The school year has officially ended and there is a familiar – yet uncharted – switch to a COVID-19 style summer on San Juan Island.
The SJI Community Foundation continues to focus on building support for local nonprofits working diligently to fill the growing needs of San Juan Islanders. Here are the latest updates from SJICF:
- SJICF has raising emergency funds for the community since March. To date, $223k has been raised to fund grant requests from local nonprofits – just $27k from the goal of $250k. These grant funds help fill the growing demand for individuals and families needing assistance because of job losses, isolation, and a slowing economy.
- Nearly $80,000 in grants have been distributed to local nonprofits from the Emergency Response Fund. The most recent grant will fund 4 critical summer programs through the SJI Family Resource Center.
- An additional $60,000 has been granted to local nonprofits from SJICF donor-advised fundholders since early March.
- SJICF continues to host weekly meetings with nonprofit and community leaders to provide support, connect nonprofits to resources, and identify short- and long-term needs of San Juan Islanders.
Carrie Unpingco, Executive Director of SJICF, commented “We’re identifying ongoing needs during these weekly discussions. Our next step is to have smaller workgroups tackle specific issues and come up with ideas designed to best serve our community. For example, childcare was already challenging on San Juan Island and COVID-19 only added to the struggle. SJICF is working with childcare and children’s program providers to identify and build sustainable, long-term solutions.”
Although most recent efforts have been focused on fundraising for the Emergency Response Fund, SJICF and generous donor fund advisors also funded grants in the first 2020 regular grant cycle of 2020. These include:
- $4,166 to fund future English Language Learning/Child Enrichment classes at the SJI Library
- $3,910 to fund Wi-Fi Hotspots for lending from the SJI Library
- $5,000 to fund the Fresh Bucks food assistance program at the SJI Family Resource Center
- $2,500 to the SJI Agricultural Guild to fund the SJI Food Hub program
- $4,780 to the SJC Economic Development Council to fund a Plumbing Basics course
- $4,798 to Safe San Juans for critical service needs
- $4,100 to the ‘RoundTowner for expanded outreach and website upgrades
- $2,580 to the Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor for pet adoption software
- $2,000 to Alchemy Art Center for a Community Arts Assistance Fund
To contribute to the SJICF Emergency Response Fund, you can donate securely online at sjicf.org. Checks can be mailed to SJICF at P.O. Box 1352, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. For questions or grant requests, please contact Carrie Unpingco at 360-378-1001.
SJICF is dedicated to improving and enriching the quality of life on our island by encouraging philanthropy, growing an endowment for purposeful grants to community charitable organizations, and building partnerships that effectively connect donors with island nonprofit organizations and their projects. For more information, call 360-378-1001 or visit sjicf.org.