Organizations Funded to Date
Strengthening Our Communities Since 2015
First Fed Foundation (formerly First Federal Community Foundation), a private charitable corporation, began making grants in 2015, thanks to a generous gift valued at $12 million from the parent company of First Fed, when the bank was converted to a publicly traded company.
Committed to creating broad impact that benefits low- to moderate-income, disadvantaged, and/or marginalized persons or families in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, and the city of Bellevue, the Foundation has awarded, from 2015 through Spring 2024, $7,001,500 in grants to nonprofits, government and tribal organizations and school districts in the following funding priorities:
$1,844,300 to organizations addressing homelessness and the availability of and access to affordable housing;
$2,650,000 to community development projects;
$1,162,200 to organizations providing a wide array of critical, life-enhancing support to our communities;
$1,125,000 to efforts that stimulate and support economic development;
$220,000 to organizations that addressed hardships caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For a full list of grants awarded since our inception in 2015, click here.
2024 Contributions
Housing & Homelessness Grants:
Bellevue LifeSpring: $25,000 to provide one month of rent support to 10 low-income families, including approximately 25 children, helping them remain housed and avoid/prevent eviction.
Lummi Nation Service Organization: $25,000 to fund the green elements including a water capturing/recycling system that feeds the on-site laundry facilities of the Lummi Nation’s Eagle Haven Tiny Home Village in Whatcom County, comprised of 24 new one-bedroom units of permanent supportive housing for single and coupled individuals who struggle to be successfully housed.
Olympic Housing Trust: $25,000 for construction of the Dundee Hill project, five permanently affordable, two- and three-bedroom townhomes that provide home ownership opportunities for first-time buyers earning between 50% – 80% AMI from Clallam and Jefferson Counties.
Peninsula Behavioral Health: $25,000 to support construction of 36 permanent, affordable, supportive housing units for chronically homeless individuals and families in Port Angeles.
Community Development Grants:
Council of the Olympic Peninsula of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: $35,000 to provide emergency financial assistance to impoverished and vulnerable individuals, seniors, and families in Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties to help avert utility shutoffs and eviction, address critical transportation needs, and minimize homelessness.
Mariposa House: $25,000 to make critical repairs to the offices where staff deliver counseling services to victims of domestic violence and other crimes.
Economic Development Grants:
Community Boat Project: $25,000 to support Shelter from the Storm, providing paid internships for local 18- to 24-year-olds to learn life skills and carpentry while building tiny houses for the homeless of Jefferson County.
OWL360: $25,000 to fund Workforce Development and Education programs which engage over 235 Jefferson County young people annually, starting with career awareness for all 9th graders and culminating in paid work experiences and post-secondary educational opportunities.
RE Sources: $25,000 to expand the Community Jobs Training Program to prepare 30 Whatcom homeless youth, single and low-income parents, veterans, disabled, recently incarcerated, and/or LGBTQ and BIPOC individuals to secure full-time living wage jobs with benefits, by providing individualized workforce and job seeker training, one-on-one mentoring, and coaching.
Community Support Grants:
Bellingham Public Schools Foundation: $7,500 to provide basic household furniture and supplies to more than 100 Bellingham families with young children as they transition out of homelessness and into more stable long-term housing.
Bremerton Foodline: $10,000 to provide low-income women and children with the hygiene products they need and cannot afford to purchase.
Cascade Connections: $5,000 to make an Interviewing Skills Workshop financially accessible for up to 40 jobseekers with disabilities, helping them navigate social, professional, and economic barriers related to employment.
College Success Foundation: $5,000 to provide emergency grants to Clallam and Kitsap County high school students from low-income families and other high-need groups to help alleviate urgent financial hardships.
Ferndale Community Service Cooperative: $5,000 to purchase and provide emergency and basic hygiene supplies to approximately 450 low-income and house-less North Whatcom County neighbors.
Financial Beginnings: $5,000 to underwrite a portion of the Financial Foundations program, providing Clallam, Kitsap, and Whatcom County youth and young adults with a free, detailed introduction to key financial concepts and resources.
