Great Fish Community Challenge opens with Launch Party

Whitefish Community Foundation kicks off the 10th Great Fish Community Challenge on Thursday, Aug. 8 with the Great Fish Launch Party at Three Rivers Bank in Whitefish.

This free community event will include appetizers, beverages and the opportunity to learn about the 80 nonprofits participating in the Challenge. Donors who give $100 or more to a single nonprofit at the Launch Party will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of 11 $1,000 grants for that organization.

The Great Fish Community Challenge is a charitable giving campaign hosted by Whitefish Community Foundation to help Flathead Valley nonprofit organizations raise funds for their programs and projects. Donors can choose to give to multiple organizations with one transaction. Beginning Aug. 8, donations can be made online at whitefishcommunityfoundation.org/great-fish, by check or cash accompanied by the official Great Fish donation form, or through a gift of stock or distribution from an IRA. The Challenge ends at 5 p.m. on Sept. 13.

“This year’s 80 participating nonprofits touch the lives of every single resident of the Flathead Valley,” Director of Grants and Programs Lynnette Donaldson said. “They are filling crucial gaps with limited funding sources, and they need our help.”

In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Challenge, Whitefish Community Foundation will award a percentage match on the first $25,000 raised by each participating nonprofit. The match is made possible by Whitefish Community Foundation’s Circle of Giving donors, as well as donors who designate their gift to the Great Fish Match Fund. In addition to the match, Whitefish Community Foundation will award more than $125,000 in incentive grants throughout the Challenge to inspire donors from across the Flathead Valley to give.

Since 2015, the Great Fish Community Challenge has raised over $28 million for Flathead Valley nonprofits. Last year, more than 3,000 donors gave $6.2 million. For more information about the Great Fish Community Challenge or to make a donation between Aug. 8 and Sept. 13, visit whitefishcommunityfoundation.org/great-fish/ or call (406) 863-1781.