Foundation gives grants to seven local organizations

The Daily Inter Lake

The Flathead Community Foundation has announced its annual grant distribution to seven local organizations:

Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation, Community Kitchen, Family Forestry Expo, Flathead Food Bank, Northwest Montana Human Resources, Somers School District Before/After-School Program, and the Nurturing Center.

The grants committee evaluated 19 qualifying proposals against a variety of criteria including impact significance, capacity, organizational viability, credibility and the history of each organization.

"Our goal for the committee was to make as big an impact as possible with the funds we had available. We focused on proven success of the organizations and their leadership as well as the merits of the project," grant committee member Muffie Thomson said in a news release.

Committee member Connie Peters noted that the committee has a mandate to consider the entire Flathead Valley, not just Kalispell.

"There were so many exceptional applicants; it was very difficult to not choose every one of them to receive a grant," Peters said.

"We chose recipients who offered long-term benefits to the community and those organizations that would be around for years to come. I wish we had more dollars to give because there are so many deserving groups out there."

In addition to the annual grants from the Flathead Community Foundation, additional grants were made from the Sustainability Fund and the Rolfing Family Fund totaling $22,950 to 28 charities in a wide variety of sectors and geographic locations.

During 2008, the Flathead Community Foundation has distributed a total of more than $110,000.

The foundation manages a permanent endowment, family and donor-advised funds, as well as pass-through funds from private and corporate donors.

Established in 2005, the Flathead Community Foundation is a nonprofit public charity created by and for the people of the Flathead Valley.

Tax-deductible donations to the Flathead Fund can be mailed to P.O. Box 1422, Kalispell, MT 59903.

For more information, go to www.flatheadcommunityfoundation.org.