Yakima Valley Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: This funder supports Yakima County, Washington, groups in education, civic engagement, health and wellness, basic needs, arts and culture, and the environment. It accepts unsolicited requests.
IP TAKE: The majority of recent grants support education, the only focus area that has its own dedicated program officer. The best way to get an arts grant may be to address arts education.
PROFILE: The Yakima Valley Community Foundation (YVCF) is based in Yakima, Washington, and has several grant programs. It seeks to “connect people, resources and ideas so people and communities thrive.” Responsive grants address community issues in the areas of basic needs, arts and culture, education, health and wellness, civic vitality, and the environment. These grants are up to $25,000 each. The small grants program serves these same focus areas for groups looking for less than $10,000.
YVCF also participates in sponsorships up to $2,500 and for applications received at least 60 days prior to an event. Strategic grants seek to produce long-term impacts in education, civic engagement, and health and wellness in Yakima County. Only organizations serving Yakima County and the Yakama Nation are eligible to apply for grants.
Basic needs grants support food, shelter, and clothing, while education grants are focused on all ages of learning, from preschool to adult education. A gift of over $20 million came from the estate of Molly Monroe Davis, and a significant part went to scholarships administered by the Yakima Rotary Trust.
Health grants support physical, nutritional, mental, and emotional health needs with an emphasis on underserved populations. Cohesive community grants support civic engagement causes, while arts and culture grant priority is given to groups that also touch on one of the foundation’s other focus areas. Environmental grants are committed to air and water quality issues in Yakima County.
Recent responsive grant program grantees include the Educational Service District 105, Pacific Northwest University, Sunnyside High School, Catholic Charities Housing Services, La Casa Hogar, and the Yakima Valley Museum. Small grants were recently awarded to the Mt. Adams School District and the Capitol Theatre Committee, among others. Typically, fewer strategic grants are awarded each year, but a couple of recent grantees are the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Yakima and Yakima Pediatrics Community Health Central WA.
The foundation will not fund building construction, capital expenditures, disease-specific organizations, medical and scientific research, and individual school classroom support. Grant seekers can request operational support, but the request cannot exceed 25 percent of the total operating budget.
Deadlines for the grant programs are listed on each program’s individual webpage. There is no waiting period to apply for another grant if you received a previous one. Grant seeker questions should be sent to grants@yakimavalleycf.org. At the end of a past year, the foundation had $60.4 million in total assets. View current financial data here.
Direct general questions to the staff at 509-457-7616 or info@yakimavalleycf.org. The foundation’s address is 111 University Parkway, Suite 102, Yakima, Washington 98901.
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