What A Great Ride! Today is my last day as the Executive Director of the Orcas Island Community Foundation. After 18 years, I am stepping down to enjoy retirement with my family. When speaking with folks about my time with OICF, the focus has often been on how much we...

Leaning Into Leadership  Recently, several organizations have reached out to the Orcas Island Community Foundation requesting help finding skilled Board members. With over 100 local nonprofits, the community needs to have a willing group of volunteers to provide the...

Small but MIGHTY! I had the good fortune to spend Thursday with Manda and Sadhu Aufochs Gillespie of Cortez Island, a remote island of 1000 people in the strait of Georgia in Canada. Manda is the director of their Community Foundation and Sadhu works with their...

Match Has Been Met! Plenty of good news this week. The Senior Center Match was beyond successful! The Community ended up contributing $65,212- a full $15,000 beyond the goal. Fantastic news for the Senior Center. Thanks to all who contributed. With these funds...

The Odd Fellows have a great service program supplying firewood to seniors and families in need. This past winter, they noticed that a couple of their clients had aged out of being able to manage wood heat safely. Odd Fellow Didier Gincig reached out to OICF, asking...

REET Renewal The Land Bank real estate excise tax (REET) is up for renewal and will be on the ballot this Fall. The Orcas Island Community Foundation Board is endorsing continuing this REET, as it provides funding to the Land Bank for preservation and conservation of...

Here We GO!!! Here we are in the thick of Summer! Salmon fishing and crabbing opened yesterday, the flowers have gone crazy and I suddenly have plenty of cabbage! The abundance is on! Tomorrow my neighborhood celebrates Olga Daze, a community wide event to raise funds...

  Summer is in Swing! Wow, the island is abuzz! It’s wonderful to see our local businesses swirling with traffic, flowers in full bloom and feel the sunshine bouncing around. There’s no shortage of summering to be done with plenty of interesting activities, music...

What an Honor! The Chamber of Commerce Board has selected me to be the Grand Marshall for the parade on Saturday. It is quite an honor and a bit embarrassing. I have been working on my wave and trying to shore up my confidence for the brief but most public ride. The...

Summer has arrived!  Suddenly, Orcas is buzzing. The sidewalks are full of meandering families, tents dot the lakeside in Moran, trailhead parking lots are full and we are jumping off the high dive into summer craziness. Wahooo! The Orcas Community Resource Center is...