August 4, 2022//
The Community Foundation of NCW has awarded $402,000 in Regional Impact Grants (RIG) to nonprofits addressing community needs and enhancing the quality of life in Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties.
The RIG provided core operating and project-specific support on a quarterly basis (from July 2021 to June 2022) for nonprofits through two funding levels ($4,000 or $10,000) depending on the size of the organization and the scope of their project or request. There were 55 grants awarded to organizations improving NCW communities through vital health and human services, affordable housing, environmental stewardship, youth and elder support, and enriching arts and cultural experiences.
Throughout the year, the Foundation received more grant requests than funding available – but, through the Partners in Giving fund, $40,000 in additional grants were able to be awarded. “Our Partners in Giving provide unrestricted gifts to the Foundation that allow the Board of Trustees additional resources to support grants, scholarships or leverage time-sensitive opportunities” said Beth Stipe, the Foundation’s executive director. “Those flexible dollars allow us to make a greater impact in our region, and we are incredibly grateful for those donors that entrust us to make good use of their generous gifts.”
This year, the RIG is returning to an annual cycle opening August 1st and due September 15th. While the application process remains unchanged, the maximum funding request will be based on an organization’s budget size in effort to award a balanced number of grants with the funding available.
“We’re continually working to improve our grantmaking program to make the greatest impact in the region with limited resources.” said Claire Oatey, Director of Community Grants. “For 2022, we will return to an annual grant program but with some new parameters to help ensure a more equitable distribution of the dollars we have available.”
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2021-2022 Regional Impact Grant Awards
| Organization | Description | Award |
| Alano Club of Wenatchee | A safe and supportive environment for those in recovery including AA or NA meetings, meeting place with sponsors, and fun substance-free social events to promote healthy relationships, fellowship and long-term recovery. | $4,000 |
| Cascade Fisheries | Expanding youth education programs to Douglas County by partnering with Kenroy Elementary and Rock Island Elementary to engage 5th grade students in local watershed stewardship and salmon recovery efforts | $4,000 |
| Chelan County Mountain Rescue Association | Volunteer organization of experienced climbers dedicated to saving lives through search, rescue, emergency medical care, and mountain safety education in Chelan County and surrounding areas. | $4,000 |
| Chelan Valley Community Nurse | A nurse and bilingual/bicultural Community Health Worker to make free nursing visits to vulnerable adults living at home. The focus is on safety, continuity of care, and prevention of adverse health incidents. | $4,000 |
| Classroom in Bloom | Partnering with Okanogan County organizations, school districts, and communities to build Farm to School programs in 7 communities to connect children to sustainably grown food and K-6 garden curriculum. | $4,000 |
| Garden Terrace Senior Living | Senior apartments in Wenatchee for low, very low, and extremely low-income seniors 62 years of age and older. Grant funds help support the community meal program which provides one hearty and nutritious meal daily to seniors for their physical and social health. | $4,000 |
| Indigenous Roots & Reparation Foundation | Newly formed Indigenous-led nonprofit focused on programs to preserve indigenous culture, empower native people, and raise awareness through education, and a long-term goal of Land Back for cultural center in NCW. | $4,000 |
| Lake Chelan Arts Council | Supporting the visual and performing arts in the Chelan Valley through art classes and exhibits, Picture This 3rd Grade Art, Legacy Portraits at Heritage Heights, and the annual Lake Chelan Arts Festival. | $4,000 |
| Mobile Meals of Wenatchee | Provides a hot, nutritious meal delivered by volunteers Monday through Friday for clients who are home bound, recovering from surgery or illness, a hospice patient, or unable to care for themselves | $4,000 |
| Mountain Sprouts Children’s Community | Early childhood education for children ages 18 months – 7 in an outdoor preschool setting in two locations in Leavenworth. | $4,000 |
| NCW Community Toy Drive | Ensuring youth in need receive a special gift during the holiday season in December | $4,000 |
| North Valley Hospital District | National Diabetes Prevention Program is a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program for adults with prediabetes focusing on healthy eating and physical activity that can cut risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 58%. | $4,000 |
| Okanogan Valley Orchestra & Chorus | Returning to live in-person concerts and musical in 2022-2023 at Omak PAC with live streaming option, bringing affordable music performance and education to Okanogan County. No auditions mean anyone may perform or participate, including local students. | $4,000 |
