$477,500 in Grants and Special Awards to 52 Nonprofits!

Whitefish Community Foundation held its annual Community Grant Awards on April 29 and presented $477,750 in grants and special awards to 52 nonprofit organizations representing projects and programs in Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Evergreen, Kalispell, Lakeside, Libby and Whitefish.

In addition to $372,750 in Community and Youth Sports grants and $55,000 in special awards, Whitefish Community Foundation presented a $50,000 Major Community Project Grant to Miracle League of Northwest Montana to help resurface the Flathead Valley’s only baseball field that is fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.

The following 49 organizations received a Community Grant or a Youth Sports Grant:

• Abbie Shelter, $8,500 for legal aid assistance for victims of domestic abuse
• Alano Club of Kalispell, $10,000 for meeting room upgrades
• Bear Grass Performing Arts, $4,250 for the Flathead Valley Youth Chorus
• Bigfork Soccer Club, $5,000 to replace equipment
• CASA of Lincoln County, $7,000 to support court-appointed advocates for children who have suffered abuse or neglect
• CF-WF High School Swim Teams, $4,000 for the self-funded Whitefish High School swim team
• City of Whitefish Parks and Recreation, $8,000 for youth scholarships to attend after-school and summer programs
• Climate Smart Glacier Country, $5,000 to develop a flood-preparedness plan for Flathead County
• Code Girls United, $8,500 to provide transportation to after-school programs
• Columbia Falls Academic Foundation, $15,000 to replace musical instruments at the junior high
• Columbia Falls Community Market, $6,500 to enhance the market experience for attendees
• Crown Gravity Collective, $4,000 for uniforms and scholarships for youth team riders
• Discovery Developmental Center, $8,000 to support early childhood education programming
• DREAM Adaptive Recreation, $7,500 to purchase a program trailer
• Driving Hope, $8,000 to provide safe, used vehicles and repair services to those in need
• Evergreen School District, $8,000 for the Evergreen Fitness Team after-school and summer program
• Flathead 4-H Foundation, $8,000 to replace mattresses at the Loon Lake 4-H Camp
• Flathead County Search and Rescue Association, $10,000 to purchase a drone system
• Flathead Industries, $7,500 for a continuing education center
• Flathead K9 Foundation, $7,500 for canine equipment and supplies
• Flathead Lakers, $5,000 to research causes of swimmer’s itch in Flathead Lake
• Flathead Warming Center, $8,500 to conduct community peer support certification training
• Friends of the Flathead Avalanche Center, $6,000 to purchase a snowmobile
• Girls on the Run Western Montana, $8,000 to support confidence-building programs for girls
• Glacier Nordic Club, $9,000 to purchase laser rifles for the biathlon program
• Glacier Twins American Legion Baseball, $5,000 for player scholarships
• Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley, $15,000 for a framing pre-production facility
• Immanuel Foundation, $7,500 for the Immanuel Living Connections program
• Kalispell Aquatic Swim Team Club, $4,000 for program support
• Kootenai Winter Sports Ski Education Foundation, $5,500 for Wilderness First Aid training
• Land to Hand, $10,000 for summer food access programs for children
• Miracle League of Northwest Montana, $5,000 for baseball programs for people with disabilities
• Montana State Parks Foundation, $10,000 to support accessibility at Wayfarers State Park
• Montana Wild Wings Recovery Center, $5,000 for live raptor educational programs
• North West Montana Veterans Stand Down, $8,000 to support the Libby Stand Down event
• Northwest Lacrosse Association, $5,000 for youth lacrosse programs
• Northwest Montana Community Land Trust, $8,000 for a women’s affordable homeownership fund
• Postpartum Resource Group, $8,000 for office and peer support group funds
• Serious JuJu Skate Works, $4,000 to support after-school programming
• The Making Place, $4,500 for a community tool and craft library and hands-on education
• The Nurturing Center, $8,000 for parenting classes and supplies
• The Salvation Army, $7,000 to support a mobile food pantry
• The Vital Ground Foundation, $8,000 for a conservation easement northeast of Columbia Falls
• Well Montana, $7,000 to expand outreach and develop a website
• West Shore Food Bank, $10,000 to support the food pantry
• Whitefish Community School, $8,000 for daycare programs for young children
• Whitefish Education Foundation, $15,000 to replace band and orchestra instruments
• Whitefish Lake Institute, $8,500 for a PFAS detection study in Whitefish Lake and tributaries
• Whitefish School District #44, $10,000 to replace a lift at the Performing Arts Center

The foundation presented the following special awards and accompanying grants:

Whitefish Education Foundation received two special awards, including the Russ and Mary Jane Street Community Service Award and an accompanying $5,000 grant and the Tom Quinn Memorial Award and an accompanying $25,000 grant. Caeli Quinn presented the Tom Quinn Memorial Award in honor of her father, who served on Whitefish Community Foundation’s board of directors from 2012 to 2016 and was named an emeritus board member in 2019. The $25,000 grant will support Whitefish Education Foundation’s capital campaign to replace band and orchestra instruments at the middle and high schools.

Whitefish resident Jay Latimer received the WCF Board and Founders Leadership Award for his history of exemplary service and leadership to Flathead nonprofits, including Whitefish Community Foundation. Latimer is an emeritus board member who served on Whitefish Community Foundation’s board of directors for 13 years, including six years as the treasurer. A $5,000 grant accompanied the award, which Latimer directed to Habitat for Humanity of Flathead Valley.

Flathead Land Trust Executive Director Paul Travis received the Linda Engh-Grady Award for Nonprofit Excellence and an accompanying $10,000 grant to support the organization’s land conservation efforts.

Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation received the Doris Schumm Community Spirit Award and an accompanying $5,000 grant.

Glacier Symphony Orchestra and Chorale received the Jean and Bill Howard Memorial Award and an accompanying $5,000 grant.

The foundation also recognized six Flathead Valley residents who have served a local nonprofit organization for 20 years or more. The following people were inducted into the Twenty-Year Club for their long-term commitment to helping ensure the health and sustainability of a nonprofit organization:

• Cameron Blake, North Valley Music School and Glacier Nordic Club
• Susan Horner Till, Mountain Brook Homestead Foundation
• Denny Gignoux, Glacier Nordic Club
• Annie McLaughlin, Whitefish Theatre Co.
• Kay Mitchell, Flathead Audubon Society
• Dawn Watland, Whitefish Theatre Co.

Whitefish Community Foundation’s grant programs are supported by the Circle of Giving, a core group of donors who see the value in pooling their resources together for greater impact. Circle members make an annual donation of $5,000 or more to the foundation.