OurGEMS (Our Girls Empowered through Mentoring and Service): $5,000 to help provide a new laptop and headphones to 52 graduating youth from low- to moderate-income and underrepresented families in Bremerton, North Kitsap, Central Kitsap, South Kitsap, and Bainbridge Island school districts.
The Benji Project: $7,500 to deliver evidence-based mindfulness and self-compassion practices to as many as 500 Jefferson County students during the 2024-2025 school year, helping them improve their overall well-being, learn to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and other challenges, and stay engaged in their education.
Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center: $10,000 to support the Housing Stability Program, which reduces evictions and averts homelessness by providing free mediation services to tenants and landlords.
Winter Welcoming Center: $5,000 to help fund the Winter Welcoming Center, a frontline outreach that offers a warm and hospitable space seven mornings a week, holidays included, during the cold months of the year, for those in Jefferson County in need of shelter.
2023 Contributions
Housing & Homelessness Grants Awarded:
Habitat for Humanity in Whatcom County: $50,000 to fund construction of the first eight townhomes in Mateo Meadows, a 3.48-acre, 30-townhome, mixed-income community in Everson, building a pathway to homeownership for eligible families with approximately 32 parents and kids, earning between 30% AMI – 130% AMI.
Housing Connector: $25,000 to expand tech-for-good housing solutions to Bellevue, Washington, increasing access to affordable, dignified private-market rentals, making permanent housing available to those who are housing unstable or experiencing homelessness.
Kitsap Legal Services: $25,000 for additional attorney representation and support staff to provide free legal assistance and representation to low-income tenants at risk of losing their housing.
Lydia Place: $33,000 to expand the capacity to meet the growing need for housing case management services for individuals and families fleeing domestic violence in Whatcom County.
Serenity House of Clallam County: $30,000 to purchase a vehicle for the West End Housing Resource Center, giving the Forks-based Coordinated Entry housing specialist greater outreach capabilities to serve more of Clallam County’s low-income and homeless population.
YWCA Bellingham: $50,000 to purchase and rehabilitate the Garden Street Apartments, providing 11 permanent, affordable housing units and intensive case management services for chronically homeless women with mental, physical and/or behavioral health disabilities.
Community Development Grants Awarded:
Bellevue Schools Foundation: $25,000 to provide tuition assistance for 25-35 low-income and/or homeless students, ages 3-5, to attend preschool for a full school day or extended workday.
Bellingham Food Bank: $25,000 to provide people who are menstruating with the period support products they need and cannot afford to purchase.
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula: $25,000 to increase participation and enhance academic, leadership, and career readiness programs for Clallam County tweens and teens during a critical stage in their development.
Camp Beausite Northwest: $25,000 to create and deliver four new weekend programs that provide opportunities for social, behavioral, educational, and life skills development for 96 people with special needs from Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties.
Forks Community Food Bank: $25,000 to support the food bank in providing milk, eggs, butter, and bread to the more than 16,000 families, children, and elderly clients annually.
Olympic Medical Center Foundation: $35,000 to provide more low-income patients undergoing cancer treatment with support for rent, utilities, medication, transportation, lodging, and other essentials.
Olympic Peninsula YMCA: $25,000 to purchase an outdoor, walk-in cooler to store perishable food used to provide nearly 3,000 food boxes to as many as 175 food-insecure East Jefferson County families during spring, summer, and winter non-school days.
Port Angeles Food Bank: $25,000 to increase the quality and variety of food included in Friday Food Bags, which provide food to 300+ Port Angeles School District students every weekend during the school year.
Economic Development Grant Awarded:
Center for Sustainable Infrastructure: $30,000 to support the development of an inclusive, community-driven vision and strategy for establishing a Natural Resource Innovation Center that drives the creation of jobs, particularly those paying a “prosperity wage” of $26+ per hour for 25-54-year-olds in Clallam and Jefferson Counties; and resulting in a Roadmap that positions the Natural Resource Innovation Cluster to submit compelling, well-considered requests for implementation funding from private, state, and federal programs.
Community Support Grants Awarded:
Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network: $5,000 to support the free monthly Teen Night program, which offers confidence-building, creative, and social opportunities for 60 to 80 youth throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
Captain Joseph House Foundation: $10,000 to provide 15 surviving spouses, parents, and children of fallen service members from Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties with six days of respite and support, strengthening bonds, creating new memories, and connecting with others experiencing similar loss.