| Page Ahead Children’s Literacy Program | “Book Up Summer” allows K – 2 students at Brewster Elementary select 12 books in English/Spanish at spring book fairs to help build home libraries and reduce/eliminate summer learning slide. | $4,000 |
| Small Miracles | Partnering with school districts & USDA Summer Lunch Program to serve meals for children in Wenatchee, East Wenatchee, Rock Island, Monitor and Cashmere each summer | $4,000 |
| Sustainable NCW | Promoting a culture of environmental stewardship and social sustainability in NCW through education, presentations, Waste Wizard recycling tool, and Earth Day Fair. | $4,000 |
| Team Naturaleza | Engaging multicultural community in informal natural science education, Leave No Trace ethics, and healthier lifestyles through bilingual nature walks and field studies co-led by scientists and trusted Latino community members. | $4,000 |
| Upper Valley Connection | Enriching the lives of the special needs community through theater camp, arts programming, choir, sports, and other social programs. | $4,000 |
| Wenatchee Arts Education Consortium | WAEC provides high quality art programming that celebrates the diversity of the valley. Grant funds will support The Winter’s Tale documentary project to record stories of Randy Lewis, P’Squosa Elder and drumming workshops to increase understanding of Indigenous culture. | $4,000 |
| Wenatchee For Immigrant Justice | Providing direct financial assistance to immigrants that do not qualify for other rental/basic needs support. Targeting those impacted by the pandemic or those unable to work temporarily after DACA or green cards expire due to process backlogs | $4,000 |
| Wenatchee Rotary Foundation | Wenatchee Valley Rotary Clubs partner to build “Peace Pole” art installation at Wenatchee Rotary Park. Basalt colonnades with “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in local languages, two flowing rivers with metal salmon. RIG grant supplements significant fundraising, volunteer hours, and other grants secured. | $4,000 |
| Wenatchee Valley Follies and Children’s Foundation | A long-time volunteer group that disperses funds raised to meet the needs of underserved youth who do not have the means or resources to find care or tools necessary for a healthy, enriched childhood. Grant funds will support a business and infrastructure upgrade to ensure the organization’s success. | $4,000 |
| Wenatchee Valley Senior Activity Center | Promoting health & wellness in senior community through Virtual Motion exercise program | $4,000 |
| Alatheia Riding Center | Equine therapeutic and adaptive riding programs to children and adults with physical and developmental disabilities, as well as veterans, in NCW. | $10,000 |
| CAFE: The Community for the Advancement of Family Education | Trusted resource to Latinx population in NCW providing outreach such as covid testing and vaccines, essential pantry, computer literacy & tutoring to K-12 students, fire adapted communities, etc. | $10,000 |
| Chelan Douglas Child Services Association | Launching the “Imagination Library” in Chelan & Douglas counties which provides free, high quality, age-appropriate books to ANY child who signs up from birth up until age 5. Books are mailed to each child monthly at no cost to the family. | $10,000 |
| Chelan Valley Hope | Direct aid and assistance to people in crisis. Expanding beyond Chelan & Manson to include Bridgeport, Entiat, Orondo, Mansfield, and Waterville. | $10,000 |
| Chelan Valley Housing Trust | Permanent, affordable housing for middle-income wage earners in the Chelan area through building and selling low-cost homes to wage earners, families, young professionals, and seniors. | $10,000 |
| Foundation for Youth Resiliency and Engagement (FYRE) | Wraparound services for underserved youth in Okanogan County, ages 12 -24, in four main areas: 1) education, 2) physical and mental health, 3) basic needs and 4) resiliency programming. In addition, FYRE is a safe space for all youth to hang out, attend life-skills workshops, and access free food and clothes. | $10,000 |
| Greater Leavenworth Museum | Promoting and preserving the heritage and history of the Upper Wenatchee Valley. Working to expand the P’Squosa (Wenatchi) First Peoples Exhibit, Spanish translations of all exhibits, collecting oral histories of elders, and outreach for new downtown location including walking history tours. | $10,000 |
| Habitat for Humanity of Greater Wenatchee | A home ownership program for low-income families in the greater Wenatchee Valley. Habitat homes are built alongside partner families and community volunteers to keep the costs low and homes affordable. | $10,000 |
| Hand in Hand Immigration Services | Eligibility screening, legal support, and education classes to help NCW individuals obtain US Citizenship | $10,000 |
| Lilac Services for the Blind | Independent Living Program provides training to clients with loss of vision to improve, sustain, or regain skills and activities | $10,000 |
| Methow Beaver Project (fiscal sponsor: Methow Salmon Recovery Foundation) | Partnering with Paschal Sherman Indian School to co-create a year-long holistic environmental educational experience for students by incorporating Indigenous knowledge & Western science to restore Omak Creek | $10,000 |
| Northwest Immigrant Rights Project | Legal representation for low-income immigrants in deportation proceedings in NCW to apply for protections that exist under current laws | $10,000 |
