The Whatcom Community Foundation Youth Philanthropy Program (YPP) was created for students to engage in experiential based learning opportunities that foster leadership, technical and critical thinking skills. YPP connects youth to the community through charitable giving. This year the team will focus on learning about youth homelessness and youth mental health challenges that often exacerbate youth...
Earlier this year, the Whatcom Community Foundation partnered with the City of Bellingham to learn together about the needs and challenges of our local small and mid-sized housing and shelter providers. The findings were compiled in the a report in September 2023: Capacity Building for small and mid-sized housing and shelter providers: Needs, priorities, and...
Happy Summer, Neighbors! In keeping with the spirit of optimism that maximum daylight brings, we’re continuing our focus on economic opportunity in Whatcom County with a spotlight on employee ownership. As an option for business owners that brings a variety of both individual and collective benefits, employee ownership offers a lot of upsides. Read on for...
Hello Community Builders! How is it almost Memorial Day already? Time flies when you're breaking ground on our county's first community benefit project! More on that in a later issue. For now it's neighbor time: backyard BBQs, front porch visiting, summer concerts, farmers markets and all the other ways we get outside and get to know the...
Help Make a Difference Before Disaster Strikes Along with our partners, Whatcom Community Foundation is working to ensure that if we as a community are not responding to a disaster, we are preparing for one. Our goal? Rapid, orderly, sufficient and equitable care for neighbors in the face of our next community crisis. Are we a resilient...
Grant funding for Whatcom County small businesses impacted by last November's historic flooding is now available. Funding comes from the Whatcom Community Foundation in partnership with Western Washington University's Small Business Development Center and the Port of Bellingham and in coordination with the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG). Qualified businesses can apply at Whatcom Community Foundation...
It’s already May! Spring is definitely in the air. While there is still much work to be done on just about every front, within that work lies possibility and hope for defining a new and better normal for our community. Here’s a peek at what we know right now, the questions we’re asking, and what’s...
