PORT ANGELES — First Fed Foundation has awarded $130,000 to agencies on the North Olympic Peninsula out of $300,000 given to nonprofits that are bringing housing and other types of help to community members in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom counties and the city of Bellevue.
“Having received 47 applications totaling more than $1.3 million in grant funding requests in this spring cycle, the First Fed Foundation Board is humbled by the depth of need in our communities,” said Norman J. Tonina, president of the foundation’s board.
“We’re honored to support 19 nonprofit organizations that are creatively and effectively addressing those needs,” he said. “From providing affordable housing solutions, to addressing food, housing, and healthcare insecurity, and supporting those in our community who are most vulnerable, our grantee organizations are making a positive, much-needed impact each and every day.”
Karen McCormick, former First Fed CEO and the first executive director of the foundation when it was formed as the First Federal Community Foundation in 2015, said that with the recent grant awards, the foundation’s total giving “has exceeded $6.4 million, and continues to align to the vision of our sole donor, First Fed, by investing in projects and programs that foster the well-being and prosperity of our communities.”
Money was disbursed as community development grants, community support grants and housing and homeless grants.
Agencies specific to Clallam County received $90,000 in grants while Jefferson County groups were given $40,000.
In addition, the Kathleen Sutton Fund received $5,000 to support women living in Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties with transportation costs incurred in undergoing treatment for cancer.
Clallam County
• Olympic Medical Center Foundation: $35,000 to provide low-income patients undergoing cancer treatment with support for rent, utilities, medication, transportation and other essentials.
• Forks Community Food Bank: $25,000 to provide milk, eggs, butter and bread to more than 16,000 families, children and elderly clients annually.
• Port Angeles Food Bank: $25,000 to increase the quality and variety of food included in Friday Food Bags provided to more than 300 Port Angeles School District students every weekend during the school year.
• Helen Haller Elementary School: $5,000 for the Books for Summer reading program, which provides six free, self-selected books to 500 Sequim students.
Jefferson County
• Olympic Peninsula YMCA: $25,000 to purchase a walk-in cooler to store perishables used to provide nearly 3,000 food boxes to 175 food-insecure East Jefferson County families during spring, summer and winter non-school days.
• Dove House Advocacy Services: $7,500 to provide emergency food and basic necessities to Jefferson County victims of crime and abuse who are in recovery and/or experiencing crisis.
• East Jefferson County Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: $7,500 to respond to the emergency needs of low-income individuals and families, helping them meet their most basic needs and retain their homes and their jobs.
Other grants
• Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County received $50,000 to fund the first eight town homes in Mateo Meadows, a 3.48-acre, 30-townhome community in Everson.
• Kitsap Legal Services received $25,000 for attorney and support staff to provide free legal assistance and representation to low-income tenants at risk of losing their housing.
• Bellevue Schools Foundation: $25,000 to provide tuition assistance for 25 to 35 low-income and/or homeless students, ages 3-5, to attend preschool for a full school day or extended workday.
• Bellingham Food Bank: $25,000 to provide those who are menstruating with the period support products they need and cannot afford to purchase.
Community Support Grants
• Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network: $5,000 to support the free monthly Teen Night program, offering confidence-building, creative and social opportunities for 60 to 80 youth throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
• Cares of Washington: $7,500 to support 10 new low-income, homeless and/or disabled clients to become involved in their Kitsap community, develop relevant work skills, secure employment, and build financial and personal self-sufficiency.
• Kitsap Cancer Services: $7,500 to provide 20 low-income patients undergoing cancer treatment with grants for transportation, medications, copays, pre-treatment emergency dental care, groceries, rent, utilities and other basic needs.
• Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center: $5,000 to support the Emergency Assistance Fund, providing rent and food to low-income immigrant families unable to access other assistance options.
• Max Higbee Center: $5,000 to increase program staff and provide a higher level of support and care to the current 146 participants who are living with developmental disabilities in Whatcom County.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness of Whatcom County: $5,000 to support a bilingual Community Outreach Specialist who will engage members of the Latinx community in taking part in no-cost mental wellness initiatives.
• Operation Homefront Inc.: $5,000 to support the Back-to-School Brigade, providing backpacks and school supplies to 350 military children in Kitsap County.
First Fed and First Fed Foundation contributed more than $1.3 million to nonprofits in 2022. Also in 2022, First Fed employees donated nearly 6,900 hours of volunteer service in the communities First Fed serves.
First Fed Foundation is a private charitable corporation that began making grants in 2015 based on a gift valued at nearly $12 million from the parent company of First Fed, when the bank was converted to a publicly traded company.
First Fed is a local community bank in Washington serving customers and communities since 1923, with 16 locations in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap and Whatcom counties. First Fed is a subsidiary of First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB), a holding company for the bank and other investments.
