FIRST FED FOUNDATION AWARDS $400,000 IN FALL GRANTS

Total Giving Since 2015 Surpasses $6 Million

Port Angeles, Washington – First Fed Foundation (formerly First Federal Community Foundation) announced today that it has awarded 22 organizations a total of $400,000 in funding in its fall grant cycle.

“The nonprofits receiving grants are bringing housing, help, and hope to community members in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties, and the city of Bellevue,” said Norm Tonina, President of First Fed Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“In this grant cycle, we focused our giving on several of the greatest needs in our communities, including averting homelessness, increasing the availability of and access to affordable housing, addressing food insecurity and the lack of childcare, and supporting opportunities to stimulate economic development,” continued Mr. Tonina.

“The Foundation is committed to supporting nonprofit, tribal, and government agencies that provide critical, timely assistance, while also building a brighter future. We are proud and privileged to partner with them in sustaining our communities,” noted Jan Simon, the Foundation’s Executive Director. “This fall’s contributions bring the Foundation’s giving in 2022 to $800,000, and grantmaking since 2015 to $6,101,500,” she continued.

Recipients of First Fed Foundation’s Fall 2022 grant awards are:

Assistance League of Bellingham: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide low-income and homeless students from seven Whatcom County school districts and The Lummi Nation with new shoes and clothing.

Clallam County Fire Protection District No. 4: $25,000 Community Development grant to purchase a gurney with a battery-operated lift capability, decreasing the risk of injury to volunteers and patients.

Clallam-Jefferson Pro Bono Lawyers: $25,000 Homelessness & Affordable Housing grant to provide legal advice and representation to low-income Clallam and Jefferson County renters who are at risk of losing their housing.

Eastside Legal Assistance Program: $25,000 Homelessness & Affordable Housing grant to provide legal advice and representation to Bellevue, Washington renters who are at risk of losing their housing.

Feiro Marine Life Center: $5,000 Community Support grant to support a hands-on education program for approximately 400 fourth-grade students from Crescent, Port Angeles, and Sequim school districts.

Field Arts & Event Hall: $50,000 Economic Development grant to underwrite the costs to achieve LEED Certification, resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs; reducing energy and water usage, emissions and waste; and lowering Clallam County’s exposure to toxins.

Financial Beginnings Washington: $5,000 Community Support grant to support free financial literacy programs for 1,000 youth and young adults in Clallam, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties.

Foster Hearts: $5,000 Community Support grant to underwrite costs for sports equipment, classes, lessons, school field trips, GED and graduation expenses, and more for Whatcom County foster children.

Kitsap Regional Library Foundation: $5,000 Community Support grant to fund backpacks, books and transportation so that more than 2,500 third-graders from 38 Kitsap County schools can connect with and visit their local library branch.

Kitsap Sexual Assault Center: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide emergency assistance for victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and other crimes in Jefferson and Kitsap Counties.

Kulshan Community Land Trust: $30,000 Homelessness & Affordable Housing grant to provide the support needed for 15 low- to moderate-income households in Whatcom County to purchase their own permanently affordable home.

Lutheran Community Services Northwest: $10,000 Community Support grant to provide basic needs assistance for 10-15 families, or 30-50 individuals in Clallam County who are low-income and homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Mercy Housing Northwest: $100,000 Homelessness & Affordable Housing grant to fund construction of Millworks Family Housing & Early Learning Center, 83 units of permanently affordable family housing, and a 6-classroom early learning center on Bellingham’s downtown waterfront.

New Day Ministry: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide individualized food and meals at no cost to elderly Kitsap County community members experiencing food insecurity.

New Image: $5,000 Community Support grant to purchase new and gently used plus-sized clothing and undergarments for donation to low-income and homeless women in Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap Counties.

RE Sources: $10,000 Community Support grant aimed at improving the lives of underserved and impoverished youth and adults in Whatcom County by providing individualized workforce and job seeker training, mentoring, and skills training to secure living-wage jobs.

Roxy Theater: $25,000 Economic Development grant to acquire Kitsap County’s Historic Roxy Theater, helping sustain its cultural, entertainment and economic development role in the redevelopment of downtown Bremerton.

Scarlet Road: $25,000 Homelessness & Affordable Housing grant to house victims of sex trafficking and their dependents in Kitsap County, and provide case management services that foster long-term stability.

