Submitted by the Madrona Institute.

The Madrona Institute has awarded $45,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations in its second year of grant-making based on revenues received from the sales of the San Juan Islands Special License Plate.

This year’s grantees include: $10,000 to the San Juan Islands Conservation District for their San Juan Islands Youth Conservation Corps program; $10,000 to the Madrona Institute for their Coast Salish Youth Stewardship Corps program; $5,000 to the Friends of the San Juans for their Youth Environmental Mentoring Program; $5,000 to the Alchemy Art Center for their Young Environmentalists Arts Intensive Program; $5,000 to the San Juan Islands Agricultural Guild for their Farm Heroes for Environmental Stewardship Program; $5,000 to Wild Orca for their San Juan Islands Naturalist Program; $5,000 to the Children of the Setting Sun Productions to support the creation of the indigenous film series and pilot episode “Canoe Journey.”

Awards are made on an annual basis for local projects and programs that support the conservation and stewardship of agricultural, cultural, historic, and natural resources in the islands, with emphasis on youth engagement. As expected, grantmaking has doubled since its first year in 2021 where $22,500 was awarded. We expect grant-making will continue to increase each year as plate sales increase across the county, region, and state. Purchasing a San Juan Islands Special License Plate is a great way to support stewardship in the San Juan Islands. For more information on the San Juan Islands Special License, please visit https://madrona.org. If you would like to stay informed of future grant opportunities please sign up for our newsletter at madrona.org/news.