The Whatcom Community Foundation, and your local Pepsi distributor Walton Beverage are teaming up and giving away $26,000 in charitable grants to refresh and improve our local communities and the lives of those around us. We’re asking our community; "what do you care about?” Whether it’s helping to fund a local health care initiative, starting an education program with the School District, or stocking a local food bank, Walton Beverage and the Whatcom Community Foundation are committed to the communities we serve and the individuals who live here. All information, including the grant application which must be submitted by July 15th, may be found at www.waltonbeverage.com/localrefresh. Don’t forget to look for the in-store entry program for a chance to win a $250 donation on behalf of YOU for the charity of your choice in Skagit or Whatcom County! Ballots can be found at the Pepsi display at any Cost Cutter, Food Pavilion, or the Markets, LLC stores.

In today’s difficult economic times, thousands of families in Whatcom County are struggling with job losses, dwindling savings, and foreclosures or evictions. At the same time, many local nonprofit organizations in the community are experiencing a number of growing and changing pressures on their services as well. In order to assess the economic impact on the nonprofit sector, the Whatcom Funders Alliance, a local coalition of public and private funding partners, has organized a survey.  The Alliance would like to gain a better understanding of the effect the economic downturn is having on the local nonprofit community.  All non-profit organizations in Whatcom County are invited to take the survey which is available from June 25th -July 16th.  To take this survey, please click here. We’ve also attached a (PDF) of the survey so that you may read the questions in advance to prepare your answers for the survey shown on the link.  Results of the survey will be shared with the community along with local, regional and national funders.  For a full press release on the survey please click here.

Fundraising for the Holden & Phoebe Goodell Judson statue, a Foundation fiscal sponsorship, is in full swing. The bronze replica of the Lynden founders (Holden standing behind his wife Phoebe, seated at a park bench), will be installed in front of Lynden’s newly constructed City Hall. A plaque near the statue will describe the interconnection between the Judson, Goodell, Allyn and Roeder families, beginning with their 1850s migration along the Oregon Trail to Northwest Washington. The Judsons eventually settled in the area would become Lynden while the Roeder family was prominent in Bellingham history. For more information on this exciting project click here.