Earlier this month, the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington Board of Directors approved a total of $633,377 in grants, bringing the organization’s 2015 discretionary grant total to more than $1.2 million – a 36 percent increase from the prior year and a record for the 31-year-old organization.
“Our entire team is excited to be a part of this major milestone in the Foundation’s history,” said Shona Carter, program officer at the Community Foundation. “This type of growth in our grantmaking occurs rarely and only because of caring people who feel compelled to improve our region by establishing bequest gifts through the Community Foundation.”
Over the last few months, the Community Foundation’s grants committee and staff evaluated more than 65 grant applications and 16 proactive requests. From these, the committee recommended the most promising and urgent proposals to the board for funding. Those recommendations provided grants ranging in size from $1,000 to a $60,000 Focus Grant, supporting 50 nonprofits in Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties.
While the foundation’s grant programs address a range of causes, funding is primarily directed toward the organization’s strategic focus on interrupting the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
A full listing of Community Foundation grants is available at www.cfsww.org/how-we-grant/community-grants/our-grantees.