Cares of Washington: $7,500 to fund Community Inclusion and Employment Services for ten new clients to become involved in their communities, develop relevant work skills, secure employment, and build financial and personal independence and self-sufficiency.
Catholic Community Services of Western Washington: $5,000 to help 10-20 low- and fixed-income seniors in Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties remain safely in their homes by funding the purchase of materials to construct ramps, rails, and grab bars, installed at no cost by a team of volunteers.
Clallam Mosaic: $12,000 to renovate and upgrade Clallam Mosaic’s new, permanent home with an ADA-compliant bathroom and front door, making programs accessible for those living with intellectual and developmental disabilities and mobility issues.
Dove House Advocacy Services: $7,500 to support the Emergency Food & Supplies Project, providing basic necessities to Jefferson County victims of crime and abuse who are in recovery and/or experiencing crisis, so they can focus on healing and rebuilding healthy, hopeful, and self-sufficient lives.
East Jefferson County Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: $7,500 to respond to the emergency needs of individuals and families who have nowhere else to turn, helping them meet their most basic needs and providing support that can help them keep their homes and jobs, and avoid homelessness.
Ginger’s Closet & Disaster Relief: $15,000 to provide individuals and families in Forks who are experiencing disaster and crisis with emergency financial aid; and make repairs and upgrades to the new, donated facility so that it is safe and accessible for use by Forks’ residents.
Helen Haller Elementary School: $5,000 to help fund the Books for Summer reading program, which provides six self-selected books at no cost to all 500 students, helping to prevent the academic skills slide which commonly occurs during summer break and close the achievement gap for students in families who are experiencing economic hardship.
Jefferson County Immigration Rights Advocates: $5,000 to provide low-income Clallam and Jefferson County immigrant individuals and families, many of whom live in severe poverty and work only seasonal jobs, with financial help for food, rent assistance, car repair, medical bills, and more.
Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts: $5,000 to support the free Music in the Schools program, connecting 2,000 K-12 students, their parents, and teachers from school districts in Clallam and Jefferson Counties with workshops, performances, and outreach from national touring artists.
Kathleen Sutton Fund: $5,000 to support women living in Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties with the transportation costs incurred in their treatment for cancer.
Kitsap Cancer Services: $7,500 to provide 20 patients undergoing cancer treatment with grants for transportation, medications and medical specialty items, copays, pre-treatment emergency dental care, groceries, rent, utilities, and other basic needs.
Kitsap Immigrant Assistance Center: $5,000 to support the Emergency Assistance Fund, providing rent and food assistance to immigrant families unable to access other assistance options.
Max Higbee Center: $5,000 to increase Weekday Program staff in order to provide a higher level of support and care to the current 146 participants who are living with developmental disabilities in Whatcom County.
Morningside: $10,000 to support the growth and expansion of the Pre-Employment Transition Services for high school students with disabilities in Clallam and Jefferson Counties, helping them identify and prepare to achieve their employment goals and make a more successful and seamless transition into adulthood.
National Alliance on Mental Illness of Whatcom County: $5,000 to underwrite a portion of a bilingual Community Outreach Specialist in engaging members of the Latinx community in taking part in no-cost mental wellness initiatives.
Operation Homefront Inc.: $5,000 to support the Back-to-School Brigade, providing backpacks and school supplies to 350 military children in Kitsap County.
Port Townsend Marine Science Center: $5,000 to support more than 200 low- and middle-income K-12 students from Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties to participate in science education, increasing learning opportunities, improving science literacy, and inspiring careers in science and an ethic of stewardship.
Wild Bird Charity: $10,000 to cover the cost of providing 3,000 of the 25,000 weekend bags of food –each one containing six meals and snacks– for distribution to 750+ Whatcom County kids experiencing food insecurity during the 2023-2024 school year.
YMCA Pierce and Kitsap Counties: $5,000 to support the YMCA’s swim program, which provides free transportation and swim lessons to all 600+ third grade students in the Bremerton School District.
