Help has arrived for struggling Orcas families.
The Orcas Island Community Foundation announced today they received $30,000 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Orcas Island Community Foundation, or OICF, had been working on their grant application since August. When OICF executive director Hilary Canty heard the news, she was delighted.
“It’s very exciting to be able to make an impact on your community,” Canty told the Islands’ Sounder.
OICF has never received a Gates grant before.
The grant will address growing and urgent needs for local families facing economic challenges and other setbacks as a result of the recession.
According to OICF, many Orcas families are currently struggling with job losses, dwindling savings, and challenging housing issues. At the same time, many of the non-profit organizations serving these families are confronted with a growing demand for services.
Aware of these impacts, the Gates Foundation addressed three specific areas for this targeted grant-making process: to help island non-profits connect residents to existing assistance, to provide more food and support for struggling families, and to prevent and reduce family violence.
OICF is using the grant to fully fund four projects that met the grant criteria. These are Orcas Family Connections, Kaleidoscope preschool, and the Readiness to Learn offered through the Orcas Island School District and Farm to Cafeteria, an Orcas Island Education Foundation program. The organizations were vetted and rated high priority during OICF’s spring community grant cycle, but were not fully funded at that time.
The current economic recession has had a significant impact on low-income families on Orcas.
Kaleidoscope preschool has seen a 29 percent increase in low-income working family enrollment. This has had a significant impact on their program, since the state’s reimbursement rate is less than Kaleidoscope’s cost to provide services. Many families have been unable to keep up with their tuition. This Gates Foundation grant will allow Kaleidoscope to continue to serve these families.
Director Amber Paulsen knew going into this year that the state of the economy and fewer donations would impact the Kaleidoscope budget, but when she put together the numbers, it was much worse than she had anticipated.
“Kaleidoscope is accustomed to experiencing shortfalls in our budget. Those are absorbed internally. We were hit harder than we anticipated and we were uncertain how to make everything balance out in the end. This grant in particular will help absorb some of that shortfall that we experience without impacting the quality of service that we’re able to provide,” Paulsen said.
Similarly, Orcas Family Connections, or OFC, has had a significant reduction in state funding and an increase in the number of families seeking services. OFC provides home visits and connects families with young children to services, parenting support, and literacy programs.
Readiness to Learn will use the financial support to address barriers to learning for students and families.
Farm to Cafeteria will receive funds to continue providing local food and nutritional education through the school district.
The new grant to OICF is one of 12 grants announced today by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in response to the growing needs of communities throughout Washington State. Nine additional community foundations are receiving funding to increase support services for low-income families in their communities.
“As the smallest of the organizations that received them, it is a great honor for us,” Canty said.
OICF expressed gratitude to the Gates Foundation for supporting families in need on Orcas Island and is pleased to be recognized as a steward to the Orcas community.
For more information about OICF visit www.oicf.us. To learn more about the Gates Foundation’s work in Washington state, visit www.gatesfoundation.org/washington.