South Kitsap Helpline: $5,000 Community Support grant to rent two temporary storage units so that Helpline can continue distributing nearly one million pounds of food annually to Port Orchard area residents.

Trinity United Methodist Church: $15,000 Community Support grant to replace the roof in the areas used by two preschool programs, making it safe, warm and dry, and helping address the critical lack of quality childcare in Jefferson County.

Whatcom Center for Early Learning: $7,500 Community Support grant to offer children with disabilities and developmental delays opportunities for socialization, developmental support, and peer learning, while providing their caregivers with information and support.

Whatcom Family YMCA: $7,500 Community Support grant to support the free delivery of quality food to more than 60 households weekly, mitigating the food insecurity crisis.

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About First Fed Foundation:

First Fed Foundation is a private charitable corporation that began making grants in 2015, thanks to a generous gift valued at nearly $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 the communities in which First Fed, the Foundation’s sole donor, operates full-service branches, the Foundation has contributed, since 2015, more than $6 million to the following funding priorities:

$1,531,300 to organizations addressing homelessness and the availability of and access to affordable housing;

$2,380,000 to community development projects;

$950,200 to organizations providing a wide array of necessary support to our communities;

$1,020,000 to efforts that stimulate and support economic development;

$220,000 to organizations that addressed hardships caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information, contact Jan Simon, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 360-417-3112 or visit firstfedfoundation.org/

About First Fed, the Foundation’s sole donor:

First Fed is a local community bank in Washington serving customers and communities since 1923, with 16 locations in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties. First Fed is a subsidiary of First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB), a holding company for the bank and other investments.

First Fed has a long history of investing in its local communities. With a vision of creating wellbeing and prosperity for its employees, customers, and communities, First Fed and First Fed Foundation contributed over $1.1 million to nonprofits in 2021. Also in 2021, First Fed employees donated 4,400 hours of volunteer service in the communities First Fed serves.

For more information, contact Jan Simon, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 360-417-3112.

While the world began to reopen in 2021 and we started adjusting to “the new normal,” for many of our friends and neighbors in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties, “normal” life involved great hardship and extreme difficulty.

The number of people in need of medical and mental health services, housing, and food grew exponentially, as did the need for emergency assistance to cover necessities such as utility bills, car maintenance, and childcare, as well as debilitating unforeseen expenses.

Additionally, the organizations that serve as lifelines for our communities found themselves challenged as never before. One nonprofit leader shared her experience, saying, “I have had the privilege of working with homeless families as an Executive Director for 12 years, and the past two years have been the hardest by an almost incomprehensible margin.”

In this annual report, we highlight the heroic organizations that helped our communities weather the storms of 2021, that envision a more hopeful future, and provide the tools and support to attain it. These nonprofits are creative, agile, resourceful, and resilient, and we are proud to have awarded them a total of $860,000 for projects and programs that sustained our communities with housing, help, and hope.

Click below to view the 2021 Annual Report:

FIRST FEDERAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION AWARDS 17 NONPROFITS A TOTAL OF $400,000 IN GRANTS

Total Giving Since 2015 Surpasses $5.7 Million

Port Angeles, Washington – First Federal Community Foundation today announced it has selected 17 nonprofit organizations that are enhancing the quality of life in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties to share a total of $400,000 in funding during its current spring grant cycle.

“Having received 44 applications totaling more than $1.6 million in funding requests, and with great need in our communities, the awards process was challenging,” said Norman J. Tonina, President of the Foundation’s Board of Directors.

“As our communities are still recovering from the toll of COVID, the Foundation focused its giving on supporting youth, veterans, families and the uninsured in the face of devastating health and financial impacts of the pandemic,” continued Mr. Tonina.

“We also supported innovative projects that are intended to stimulate economic recovery and sustainability, and efforts to expand access to housing and quality childcare,” said Jan Simon, Foundation Executive Director.

Recipients of First Federal Community Foundation’s Spring 2022 grant awards are:

Bainbridge Island Child Care Centers: $25,000 Community Development grant 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 Community Development grant to purchase the childcare facility and surrounding property on Yew Street in Bellingham, ensuring the expansion of affordable, quality childcare services.

Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship: $50,000 Economic Development grant 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.

College Success Foundation: $5,000 Community Support grant 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 Community Support grant 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.

Growing Veterans: $7,500 Community Support grant 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.

