GiveOrcas

The Orcas Island Community Foundation distributes grants from the Community Endowment Fund twice a year through our GiveOrcas Campaigns — once in the spring and once during the holiday season.

 

The grants are supplemented with funds from our Partners in Philanthropy. Below are the grants, from the spring and over the holidays, that went to our local organizations that serve to make the community stronger and better. This was only possible because of the donations that we received from you, the community.

With this model, we are able to fund more projects and help more Islanders. Your gift of $10, $100, or $1,000 or more as a Partner in Philanthropy helps the entire community become more effective. All organizations in the GiveOrcas catalog are vetted and approved by members of the community. OICF covers all credit card fees for the organizations — so 100% of your gift goes directly to the organization you support.

Go here to view a comprehensive list of all OICF grant recipients.

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Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair
Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair

2022 Holiday Grants

Our Holiday GiveOrcas Campaign was also fully funded this year, thanks to you.

A total of $234,040.72 was awarded across 24 community organizations. We had a total of 1,443 donations from 603 donors, of which 188 were new donors. These donations will serve the following organizational needs and the community well. Thank you, Orcas.  

  •  Art for Orcas Kids (A*OK)/OIEF: $12,675 for artists to bring art & inspiration to students
  • Children’s House: $15,000 for a new lawn and garden shed
  • Funhouse Commons: $1,500 for the gift of play, learning & friends after school
  • Healing Arts Center: $9,175 for a facelift of their historic building, including siding and paint
  • Island Rides: $15,000 to provide needed rides for islanders, seven days a week
  • Kaleidoscope/Recovery Rides: $14,731 to make sure islanders with addiction challenges get to treatment
  • KWIAHT: $4,275 for community stewardship and protection of Indian Island
  • Long Live the Kings (LLTK): $10,000 to help LLTK’s Glenwood Springs restore salmon on Orcas
  • Mercy Flights/Orcas Aviation Association: $15,000 to fly residents & family members to hospitals & specialist care
  • Music Advocacy Group (MAG): $15,000 for a full set of timpani for the Music Department at OISD
  • OPAL: $15,000 to complete designs to permit and build 10 new affordable townhomes
  • Orcas Center/Orcas Dance Collective: $5,000 for dance shoes, attire, and costumes for families in need
  • Orcas Choral Society: $6,000 for the Orcas Youth Chorus to serve island youth, K-5th & 6th-12th grade
  • Orcas Community Resource Center (OCRC): $15,000 to support OCRC Bilingual Services
  • Orcas Island Food Bank: $12,000 to help Food Bank customers feed themselves & their pets
  • Orcas Island Health Care District: $5,200 to support the provision of primary care on Orcas
  • Orcas Island Historical Museums: $6,000 for exhibit and exterior lighting upgrades
  • Orcas Island Lit Fest: $3,400 to help Orcas Island’s book festival host beloved writers
  • Orcas Island School District 137: $10,000 to bring authors to the Orcas School District
  • Orcas Island Youth Conservation Corps: $14,396 for facilitating outdoor stewardship programs for Orcas Island youth
  • Orcas Recycle Services/The Exchange: $3,500 for the Exchange Community Gift Card program expansion
  • Orcas Senior Center: $15,000 for companionship & understanding to help seniors stay in their homes
  • Salmonberry School and Learning Center: $10,000 for their fence and tree project
  • YMCA Camp Orkila: $3,400 for their Spanish and English Language Classes

 

Past GiveOrcas Grants

Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair
Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair
Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair
Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair
Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair
Older woman with hair pulled back holding a sign in front of a cardboard cut out of a younger woman with short dark hair

2022 Spring Grants

Our Spring GiveOrcas Campaign was our largest campaign to date and was fully funded this year, thanks to you.

A total of $374,172 was awarded across 27 community organizations. We had a total of 1,509 donations from 672 donors, of which 246 were new donors. These donations will greatly benefit each of these organizations and, in turn, all of us. 

  • Art for Orcas Kids (AOK)/OIEF: $3,398 for art class aprons and sketchbooks for all OISD K-12 students
  • Deer Harbor Community Club: $10,000 to help paint the Deer Harbor Post Office
  • Friends of Moran State Park: $19,007 to help reach the summit for the Tower Restoration Project
  • Healing Arts Center: $24,200 to preserve our community-owned holistic health care facility
  • Helping Hands Noramise: $1,200 to engage Orcas teens in food, farm and community experiences
  • Islands’ Oil Spill Association: $3,000 to conduct oiled wildlife response training on Orcas Island
  • KWIAHT: $3,497 to study ticks on Orcas
  • Leadership San Juan Islands: $3,500 to celebrate our culture of community care on the Village on the Green
  • OPAL Community Land Trust: $25,000 for Kidder Way affordable homes 
  • Orcas Center: $25,000 to help the Orcas Center install solar panels on their roof
  • Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture: $18,010 to help expand their community-grown food network
  • Orcas Community Resource Center: $11,134 for Fresh Bucks to help make fruits & veggies accessible
  • Orcas Community Resource Center: $25,000 to help meet the growing need for health services
  • Orcas Island Food Bank: $20,000 to help increase the Food Bank’s supply of fresh farm foods
  • Orcas Island Lit Fest: $9,000 to help Orcas Island’s Book Festival
  • Orcas Island School District 137: $3,500 for Lincoln in the Library
  • Orcas Island School District 137: $1,8621.63 to add universally accessible playground equipment to the OISD playground
  • Orcas Island Volunteer Firefighter/EMT Association: $12,950 to help purchase power assist stretchers
  • Orcas Montessori School: $3,000 to build a garden and farm stand for Orcas Montessori School
  • Orcas Recycling Services / The Exchange: $25,000 for equipment to bale recyclables
  • Orcas Senior Center: $25,000 to strengthen our community through Companion Services
  • SAFE San Juans: $25,000 to maintain support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence
  • Sail Orcas: $14,485 to improve accessibility, women’s sailing and marine science
  • Salmonberry School and Learning Center: $10,000 for an outdoor multi-purpose patio classroom 
  • San Juan Islands Conservation District: $22,750 to help foster the next generation of ecologists 
  • Turning the Wheel: $9,919 for a Turning the Wheel Residency
  • Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center: $3,000 to help build a new small mammal recuperation enclosure

2022 Youth Philanthropy Grants

This year a generous donor gave the Orcas High School Senior Class $10,000 to donate to organizations that have made an impact and to foster philanthropy in our youth.

Thank you to the class of 2022 for your thoughtfulness and generosity, and to Wylie Kau, Orcas High Class of 2016 Alumni, who started this project many years ago. Cheers to the class of 2022! We can’t wait to see what your futures hold!

Here are their choices for 2022:

  • Orcas Island Parks & Recreation District: $5,000
  • Orcas Island Children’s House: $3,000
  • Orcas Island Booster Club: $2,000