Thirteen Local Nonprofits Receive $300,500 in Gifts

Port Angeles, WA, May 2, 2016– First Federal Community Foundation (the Foundation) announces the following grant awards to local nonprofits that are making a difference in their communities:

• Assistance League of Bellingham: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant for Operation School Bell, to provide school clothes to children from low income families.
• Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers: Awarded $5,500 Community Support grant to support drop-in civil legal aid for low income clients.
• Easter Seals Washington-Olympic Peninsula Autism Center: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant to purchase therapeutic equipment for Silverdale center.
• First Step Family Support Center: Awarded $20,000 Community Support grant to fund volunteer coordinator to build volunteer program and expand capacity in Clallam County.
• Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant to sponsor Juan de Fuca Festival of the Arts performances for youth.
• Northwind Arts Center: Awarded $10,000 Community Support grant to provide summer educational scholarships for children from low income families in Jefferson County.
• Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County: Awarded $50,000 Affordable Housing grant for Neighborhood Revitalization Program.
• New Life Community Development Agency: Awarded $50,000 Economic Development challenge grant for construction of the Birkenfeld Economic Empowerment Center in Bremerton.
• Camp Beausite Northwest: Awarded $25,000 Community Development challenge grant for completion of Phase III of facilities expansion program, expanding the agency’s capacity to serve people with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities throughout the region.
• Captain Joseph House Foundation: Awarded a matching Community Development grant with a maximum of $25,000 for capital improvements to the Captain Joseph House in Port Angeles.
• Central Kitsap Food Bank: Awarded $25,000 Community Development grant for purchase of a new box truck.
• Olympic Peninsula YMCA: Awarded $25,000 Community Development grant for start-up capital for the Sequim YMCA (formerly SARC).
• Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics (VIMO): Awarded $50,000 Community Development grant for expansion of the agency’s dental services.

“We are pleased to announce these gifts to organizations that are improving the quality of life in our communities,” said Foundation board chairman David Flodstrom. “First Federal is proud of its legacy of giving back to the communities it serves.”

The Foundation’s next open application period will begin on July 1, 2016. Interested parties can access grant guidelines and the grant application form via the Foundation’s website at www.firstfedcf.org.

About the First Federal Community Foundation:  First Federal Community Foundation is a private 501(c)3 charitable corporation funded with a gift of cash and stock from First Northwest Bancorp, the parent company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Angeles. The Foundation provides funding for community support, affordable housing, economic development and community development in communities where First Federal operates a full-service branch.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Karen McCormick at 360-417-3112 or email at karen.mccormick@firstfedcf.org.

“Bank Shares its Legacy”

Peninsula Daily News, February 21, 2016

(Click on photo for full article)

Fifteen Local Nonprofits Receive $300,000 in Gifts

Port Angeles, WA, November 19, 2015– First Federal Community Foundation (the Foundation) announces the following grant awards to local nonprofits that are making a difference in their communities:

• Joyce Community Education Foundation: Awarded $5,000 Community Support Challenge Grant for equipment and safety renovations for Crescent School’s weight training program.
• Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe: Awarded $5,000 Community Support Challenge Grant for “Communities Together Through Art” youth program in Port Angeles.
• Sequim Senior Services-Shipley Center: Awarded $5,000.00 Community Support grant for “Healthy Aging for All” program.
• Feiro Marine Life Center: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant for volunteer training programs in Port Angeles.
• Olympic View Community Foundation: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant for Alliance for Leadership (ALP) Excelerator Program in Clallam County.
• The Answer For Youth: Awarded $10,000 Community Support grant for services to homeless and at-risk youth and young families in Clallam County.
• Ecumenical Christian Helping Hands Organization (ECHHO): Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant as matching funds for a WSDOT grant to support ECHHO’s volunteer transportation program in Jefferson County.
• Sequim Family Advocates: Awarded $5,000 Community Support Challenge Grant for a new public recreational facility at Carrie Blake Park sponsored by the Sequim Picklers.
• North Olympic Salmon Coalition: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant for the agency’s “Real Learning Real Work” educational programs in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
• Seeds of Grace: Awarded $5,000 Community Support grant for construction of organic gardens in Kitsap County that provide fresh produce for low-income and disadvantaged families through partnerships with other local agencies and food banks.
• Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County: Awarded $50,000 Affordable Housing grant for construction of a Habitat for Humanity home in Port Townsend’s Birkenfeld Community.
• Port Townsend School of Woodworking: Awarded $30,000 Economic Development grant for capital improvements, new equipment, and vocation program development.
• Fort Worden Public Development Agency: Awarded $25,000 Community Development grant for renovation to residential buildings at Fort Worden State Park.
• Olympic Peninsula YMCA: Awarded $70,000 Community Development grant for new Jefferson County YMCA facility capital campaign.
• Harrison Medical Center Foundation: Awarded $70,000 Community Development grant for “Touching Hearts, Saving Lives” program.