Housing Resources Bainbridge: $50,000 Affordable Housing grant 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.

Jefferson Teen Center: $5,000 Community Support grant to launch a new summer program and maintain programming for middle and high schoolers during the 2022-2023 school year.

North Olympic Foster Parent Association: $5,000 Community Support grant 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.

North Olympic Healthcare Network: $25,000 Community Development grant 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.

Northwest Maritime Center: $80,000 Economic Development grant 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 Economic Development grant 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 Angels: $5,000 Community Support grant 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.

Olympic College Foundation: $35,000 Economic Development grant to expand the Promise Program to an additional Kitsap County high school, so that 30 additional low-income students can complete their first year of college tuition-free.

Road2Home: $25,000 Affordable Housing grant 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.

The Coffee Oasis: $15,000 Community Support grant 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.

Vamos Outdoors Project: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide summer programs, in partnership with the Lynden and Bellingham School Districts, for 80 Latine, migrant, and multilingual youth.

Since it began making grants in 2015, the Foundation’s giving totals $5,701,500. 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, the Foundation has awarded grants to nonprofits, government and tribal organizations and school districts in the following funding priorities:

     $1,326,300 to organizations addressing homelessness and the availability of and access to affordable housing;

     $2,355,000 to community development projects;

     $855,200 to organizations providing a wide array of necessary support to our communities;

     $945,000 to efforts that stimulate and support economic development;

     $220,000 to organizations addressing hardships caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

About First Federal Community Foundation:

First Federal Community Foundation is a private charitable corporation that began making grants in 2015, thanks to a generous gift valued at nearly $12 million from the parent company of First Fed, when the bank was converted to a publicly traded company.

“Since 2015, First Federal Community Foundation has awarded more than $5.7 million to nonprofit, tribal, and government agencies in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties. The Foundation’s partnership with these dedicated organizations to bring resources to those in need has never been more crucial,” said Karen McCormick, Foundation Board Member.

About First Fed, the Foundation’s sole donor:

First Fed is a local community bank in Washington serving customers and communities since 1923, with 16 locations in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties. First Fed is a subsidiary of First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB), a holding company for the bank and other investments.

First Fed has a long history of investing in its local communities. With a vision of creating wellbeing and prosperity for its employees, customers, and communities, First Fed and First Federal Community Foundation contributed over $1.1 million to nonprofits in 2021. Also in 2021, First Fed employees donated 4,400 hours of volunteer service in the communities First Fed serves.

For more information, contact Jan Simon, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 360-417-3112

Thank you to the following publications for spreading the word about First Fed Foundation’s grant awards!

Peninsula Daily News May 23, 2022

Forks Forum May 26, 2022

Whatcom News May 29, 2022

Lynden Tribune June 1, 2022

My Clallam County June 3, 2022

Sequim Gazette June 3, 2022

Kitsap Daily News June 8, 2022

Radio interview with KONP’s Todd Ortloff, June 28, 2022, featuring Karen McCormick, the Foundation’s founding executive director and current board member, and the executive director of the Forks Food Bank, who has served in this volunteer capacity for 30 of the Food Bank’s 50 years:

FIRST FEDERAL COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 16 NONPROFIT GRANT RECIPIENTS

Total Giving Since 2015 Surpasses $5 Million

Port Angeles, Washington – First Federal Community Foundation today announced it has selected 16 nonprofit organizations to share a total of $392,500 in funding during its current grant cycle.

Foundation Executive Director, Jan Simon, described the fall grant recipients as “difference-making organizations in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties that bring hope and help to individuals and families in need.” These organizations provide housing, food, emergency cash assistance, medical and mental health services, and so much more, she said.

Including this fall grant cycle, the Foundation’s giving in 2021 will total $860,000, said Foundation Board President Norman J. Tonina. “We are proud to provide resources for these dedicated organizations that are serving as a lifeline and building brighter and better futures for our friends, neighbors, and communities,” he said.

Committed to improving the quality of life in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties, the Foundation has, in seven years of grantmaking, awarded more than $5.3 million in grants to nonprofits, government and tribal organizations, and school districts. Of that total, grant awards have been made in the following funding categories:

     $1,251,300 to organizations addressing homelessness and the availability of affordable housing;

     $2,280,000 to community development projects;

     $800,200 to organizations providing community support;

     $750,000 to efforts that support economic development;

     $220,000 to organizations addressing hardships caused and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fall 2021 Grant Recipients:

Dungeness Valley Health & Wellness Clinic/Sequim Free Clinic: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide free podiatric services to medically underserved, low-income patients in Clallam County.