2022 Contributions
Housing & Homelessness Grants Awarded:
Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers: $25,000 to provide legal advice and representation to low-income Clallam and Jefferson County renters who are at risk of losing their housing and having an eviction on their record, making it nearly impossible to find safe, affordable housing in the future.
Eastside Legal Assistance Program: $25,000 to provide legal services to 60 individuals facing civil legal problems that impact the stability of their housing in Bellevue in 2023.
Housing Resources Bainbridge: $50,000 to support 31 households with approximately 65 individuals to become owners of new, permanently affordable homes located on Bainbridge Island, near shopping, schools and parks.
Kulshan Community Land Trust: $30,000 to provide the support necessary for approximately 15 low- to moderate-income households in Whatcom County to purchase affordable homes of their own in 2023-2024.
Mercy Housing Northwest: $100,000 to fund construction of Millworks Family Housing & Early Learning Center, 83 units of permanently affordable family housing and a 6-classroom early learning center in Bellingham’s downtown waterfront.
Road2Home: $25,000 to provide six months of funding for the Allyship Program, assisting those living on the streets in Bellingham with navigating social services, developing sustainable life skills, and providing support for healthcare, transportation and emergencies.
Scarlet Road: $25,000 to house 12 or more victims of sex trafficking and their dependents in Kitsap County in 2023 with a flexible rental assistance program, while supporting long-term stability through wraparound case management.
Community Development Grants Awarded:
Bainbridge Island Child Care Centers: $25,000 to fund capital improvements, allowing the Center to continue its programs at its current rates in a safe and secure facility.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County: $25,000 to purchase the childcare facility and surrounding property on Yew Street in Bellingham, ensuring the expansion of affordable, quality childcare services.
Clallam County Fire Protection District No. 4: $25,000 to fully fund the purchase of a gurney with a battery-operated lift capability, decreasing the risk of injury to volunteers and patients.
North Olympic Healthcare Network: $25,000 to support the renovation of the new Eastside Health Clinic, which provides community members, regardless of ability to pay, with full-spectrum primary care, behavioral health services and nurse care management, expanded COVID testing/vaccination and telehealth capacity, and eye care services.
Community Support Grants Awarded:
Assistance League of Bellingham: $5,000 to support Operation School Bell, with the goal of improving confidence and encouraging school attendance by providing low-income and homeless students from seven Whatcom County school districts and The Lummi Nation with new clothing and shoes, so they can focus on school and not their need for basic clothing.
College Success Foundation: $5,000 to provide emergency funding to low-income students in Port Angeles and Bremerton, helping to stabilize their families and supporting them to stay on track in school.
Communities In Schools of Whatcom-Skagit: $7,500 to provide clothing, school supplies, personal care items, learning resources, counseling support and more to 4,000+ students of five middle and high schools in the Bellingham and Ferndale school districts.
Feiro Marine Life Center: $5,000 to support a place-based, hands-on experiential education program for approximately 400 students from 18 fourth grade public, homeschool, and alternative classes from Crescent, Port Angeles, and Sequim districts.
Financial Beginnings Washington: $5,000 to fund the delivery of the free Financial Foundations program to 1,000 youth and young adults in Clallam, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, providing detailed information on key financial concepts and resources intended to increase financial literacy, stability, and independence.
Foster Hearts: $5,000 to provide 100 children in foster care in Whatcom County with funding for sports fees, athletic equipment, classes/lessons, school field trips, GED fees, high school graduation expenses, and more, so that they’re able to participate in extracurricular activities during the 2022-2023 school year.
Growing Veterans: $7,500 to refurbish the damaged hoop house and procure accessible tools and equipment, increasing the sustainability and impact of the Dirt Therapy Program and donations to Whatcom County food banks.
Jefferson Teen Center: $5,000 to launch a new summer program and maintain programming for middle and high schoolers during the 2022-2023 school year.
Kitsap Regional Library Foundation: $5,000 to fund the purchase of backpacks, books and transportation so that more than 2,500 third-graders from 38 Kitsap County schools can connect with their local library branch, get excited about all the library offers, and feel supported during the developmental milestone of transitioning from learning to read to reading to learning.
