Whitefish Community Foundation Awards $50,000 Grant for New Bigfork Library

Whitefish Community Foundation recently awarded a $50,000 grant to ImagineIF Library Foundation for the new Flathead County Library Bigfork branch.

ImagineIF Library Foundation is dedicated to raising funds for library programs and services that are not included in Flathead County’s budget. Last year, ImagineIF Library Foundation restarted a capital campaign to raise $3.2 million to bring a new library to the community of Bigfork. 

The new facility is 6,000 square feet, more than four times the size of the old library. The larger space will allow the library to expand programs for children, teens and adults, as well as offer a free public meeting room for the community. 

To date, nearly $3.1 million has been raised for the project, leaving a $100,000 gap in funding.

“Great communities have great libraries, and Bigfork has deserved a library that would meet its needs for a long time," said ImagineIF Library Foundation Executive Director Sara Busse. 

"Bigfork is a wonderful place to live, work and play. A great library will ensure that it’s also a great place to grow your mind, curiosity, friendships and community. We are so very grateful to Whitefish Community Foundation for making this investment in Bigfork.”

Whitefish Community Foundation’s Major Community Project Grant program is dedicated to helping nonprofit organizations complete capital projects that will have a significant and positive effect on communities in the Flathead Valley. The program was formed in 2010 and has awarded $929,000 to projects identified and selected by the foundation’s board of directors. Funding for the Major Community Project Grant program comes from the Circle of Giving, Whitefish Community Foundation’s core group of donors who give $5,000 or more annually to support the grant programs and mission of the foundation.

“The power of collective philanthropy is truly incredible, and Whitefish Community Foundation is happy to invest Circle of Giving dollars in a project that has received such broad community support,” Whitefish Community Foundation President/CEO Alan Davis said. “Congratulations to the ImagineIF Library Foundation team for pulling off a great community project that will benefit the Flathead Valley for many years to come.”

To learn more about the Bigfork library project, visit imagineiflibraryfoundation.org/newbigforklibrary. For more information about Whitefish Community Foundation, visit whitefishcommunityfoundation.org.