| Numerica Performing Arts Center | Upon reopening in August, the PAC has brought 11,061 patrons into the theater and has expanded partnerships with WV Symphony, Stage Kids, Columbia Chorale, Music Theater of Wenatchee, NC Tech Alliance, CAFÉ, and Danzas Multiculturales to become a “Cultural Hub”. | $10,000 |
| Okanogan Behavioral HealthCare | Due to the challenge of recruiting providers to their rural location, OBHC will improve access to services by using grant funds to develop three Zoom Rooms where clients can meet digitally with out-of-area providers, equipped to overcome conditions that limit telehealth efficacy. | $10,000 |
| Okanogan Economic Alliance | Expanding programs and services to support local communities and small businesses in Okanogan County, including new Latino Small Business Network and bilingual workshops/classes on digital navigation, ecommerce, and use of tech in business. | $10,000 |
| Okanogan Highlands Alliance | Fostering conservation of natural resources and prevention of environmental degradation through free, diverse education programs for all ages including regular partnership with Tonasket School District to facilitate environmental education activities. | $10,000 |
| Okanogan Long Term Recovery Group | Coordination and recovery services to communities adversely impacted by wildfires and mudslides across Okanogan County, while also planning for future disasters. | $10,000 |
| Okanogan Regional Humane | Reducing the overpopulation of cats and dogs in Okanogan County by offering affordable or free spay & neuter programs, emergency vet care, and partnering with rescue services for adoption. | $10,000 |
| Oroville Police Department | Purchasing AEDs (Automated External Defibrillators) for every OPD patrol vehicle & training to reach cardiac victims quicker. Police dispatched while on patrol have a faster response rate than EMS and Fire. Important due to very rural location. | $10,000 |
| Pateros Brewster Community Resource Center | Resource Center that partners with other organizations to fight hunger and homelessness, increasing education and employability, and improving the overall health and wellbeing of the Pateros-Brewster community. | $10,000 |
| Planned Parenthood of Greater WA and North Idaho | Mobile clinics for Latinx farmworkers near Wenatchee & Brewster: screening for diabetes, hypertension, and STI; first aid for burns, allergies, and skin conditions; and COVID boosters. Education on heat exhaustion & distribution of care bags. | $10,000 |
| SAGE (Safety, Advocacy, Growth, Empowerment) | Domestic Violence Services, Sexual Assault Services, Crime Victims Trauma and Assistance Services, and a Child Advocacy Center. This grant will support adding an additional Child Forensic Room (set of interview rooms with recording equipment) due to the steep uptick in Child Forensic Interviews. | $10,000 |
| TEAMS Learning Center | Full-time and part-time, drop-in, nonprofit child development center with adult instruction in the field of early childhood education. Locations in Wenatchee and Cashmere. | $10,000 |
| Thrive Chelan Valley | Food2Schools provides weekend meals to food insecure students in the Chelan and Manson School Districts, as well as the Thrive Teen Center. Over 6,800 bags of food were served in 2021 and they project over 7,000 bags in 2022. | $10,000 |
| Upper Valley MEND | Community Harvest gleaning program provides fresh food to emergency food providers in Chelan & Douglas counties, beyond Upper Valley | $10,000 |
| Waste Loop | Inspiring and transforming local waste streams into sustainable new resources in the greater Leavenworth area. Grant funds will support new Community Composting Program to divert organic waste out of the landfill. | $10,000 |
| Wenatchee River Institute | Year-round environmental education opportunities for youth and adults on the Wenatchee River Institute campus in Leavenworth and through the Traveling Naturalist program in low-income schools throughout NCW. | $10,000 |
| Wenatchee Valley Humane Society | Serves all animals and residents of Chelan and Douglas County through education, protection, and pet adoptions. | $10,000 |
| Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center | “Zoo in You” Children’s Museum hands-on science exhibit invites all ages to explore the vibrant world of inner microorganisms through engaging, interactive, and bilingual exhibits. In addition to the exhibit itself, the Museum will be hosting school field experiences, Saturday Makerspace classes, and adult programing. | $10,000 |
| Wenatchee Valley YMCA | The Teen Center space provides offerings that target middle school students, including Ment2B | $10,000 |
| Women’s Resource Center of NCW | The Bruce Transitional Housing Program provides 2 years of housing to homeless families with children | $10,000 |
| TOTAL | $402,000 |
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Amazing work. Thank you Community Foundation!
You grant committee volunteers and board have once again shown . . .
It is hard work to give money away, but it sure is rewarding.
Thank you for your sincere dedication.
I read each award. May each be as successful as presented, I pray.
And take good care of that special staff – they make you look good!
There is a lot of excellent coordination. I am so proud of them.
God bless.
Ray