $5,000 Camp Invention, a week-long STEM-focused summer program
• Leavenworth Community United Methodist Church – $7,500 Backpack Mission to provide backpacks of food for 75 pre-K through High School students in Cascade and Pateros School Districts
• Lilac Services for the Blind – $5,000 Technology training for individuals with vision loss on assistive devices such as computer, tablets, and smart phones
• Medical Teams International – $7,500 Mobile Dental Program for free or low-cost dental care in several locations across NCW
• Methow Arts Alliance – $11,250 Arts education for students in five Okanogan county school districts that would otherwise not have any art programming
• More to Life – $6,000 The Anchor Recovery Program that serves teens newly released from Juvenile Detention
• Northwest Immigration Rights Project – $12,000 Keeping Families Together project that provides legal representation for low-income immigrants
• Numerica Performing Arts Center – $10,000 Every Kid at the PAC program that creates opportunities for students in NCW to experience the arts for free
• Pateros Brewster Community Resource Group – $9,000 General operating support
• Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho – $7,500 Well Women Exams Patient Assistance Fund to remove cost barriers to receive cervical cancer screening, detection, and early intervention services
• Stage Kids WA – $7,000 General operating support
• The Trust for Public Land – $7,500 Parks for the People program, ensuring everyone lives within a 10-min walk to a quality park in Wenatchee Valley
• THRIVE Chelan Valley – $7,500 Fusion One on One Mentoring connecting adults to mentor youth for inspiring and supporting personal growth
• Wenatchee Valley Humane Society – $10,000 Operation Fix, providing vouchers for low-income residents to spay and neuter their dogs and cats and other related programs
• Wenatchee River Institute – $8,000 Traveling Naturalists to visit four Wenatchee elementary schools engaging students in nature and science
• Wenatchee Valley TREAD – $8,000 Support for Executive Director to lead new organization that advocates for outdoor recreation in the Wenatchee Valley
• YWCA North Central Washington – $9,000 Opportunity Homeless Case Management to connect with homeless individuals, help eliminate barriers, and access permanent housing

The following organizations also received Regional Impact Grants, but will not participate in Give NCW.

• Chelan County Natural Resource Department – $6,000 Stemilt-Squilchuck recreation plan implementation
• Community Cultural Center of Tonasket – $5,300 Expand community outreach
• Northwest Youth Corps – $4,400

The next Regional Impact Grant will open in July 2018. All awarded recipients must wait out one year before re-applying.

The Community Foundation of NCW would like to thank and recognize the Wenatchee World for its partnership in Give NCW and helping to showcase the charitable work of nonprofits across the North Central Washington region throughout the campaign.