Community Foundation awards spring grants

The Whitefish Community Foundation during its Spring Community Grant cycle recently awarded $56,294 to 17 local nonprofits.

The Community Foundation Board of Directors was pleased to field successful applications from Columbia Falls, Eureka, Kalispell and Whitefish based organizations, and to fund a wide variety of programs serving residents of the entire Flathead Valley.

Organizations will be able to immediately access funds for the following projects:

• City of Whitefish Parks and Recreation Program - $4,000 to support Stumptown Summer Day Camp scholarship

• Columbia Falls-Whitefish High School Swim Teams - $4,000 to support the self-funded high school swim programs

• Columbia Falls Bookmobile - $4,000 to further literacy and food security

• Creative Arts Council of Eureka - $2,500 for arts program scholarships

• Flathead Community Health Center - $3,000 to subsidize the cost of out-patient medication, diabetic supplies, and transportation

• Flathead Rivers Alliance - $3,000 to design and implement a Flathead River Ambassador Program

• Funding Families with Type I Diabetes - $4,000 to support the Type I Diabetes summer youth camp

• Girls on the Run Flathead Valley - $4,000 in scholarship support for the third to fifth grade girls running and life skills program

• Glacier Queer Alliance – $4,000 for LGBTQ+ community workshops to support queer friends, family, coworkers and Valley residents

• Immanuel Foundation - $2,000 to help construct a dedicated hospice room

• Northwest Montana Back County Horsemen - $2,000 to teach 4-H youth how to Pack on Stock and ensure horses are trail-safe

• Rails to Trails of Northwest Montana - $4,000 for pedestrian tunnel art murals

• The Vital Ground Foundation- $2,500 to permanently protect 11 acres north of Polebridge, adjacent to Glacier National Park

• Whitefish Freestyle - $3,000 to support skier and snowboarder scholarships

• Whitefish Fire Department - $4,000 to outfit volunteer firefighters with fireproof coats and pants

• Whitefish Safe Grad Night - $3,000 for the annual safe graduation celebration

• Whitefish Shines - $3,294 to light snowflakes, and provide for their safe storage

Whitefish Community Foundation encourages local nonprofits to apply to participate in the Day of Giving and Unity, a 28-hour campaign from 8 a.m. on Tuesday, May 4 to noon on May 5. For information about how to apply to participate in the Day of Giving and Unity and the upcoming Great Fish Community Challenge, visit whitefishcommunityfoundation.org. or call 406-863-1781.

The Whitefish Community Foundation is dedicated to fostering philanthropy, building endowments and helping donors and nonprofits benefit communities.