Blog
Springing Forward Into Another GiveOrcas Season
Driftwood Nursery Happy Friday everyone. It’s me again, Megan Neal, filling in for Hilary while she’s away this week. While Hilary is away for a family wedding in Hawaii, we are busy here at the office holding down the fort. It’s an exciting and busy time in my...
Signs of Hope
Orcas Center Vaccine Clinic Team This week, the County Health Department officially stepped down the volunteer crews that have supported the mass vaccination clinics, marking a shift in their Covid response. They will continue to provide vaccinations at the County...
Building Community
Artwork by OICF Trustee, Susan Singleton What would be your guess for how many buildings on Orcas are community-owned (meaning owned by a nonprofit, taxing district, or faith based organization)? Ten? 20? Not long ago, this question was raised and Ed Andrews, OICF’s...
OICF Invests in Affordable Rentals
Northern Heights Apartments The Orcas Island Community Foundation Board has voted to grant OPAL Community Land Trust $100,000, as needed, to support the purchase of the Northern Heights Apartments located across from the Library on Rose Street in Eastsound. This...
Islands Conservation Corps Shines Bright
ICC Crew on Turtleback Preserve Greetings! I am home, ready and rested, after a lovely break in Mexico and grateful for sunny days to aid re-entry. The Islands Conservation Corps invited the OICF Board and Staff on a site visit on the Turtleback Preserve, where they...
OICF Infrastructure Webinar Invitation
The Orcas Island Community Foundation invites our nonprofits to a free online hour-long webinar on March 1st at 12:30. We are hosting this event to help you plan for the maintenance and upkeep of your infrastructure. This overview webinar will help you learn how to...
Emergence
Rainbow over Orcas Island Leather Goods Megan here, saying “hi” on this first Friday of February as Hilary is still away south of the border. Earlier this week the Groundhog emerged and reported six more weeks of winter, which means (according to a rodent) that we are...
When the Cat’s Away, the Mice will Play
Eagle Lake with Trumpeter Swans Hi all Ed here, standing in for Hilary while she spends a well-deserved two week vacation basking in a warm place much further south than here. Hilary, you better be out on a walk and not reading this. It’s been wonderful to see the...
The Gift of Giving
Cascade Lake OICF remains a very active philanthropic agency. In 2021, we opened 15 new funds, distributed $2.5 million in grants and received 2,554 donations ranging from $10 to $500,000. Each donation is an investment in building a stronger community, strengthening...
Standing Up For Peace & Justice
API / Reuters Images Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way of love. Love is not emotional bash; it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one's whole being into the being of another. —Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957 Monday is the day we...