Great Fish Community Challenge sets new fundraising record

The eighth annual Great Fish Community Challenge set a new fundraising record, with over $4.1 million in donations as of 5 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16.

The six-week charitable giving campaign ran from Aug. 4 to Sept. 16 and benefited 70 Flathead Valley nonprofit organizations.

“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of everyone who gave in this year’s Challenge and supported the critical work of our local nonprofits,” said Whitefish Community Foundation President and CEO Linda Engh-Grady in a statement. “Many of the participating nonprofits have recently experienced a significant increase in demand for their services and are relying on funds raised in the Great Fish Community Challenge to help keep their doors open in the coming year.”

Whitefish Community Foundation will award a percentage matching grant on the first $20,000 raised by each participating organization. The percentage matching grant amount, along with the final tally of funds raised in the challenge, will be announced Oct. 17 at the Great Fish Awards Event.

More than $1.5 million was donated during the final week of the challenge. Donations that were initiated prior to the end of the challenge will continue to be processed as they are received, but they are not eligible for the percentage matching grant opportunity.

The percentage matching grant is made possible by members of the foundation’s Circle of Giving and other donors who gave to the Great Fish Match Fund during the challenge.

“The ease of the Great Fish Community Challenge platform has been a game changer for Flathead Valley nonprofits, many of whom rely on funds raised in the challenge to cover a significant portion, if not all, of their program budget,” Engh-Grady said.

Whitefish Community Foundation organizes and manages the challenge free of charge for participating nonprofits, thanks in part to sponsorships from BNSF, Big Sky IV Care, First Interstate Bank, Glacier Bank, Glacier Payments, Iron Horse Foundation, JCCS, Park Side Credit Union and Underscore Art & Jewelry.

For more information about Whitefish Community Foundation, visit whitefishcommunityfoundation.org or call (406) 863-1781.