Support OICF
By supporting OICF, you are helping the whole community: Community Cornerstones, Partners in Philanthropy, and OICF Endowment Fund.
Community Cornerstones
Community Cornerstones are annual, sustaining gifts of $1,000 to $25,000 which fuel the programs and operations of the Community Foundation. Cornerstones make the annual grant campaign and Holiday catalog possible, paying for all administration and even the credit card fees, so that 100% of a donation goes directly to the proposal selected by the donor. With Cornerstone support, OICF’s grant making has reached new heights. In 2021, OICF distributed $3,984,639.36 through 685 grants.
Cornerstone funding also supports the office, which is used by over 25 nonprofits and programs for their meetings. In addition, Cornerstones donations fund Capacity Building workshops strengthening all organizations that together make Orcas a vital and vibrant community. Community Cornerstones are an invaluable link in the chain of community support that keeps Orcas a great place to call home. Working together, we are at the ready to respond to new opportunities, convene and collaborate to address ongoing issues, and continue to create a stronger community for all.
There are currently 117 friends and neighbors who are Cornerstone members. If you are interested in becoming a Community Cornerstone, we’d love to talk with you. Please call or drop by the OICF office.
Partners in Philanthropy (PIP)
Together we can do more. Together we can make a difference. That’s why OICF invites Partners in Philanthropy to join forces during our GiveOrcas campaigns.
The Grants Committee does the hard work of investigating and vetting the grants. Each proposal is fully reviewed by committee members and a site visit conducted to gather information. After deliberations, the 14-member group recommends a list for adoption. The Committee then assigns each grant request to a category-Critical Needs, Important Needs, or Opportunities, based on the following criteria:
- Does the request address basic needs?
- Is the need currently going unfulfilled?
- Does the request impact a large sector of our community?
- Is the request well-thought out, and is there a strong likelihood the organization will be successful?
- Is the request a collaborative effort (where appropriate)?
The discussions are lively, and having diverse committee membership provides a multitude of perspectives. In the end, the list provides a variety of opportunities for investment that will keep Orcas a vital and vibrant community.
We invite you to be a Partner in Philanthropy. Any contribution amount is welcome; the entire community can engage in the process. Visit GiveOrcas site during a campaign to makes donations to our amazing nonprofits.
It is an unusual process, unique to OICF. The Partners in Philanthropy program has allowed us to increase support of valuable programs while the community endowment is still developing. The other benefit of the Partners is that it allows the entire community to engage in the process, even more so now that the grants catalog is available online.
Community Endowment
The Orcas Island Community Foundation stewards the Community Endowment Fund and multiple Organizational Endowment Funds, for the benefit of the entire Orcas Island community in perpetuity. OICF provides a bridge connecting donors with compatible charities, maximizing returns on charitable investments, assessing community needs, and supporting nonprofit organizations and vital community programs through grantmaking.
Endowment is at the heart of the Orcas Island Community Foundation. An endowment attracts charitable resources by engaging donors who want their gifts to operate in perpetuity with maximum return on their charitable contributions. It ensures a source of money for grantmaking even during years when annual gifts decrease, and has lead to the development of a long-term grantmaking program. Endowment provides stability, enabling the Foundation to continue supporting key programs during times of economic stress.
Funding for our Community Grants program comes in part from income earned on OICF’s Community Endowment Fund investment. OICF is a public foundation charged with making grants across a broad spectrum of charitable activities within the geographical boundaries of Orcas Island. No grants are made to individuals, to other endowment funds, to political groups or for religious purposes or to any group which discriminates on the basis of age, color, race, national origin, gender identity, marital status, sensory, mental or physical ability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
The Community Endowment welcomes contributions of any size for any reason.