“We are pleased to announce these gifts to organizations that are improving the quality of life in our communities,” said Foundation board chairman David Flodstrom. “First Federal is proud of its legacy of giving back to the communities it serves.”

The Foundation’s next open application period will begin on January 1, 2016. Interested parties can access grant guidelines and the grant application form via the Foundation’s website at www.firstfedcf.org.

About the First Federal Community Foundation:  First Federal Community Foundation is a private 501(c)3 charitable corporation funded with a gift of cash and stock from First Northwest Bancorp, the parent company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Angeles. The Foundation provides funding for community support, affordable housing, economic development and community development in communities where First Federal operates a full-service branch.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Karen McCormick at 360-417-3112 or email at karen.mccormick@firstfedcf.org.

Ten Local Nonprofits Receive $441,300 in Gifts Awarded by New Foundation.

Port Angeles, WA, August 5, 2015– First Federal Community Foundation (the Foundation) announces the following grant awards to local nonprofits that are making a difference in their communities:

• Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County: Awarded a $10,000 challenge grant for renovation of Hospice House facility in Port Angeles.
• Boys and Girls Club of the Olympic Peninsula: Awarded $10,000 for the Summer Lunch Program, which provides free nutritious meals and snacks at ten locations in the Port Angeles and Sequim school districts.
• Quilcene Historical Museum: Awarded $5,000 for improvements to the historic Hamilton-Worthington House in Quilcene.
• North Olympic Regional Veteran’s Housing Network (“Sarge’s Place”) Awarded $31,300 for improvements to Sol Duc House in Forks.
• Habitat for Humanity of Clallam County: Awarded $50,000 for materials to construct two homes in Port Angeles and Forks.
• Dungeness River Audubon Society: Awarded $100,000 for replacement of the stringers and decking on the Dungeness River Railroad Bridge in Sequim.
• Matthew Lutheran Church: Awarded a $25,000 challenge grant for kitchen upgrades to build capacity for the free community meals program in Port Angeles.
• Northwest Maritime Center on behalf of the Maritime Discovery Schools Initiative: Awarded $75,000 for ongoing curriculum development as part of the Port Townsend School District’s Maritime Discovery Schools Initiative.
• Centrum Foundation: Awarded $35,000 for purchase and construction of a new stage for McCurdy Pavilion at Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend.
• Kitsap Regional Library Foundation: Awarded a $100,000 challenge grant for purchase of land for the new Central Kitsap library facility in Silverdale.

“We are pleased to announce these inaugural gifts to organizations that are making a difference in our communities,” said Foundation board chairman David Flodstrom. “It is clear that First Federal’s legacy of making meaningful gifts to its communities is a vital part of its contemporary identity and mission.”

The Foundation is currently accepting applications for its next round of funding. The deadline for submission of grant applications for this funding period is September 1, 2015. Interested parties can access grant guidelines and the grant application form via the Foundation’s website at www.firstfedcf.org.

About the First Federal Community Foundation:  First Federal Community Foundation is a private 501(c)3 charitable corporation funded with a gift of cash and stock from First Northwest Bancorp, the parent company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Angeles. The Foundation provides funding for community support, affordable housing, economic development and community development in communities where First Federal operates a full-service branch.

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If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Karen McCormick at 360.417.3112 or email at karen.mccormick@firstfedcf.org.

First Federal Community Foundation today announced that it will begin accepting applications for grants in July of this year. The 501(c)3 private charitable corporation was funded with a gift of $400,000 in cash and 933,360 shares of stock in First Northwest Bancorp, the parent company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Angeles, upon the bank’s conversion to a public company in January 2015. As of March 31, the value of First Federal’s gift to its foundation exceeded twelve million dollars.

“We are pleased to announce that we are open for business,” said Foundation president David Flodstrom. “With this generous gift, the Foundation will build upon First Federal’s legacy of giving back to the communities it serves.”

The Foundation will accept applications from communities in which First Federal operates a full-service branch, which currently includes Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties.  Grants will be considered for proposals that conform to one or more of the Foundation’s four giving priorities: Community Support, Affordable Housing, Economic Development and Community Development.

“We are very excited about the Foundation’s potential,” said Foundation executive director Karen McCormick, formerly the President and CEO of First Federal. “Of particular interest to us is the opportunity to collaborate with others who are making a difference locally, and bring additional resources to projects and programs that will enhance the quality of life for all of us.”

Additional information, including grant guidelines, contact information and a downloadable application, is available on the Foundation’s website at https://firstfedcf.org.

About the First Federal Community Foundation:  First Federal Community Foundation is a private 501(c)3 charitable corporation funded with a gift of cash and stock from First Northwest Bancorp, the parent company of First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Port Angeles. The Foundation provides funding for community support, affordable housing, economic development and community development in communities where First Federal operates a full-service branch.