East Jefferson Conference of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide vouchers for housing and utilities, groceries, transportation, and more for individuals and families in need.

Forks Community Food Bank: $25,000 Community Development grant to underwrite a portion of the wages of the Food Bank’s first—and only—employee, ensuring that it can continue serving as it has for the last 50 years; and fund the purchase of meat and dairy products for distribution to approximately 11,255 families in 2022.

Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County: $100,000 Affordable Housing grant to purchase 4.5 acres of property within Sequim city limits, on which Habitat will build 30-40 new, permanently affordable homes for ownership by Clallam County residents.

InvestED: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide emergency financial assistance for students of 50 secondary schools in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties.

Jefferson Healthcare Foundation: $30,000 Community Development grant to replace and upgrade a fleet of advanced life support defibrillators at Jefferson Healthcare Medical Center.

Master Gardener Foundation of Clallam County: $5,000 Community Support grant to replace the greenhouse, which is used to propagate, overwinter and maintain vegetable starts and tender plants grown to provide produce for local food banks.

North Kitsap Fishline: $7,500 Community Support grant for a refrigerated produce case for Fishline’s Healthy Foods Market, a Food Bank that has been operating continuously for more than 50 years and serving as many as 50 Kitsap County households per day, five days a week.

Parkview Services: $50,000 Affordable Housing grant to fund the Homeownership Program, providing no-cost, pre-purchase homebuyer education, housing counseling, and down payment assistance to low- and moderate-income people with intellectual or developmental disabilities in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties.

Peninsula Behavioral Health: $50,000 Affordable Housing grant to fund crucial renovations to the Arlene Engel Home in Port Angeles, an assisted living residence providing specialized care for vulnerable low-income residents with severe and persistent mental illness.

Peninsula College Foundation: $25,000 Economic Development grant for the Transitional Studies Computer Access Project, which will provide 58 laptops so that Clallam and Jefferson County students enrolled in the College’s GED and High School Diploma programs will have the tools needed to complete their studies and achieve their educational and professional goals.

Puget Sound Voyaging Society’s Community Boat Project: $30,000 Affordable Housing grant funding paid internships for local youth between the ages of 18-24, to learn life skills and carpentry while building tiny houses for the homeless of Jefferson County.

Soroptimist International of the Olympic Rainforest: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide for basic and targeted needs of low-income veterans, single moms and families, homeless adults and children, and women and children fleeing domestic violence in Clallam County.

The Benji Project: $5,000 Community Support grant to provide mindfulness-based stress management and emotional resiliency training to adolescent students in Jefferson County schools.

Western Washington University Foundation: $40,000 Economic Development grant to support a pilot project intended to deliver free technical assistance—including planning, operations, marketing, sales, government contracting, and more—to Hispanic, Asian, Indigenous, and Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs in Whatcom County.

Wild Bird Charity: $5,000 Community Support grant to support the Wild Bird Starfish Backpack Food Program in providing nutritious, kid-friendly, easy to prepare weekend meals for 350 children who qualify for free or reduced meals in school districts in Whatcom County.

About First Federal Community Foundation:

First Federal Community Foundation is a private charitable corporation that began making grants in 2015 thanks to a generous gift valued at nearly $12 million from the parent company of First Fed, when the bank was converted to a publicly traded company.

“Since 2015, First Federal Community Foundation has awarded more than $5.3 million to nonprofit, tribal, and government agencies in Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap and Whatcom Counties. The Foundation’s partnership with these dedicated organizations to bring resources to those in need has never been more crucial,” said Karen McCormick, Foundation Board Member.

About First Fed, the Foundation’s sole donor:

First Fed is a local community bank, serving customers and communities since 1923, with 13 locations in Clallam, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, and Whatcom Counties. First Fed is a subsidiary of First Northwest Bancorp (FNWB), a holding company for the bank and other investments.

In 2020, First Fed bank and foundation donated over $1 million to nonprofit organizations and First Fed’s team volunteered over 2,400 hours with nonprofits.

For more information, contact Jan Simon, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 360-417-3112.