 The Skagit Community Foundation is delighted to share with you our Strategic Plan for the next 5 years.
The SCF 2023-2027 Strategic Plan is also now available on our website: https://www.skagitcf.org/strategicplan.html We are grateful for the dedication and leadership of our Board of Directors. Through their collaborative work, our 2023-2027 Strategic Plan was developed over the past few months. We are looking forward sharing our progress with you! Click HERE to read more...
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  Supporting Prosperity with Skagit Newcomers
Immigrant Resources & Immediate Support For many of us, our families have a story and a unique history of how they arrived in the United States: crossing oceans, one or more borders, by themselves, or alongside family. Some of these journeys were more harrowing than others. Today, there is a very complex system to navigate for immigrants and refugees arriving in Skagit County who are establishing their new life and opportunities. In addition to language barriers, immigrant families can struggle with isolation in a new community and lack support. It can be very difficult to find help and resources when they need it. Immigrant Resources & Immediate Support (IRIS) is a local grassroots nonprofit organization that was formed by Attorney Leta Sanchez of Chamberlain Sanchez Immigration Law. She saw that there was a need for emergency resources within the local immigrant community. IRIS’ mission is to support basic human needs for immigrant families and people in crisis. “Many immigrants in our community, while incredibly resilient and hardworking, have had to overcome tremendous hardship just to survive. They continue to face a multitude of barriers as they struggle to recover and rebuild. IRIS is honored to provide temporary bridge assistance to our recipients, made possible by supporters like the Skagit Community Foundation, and to be a part of their journey to stability.” - Leta Sanchez, Attorney & IRIS Executive Director IRIS is able to respond rapidly to urgent situations and also provides ongoing support to help families stabilize and connect to other community resources. The Board of IRIS has several bilingual Directors (Spanish, English) and one who is trilingual (Spanish, English, Mixtec). Recently, IRIS has been working to provide basic needs to 17 newly-arrived Ukrainian families. Pictured below is a mother and daughter currently receiving assistance from IRIS - many families like theirs have been separated from their husbands and/or fathers due to the mandate that men must stay in Ukraine to fight the war. The Skagit Community Foundation was one of IRIS’ founding donors. The needs of immigrants range widely from food, clothing, housing assistance, hygiene supplies, utility bills, basic household items, and more. Every family’s situation is unique. SCF recognizes the importance of flexible funding to local nonprofit organizations. Donations that are unrestricted provide general operations support and help organizations efficiently accomplish their missions. “Because we believe that teams with experience on the front lines of challenges will know best how to put the money to good use, we encourage them to spend it however they choose.” - MacKenzie Scott, The Giving Pledge philanthropist To learn more about IRIS and immigrants in our community, visit their website: https://irisnw.org/ Thanks to the generosity of a passionate local donor with a strong commitment to the arts, we are excited to announce this new upcoming grant opportunity:   We are here to support your ideas for the community. To learn more about starting your Donor Established Fund, visit our website. To read our full August 2022 Digital Newsletter click here!  Semillas de Esperanza Scholarship Fund
Creating Opportunities, Celebrating Diversity, & Building Relationships Imagine waking up before sunrise to work in a warehouse or berry fields to help your family financially, before the school day begins. Imagine the isolation of a classroom where your ability to learn and make friends is limited because you don’t know the language. Imagine feeling your parent’s frustrations with seasonal work and limited employment options. Your whole family has worked hard and sacrificed to provide for a better life. You are trying your hardest to build opportunities for yourself, and you set your sights on earning a college degree. SCF donors and founders of the Semillas de Esperanza Scholarship, Howard and Lynn Behar, understand the challenges and barriers undocumented students face. Howard was the founding President of Starbucks International and Lynn has been an oncology social worker for over 30 years with an MSW and PhD from the University of Washington. Their goal is to provide scholarship support to dedicated and determined undocumented students from Skagit County, alongside a similar program in Walla Walla, as an opportunity to provide more equitable access to higher education. The Behar’s idea was to create the Semillas de Esperanza Scholarship to “fill the gap” of unfunded tuition and to follow each student through all their years of higher education. Every summer since 2018, they help select a new cohort of highly motivated undocumented* (includes DACA) students from any Skagit County high school for the multi-year program. The students’ scholarship amount every year is determined by need and ability. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE...
Official Skagit Community Foundation Merchandise is for sale and linked on our website!