Kitsap Sexual Assault Center: $5,000 to provide emergency assistance for 165 victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes in Jefferson and Kitsap Counties in 2023.
Lutheran Community Services Northwest: $10,000 to support the Healthy Families Project, providing basic needs assistance, eviction mitigation, financial education, and employment support to 10-15 families, or 30-50 individuals in Clallam County who are low-income and homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, in 2023.
New Day Ministry: $5,000 to provide individualized food and meals at no cost to elderly Kitsap County community members experiencing food insecurity.
North Olympic Foster Parent Association: $5,000 to provide backpacks, school supplies, gifts for the Magical Gift Program and items for the Annual Holiday Dinner, to support Clallam County’s foster children and foster families.
Olympic Angels: $5,000 to recruit and match 16 or more community volunteers with Clallam and Jefferson County foster kids and their foster families, providing long-term mentorships, relationships and support.
RE Sources: $10,000 aimed at improving the lives of underserved and impoverished youth and adults in Whatcom County, funding will support the recruitment of eight to ten trainees and provide them with individualized workforce and job seeker training, one-on-one mentoring, and coaching to collectively design and build reclaimed and upcycled products and secure living-wage jobs in 2023.
South Kitsap Helpline: $5,000 to rent two temporary storage units so that Helpline can continue distributing nearly one million pounds of food to Port Orchard area residents in 2023, while undertaking a capital campaign to build a new, larger and better-equipped food distribution and service center.
The Coffee Oasis: $15,000 to respond to the Surgeon General’s December 2021 Advisory stating that “the effect of COVID on the mental health of America’s adolescents has been devastating,” by providing staff to reach out to and support 300 youth in crisis in Kitsap County.
Trinity United Methodist Church: $15,000 to fund the roof replacement for the areas used by two preschool programs, making it safe, warm and dry, without passing along the costs to the families being served.
Vamos Outdoors Project: $5,000 to provide summer programs, in partnership with the Lynden and Bellingham School Districts, for 80 Latine, migrant, and multilingual youth.
Whatcom Center for Early Learning: $7,500 to offer children with disabilities and developmental delays, ages 0-3, opportunities for socialization, developmental support and peer learning, helping them live to their fullest potential, and provide their caregivers with skills, information and support.
Whatcom Family YMCA: $7,500 to help fund the free food delivery program which will, in 2023, deliver 62 boxes of quality food each week, mitigating the dire food insecurity crisis sweeping through Whatcom County.
Working Image dba New Image: $5,000 to purchase new and gently-used plus-sized clothing and undergarments for donation to 40 to 50 women in Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties who are unable to adequately clothe themselves because of unemployment, underemployment, homelessness, or other factors, including fleeing domestic violence.
Economic Development Grants Awarded:
Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship: $50,000 to support up to 60 underserved Clallam and Jefferson County entrepreneurs in starting small businesses that will generate revenue, create jobs and contribute to a more equitable, sustainable, and resilient community.
Northwest Maritime Center: $80,000 to help fund the pilot year of expanded fleet operations, supporting workforce development opportunities for Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap County youth, and stimulating economic development and enhancing visitor experiences in Port Townsend’s business districts.
Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding: $30,000 funding a dedicated Financial Aid Officer to help incoming classes access federal student aid, veterans’ benefits, third-party scholarships, and other sources of tuition assistance, creating access to workforce skills for students from Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap Counties.
Olympic College Foundation: $35,000 to provide nearly 50 low-income students with emergency financial support, and tuition and fees so that they can complete their second year of higher education.
Port Angeles Waterfront Center dba Field Arts & Event Hall: $50,000 to fund the costs associated with achieving LEED Certification, which will lower operating and maintenance costs by as much as 20% compared to typical commercial buildings, reduce energy use, emissions and waste, conserve water, prioritize safer materials, lower the community’s exposure to toxins, and qualify Field Hall for several large grants from Washington State.
Roxy Bremerton Foundation dba Historic Roxy Theater: $25,000 to complete the acquisition of the Historic Roxy Theater and sustain its cultural, entertainment and economic development role in the redevelopment of downtown Bremerton/4th Street as Quincy Square.
For a full list of grants awarded since our inception in 2015, click here.
