Fostering philanthropy to enhance and preserve the quality of life on Orcas Island
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The Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) was founded in 1995 to help build and strengthen our community by encouraging and supporting local philanthropy and by connecting people and organizations who want to make a difference by improving the quality of life on Orcas Island.

 

In early 2023, CF Insights Columbus Survey released their rankings for 2021.

Nationally, OICF is ranked #4 out of 209 community foundations for per capita gifts with a rate of $840. That represents an annual distribution rate of 16% of our assets, ranking us 9th in that category. You can view the full list here.

 

 The Orcas Island Lions Club has established a $25,000 matching grant to support the Orcas Senior Center’s (OSC) renovation project. This grant is available for the month of November, so your contribution during this period will have double the impact. These critical improvements will help preserve the building, ensuring the center can continue to serve our island community. Read more here.

We're hiring someone for Outreach & Administration Support

Holiday GiveOrcas 

December 3- 12th

Mark your calendars to join in collective community giving! Holiday GiveOrcas is nearly here. The campaign features thirty meaningful nonprofit giving opportunities at www.giveorcas.org.

We're hiring someone for Outreach & Administration Support

OICF Announces New Executive Director

The Orcas Island Community Foundation Board of Trustees is delighted to announce the selection of Lindsay Jennings as the next Executive Director of OICF, following a thorough and competitive search process. Click HERE to read more.

Stay tuned for opportunities to engage with Lindsay in the fall. In the meantime, please join OICF in welcoming Lindsay to her new role.

A small village nestled in conifers from the water.

Read the report on OICF’s and the community’s response to the Covid pandemic.

Learn more here

Arial view of map of property for sale with bible diagram overlaid

OICF is helping to purchase the Pea Patch Property to serve as a nonprofit campus.

Learn more here

Mural on fence at Salmonberry

Take a look at our Annual Report. It’s full of pictures and great stories. Working together. Helping each other.

See the Annual Report 

Lance and Janet at OIEF Auction

Donors

Learn how to donate to a fund, how to set one up, the funds that we have and much more.

OISD Art Class

Nonprofits

Learn about capacity building, annual grants awarded, GiveOrcas and other resources we offer.

Seniors in a computer class

Community Resources

Learn about some of the resources that are available to the members of our community.

OICF Welcomes You cover image with Turtleback Mountain, fog and sheep in field

Welcome Home.

We are delighted to have you as a neighbor and look forward to getting to know you. 

Thank you for the opportunity to introduce you to the Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF). This Packet gives you a brief look into the community, the work of OICF and the local nonprofits. We encourage you to stop by our office to say hi.

Most Recent Blog Posts

Small but Mighty!

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...

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Match Met

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...

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Working Together To Make Lives Better

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...

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