The Skagit Community Foundation sells official SCF merchandise through an online platform called Bonfire. The revenue from each purchase benefits the work of SCF to support our local nonprofit sector, students, and those who live in our Skagit community. Take a look at SCF's online storefront and support our Skagit community in style!  CONGRATULATIONS 2021/2022 ANACORTES WOMEN'S GIVING CIRCLE GRANT RECIPIENTS!
The Anacortes Women's Giving Circle is a dynamic, passionate group of women who care deeply about improving lives in our community. In the fall of 2021, they gathered for the third year to pool their donations and individual generosity into a collective grantmaking fund, totaling $26,700. In early May, each donor voted for her favorite project proposal - one vote per donor. Based on this voting, the 2021-2022 Anacortes Women's Giving Circle grants were awarded to eight local nonprofits. "We are delighted that this grassroots collective has been able to support so many special projects in our community while the generosity has grown each year. It has been fun to come together as friends and make new friends all bound by a common goal; women desiring to enhance our community. All are welcome!" - Jeannette, Member of the AWGC Leadership Team The Skagit Community Foundation is proud to support and administrate this meaningful philanthropic effort each year. TO READ MORE CLICK HERE...  ANNOUNCING OUR SCF 2022 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
We are honored to support donors leaving a legacy through a Scholarship Fund. Because of our community's generosity, Skagit students are assisted and encouraged to pursue their dreams and higher educational goals. You can seed a customized Scholarship Fund for as little as $10,000. Give me a call today to learn how to establish your Fund at SCF. - Maddy MacKenzie, Executive Director "Overall, I have hope for the future and I know that I will go on to do great things for myself, my family, and my community. Not only can I see myself shaping and improving my life into one that I am passionate about, but I can also see myself helping shape others' lives into ones that they are passionate about too." - Allen Lowe Memorial Scholarship recipient, Mount Vernon High School Class of 2022, future University of Washington student TO READ MORE CLICK HERE...  Announcing the 2022 Grant Cycle Recipients:
The strength, progress, and development of our community depends on the compassionate hearts and hard work of Skagitonians. I am grateful, every day, for the opportunity to work with people who care and those that serve causes in our community that matter. Whether it is individuals and families who are creating their legacy, or a volunteer who writes a grant application for a small local nonprofit, we are honored to support the many forms of generosity here in Skagit County. In April, the Skagit Community Foundation's Board of Directors approved $506,587 in grants to 60 local nonprofit organizations serving the Skagit community. The average grant award amount was $8,500. This year's grant cycle was the most competitive grantmaking process to date, with requests totaling more than $1.3 million from 109 applications. TO CONTINUE READING CLICK HERE...  Introducing
our new Development & Communications Associate: Sydney Evans My name is Sydney, and I am thrilled to be joining the efforts of the Skagit Community Foundation! I was born and raised in Rochester, New Hampshire but have recently established my home in Mount Vernon following my graduation from Western Washington University. During my time at WWU I was the goalie for the women's lacrosse team, an intern for the athletic department, and I graduated with a communications and marketing degree. TO CONTINUE READING CLICK HERE...  Building Upon a Family Legacy:
The Gentry Family Kendall and Nancy Gentry built their business and raised their family in Skagit County. For many years, they have been active community philanthropists and members of the Burlington Rotary Club & His Place Community Church. Skagit Adult Day Program & Skagit Habitat for Humanity have had significant Gentry Family influence over the years. Their goals now are to snowbird in Florida during winter and early spring months, use their motorhome to explore the Great NW and enjoy their family that includes 8 grandchildren whenever and wherever they can. Continuing their family legacy through the new Gentry Family Donor Advised Fund managed by the Skagit Community Foundation is a way for them to continue to give back to the community that has been such a BIG part of their lives for now over 50 years. A gift of real estate, a home in Burlington, was donated to the Skagit Community Foundation to launch the Gentry Family Donor Advised Fund. TO CONTINUE READING CLICK HERE..... |
Phone: 360.419.3181 | Physical Address:1220 Memorial Hwy, Suite C, Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1763, Mount Vernon, WA 98273
© 2022 The Skagit Community Foundation. All rights reserved.
The Skagit Community Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization incorporated in the state of Washington and is exempt from federal income tax under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Tax ID (EIN) #91-1572414.
The Skagit Community Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization incorporated in the state of Washington and is exempt from federal income tax under
Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Tax ID (EIN) #91-1572414.