Twenty-five nonprofit organizations in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom counties will share a total of $365,000 in grant funding as part of First Federal Community Foundation’s Fall 2020 grant cycle, foundation representatives announced this week.
Grant recipients include nonprofit organizations that provide community support, address the availability of affordable housing, and deliver community and economic development projects.
Since it began making grants in 2015, the foundation has contributed a total of $4,441,500 to organizations in those counties, foundation executive director Jan Simon said.
“All of the recipients in our fall 2020 grant cycle are focused on improving lives in our communities, a mission that is even more urgent during these challenging times,” Simon said.
Among the foundation’s awards was a $10,000 grant to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula’s Learning Support Center in Sequim. The grant funds an increase staffing, upgraded technology for virtual learning and new equipment to provide safe, direct educational support for more low-to moderate-income, disadvantaged children of ages 6-18.
Serenity House of Clallam County was awarded a $30,000 grant to purchase a service vehicle that provides the maintenance team a space for tools and materials and the mobility required to maintain 75 units of low-income housing, a night shelter, three offices in Sequim, Port Angeles and Forks, a youth drop-in center and thrift store.
The grants also included $5,000 for Morningside’s High School Transition Program, a skill-building, weekly job club that prepares Clallam County students with disabilities, ages 16-21, for work, inclusion and independence after graduation.
Other grants awarded to local organizations include:
• $50,000 for the Port Angeles Waterfront Center’s Field Arts & Event Hall, to underwrite the construction costs to achieve LEED Certification that contributes to reducing carbon emissions, energy and waste, conserving water, prioritizing safer materials, lowering community exposure to toxins and reducing operating costs.
• $25,000 for Parkview Services to provide no-cost HUD housing counseling services to prevent foreclosures for about40 struggling homeowners in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom counties.
• $5,000 to fund supplies for the volunteer Olympic Bluebill Builders, retired engineers who install life-saving safety equipment such as access ramps, grab bars and handrails in the homes of the elderly and those with disabilities in Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties
• $5,000 for The Answer For Youth’s STAR Lab that provides access to computer labs, 10 months of grade school and high school tutoring, and 12 months of job skills training and job search assistance to homeless, disadvantaged and marginalized youth and young adults in Clallam County.
• $5,000 to the Olympic Angels, to engage 80 new community volunteers to provide long-term relational support, and make connections with 30 new foster children and their caretakers in Clallam and Jefferson counties 2021.
About First Federal Community Foundation
First Federal Community Foundation is a private charitable corporation that began making grants in 2015 with a gift of stock and cash valued at nearly $12 million from the parent company of First Federal, when the bank was converted to a publicly traded company.
For more information, contact Simon at jan.simon@firstfedcf.org or 360-417-3112.
