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Field of Interest Funds
Effective Grantmaking in Specific Interest Areas
A Field of Interest Fund (FOI) allows you to make an impact in specific fields over time. You identify a specific or broad interest area (such as education, the arts, or affordable housing) and Jefferson Community Foundation ensures effective grantmaking within that field as the needs change over time. This type of fund allows your grantmaking to evolve as the needs within the field do and gives you peace of mind knowing that JCF will be there to identify the best nonprofits in the issue area you have selected to ensure your legacy lives on.
JCF currently oversees five Field of Interest Funds.
FUND FOR WOMEN & GIRLS
UNITED GOOD NEIGHBORS
HOUSING SOLUTIONS NETWORK
OLYMPIC CARBON FUND
COVID RESPONSE & RECOVERY FUND
FUND FOR WOMEN & GIRLS
Fund for Women & Girls
Fund for Women & Girls is dedicated to strengthening our community both now and for future generations through shared philanthropy.
Mission: A world where women and girls are safe, secure, equal and empowered. FWG works toward it by:
- Providing grants to Jefferson County nonprofit organizations for programs that support that mission.
- Bringing information about issues affecting women and their families to residents and organizations.
- Linking like-minded individuals and organizations in order to leverage community resources.
Programs:
- Port Townsend Wearable Art Show
The Port Townsend Wearable Art Show is a showcase of inspired design and serves as FWG’s annual fundraiser. The works for this juried show range from functional to fantastic, and include pieces created from all manner of traditional and non-traditional media. - Grantmaking
FWG’s Grant Committee develops and disseminates a Request for Proposal (RFP) annually. The Grant Committee then reviews submissions according to agreed-upon criteria and makes recommendations to FWG’s Steering Committee. - Education & Advocacy
In conjunction with the FWG Steering Committee, the FWG Education Committee researches current issues, challenges and concerns facing the women and girls of Jefferson County, WA. The goal of this research is to help identify an area of interest for each year, which is then reflected in the focus for the annual grantmaking. Education programs, in alignment with the annual focus, are presented to the community with the intent to raise public awareness of the needs of Jefferson County Women and Girls.
UNITED GOOD NEIGHBORS
United Good Neighbors
For 65 years, households and workplaces in Jefferson County have provided for the basic human needs of vulnerable individuals and families by supporting United Good Neighbors’ annual Give Jefferson campaign.
United Good Neighbors serves as the United Way for Jefferson County and every dollar raised stays local to support frontline efforts that deliver food, shelter, healthcare, education, and hope to those most in need.
Beneficiaries of these essential efforts are people you interact with every day:
- children and youth
- working families
- fixed-income seniors
- individuals with disabilities
- essential service providers
Give Jefferson 2021
Active November 12 – December 31, 2021, Give Jefferson raised $320,397 thanks to the generous charitable giving of local donors. A total of $240,100 was allocated to 32 local nonprofits. $80,297 invested in campaign administration, community outreach and public education.
HOUSING SOLUTIONS NETWORK
Housing Solutions Network
HSN was founded in 2018 through a generous grant from the First Federal Community Foundation and serves as a response to the growing housing crisis in Jefferson County, Washington. HSN works:
- To facilitate connectivity, communication and the co-creation of new strategies to increase the availability of affordable and attainable housing in our region.
- Alongside local housing champions – both individuals and institutions – by providing support and capacity building to ensure success.
HSN has directed new grant dollars to housing efforts through the Jefferson Community Foundation and provided scholarships for grant writing workshops, as well as offered coaching and board development support for local organizations. In addition to our Housing Action Teams, we have convened groups of stakeholders to identify and act on local issues of concern, including local workforce and affordable housing developers, community advocates, systems engineers and government staff.
OLYMPIC CARBON FUND
Olympic Carbon Fund
Leading local efforts to sequester carbon, Olympic Carbon Fund is working to restore healthy soils and ecosystems and promote regenerative agricultural practices in partnership with farmers and land stewards in Jefferson County.
Since the fund was established in June 2020, OCF has partnered with 25 commercial farms, 13 community gardens, and numerous private homesteads to incorporate over 110 cubic yards of biochar into the food-producing soils of the region.
As the OCF grows and matures, it will support all aspects of regenerative agriculture and other natural, carbon-sequestering activities.
COVID RESPONSE & RECOVERY FUND
COVID Response & Recovery Fund
Washington’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order effective March 2020, marked the beginning of a years of unprecedented challenge resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. By April, unemployment in Jefferson County had tripled to a rate of 19% threatening every sector of our economy and the safety and security of individuals and families — regardless of age, education, or income level.
- Lost wages meant unpaid bills, including rent, utilities, and accumulation of debt.
- Individuals and families questioned how to access affordable, nutritious food.
- School closures and online learning challenged students, teachers, and working families.
- Isolation triggered behavioral health issues in all ages.
- Small businesses, arts and culture, trade organizations, and local farms —industries intrinsic to Jefferson County’s cultural heritage and identity— struggled to stay afloat.
In March 2020, Jefferson Community Foundation immediately began to coordinate a local effort to raise critical funds to support emergency response in our community. Individual donors, businesses and organizations stepped forward without hesitation, eager to help, and turned to JCF to strategically allocate their generous charitable gifts.
The COVID Response & Recovery Fund was designed as an agile mechanism to direct funds quickly and efficiently to build and sustain a powerful landscape of response resources. JCF launched a weekly proposal and award process allowing funding to rapidly reach local organizations, increasing their capacity to serve.
The COVID Response & Recovery Fund was conducted in two phases:
Phase I directed early donations to organizations on the frontline of pandemic response, allocating over $835,000 to 34 organizations serving basic human needs.
In Phase II, the Grantmaking Committee broadened its focus to include efforts that would help restart the physical operations of local nonprofits and arts and culture organizations presenting programs and events that contribute to the recovery and resilience of Jefferson County residents.
Fund Active: March 2020 – July 2021
- Total Amount Raised: $955,844
- Total # of Donations:
- Donors & Fundholders = $677,278
- Local Businesses = $1,066
- Grants to JCF = $77,500
- Total Amount Allocated: $953,810
- Organizations Funded: 53
- Proposals Funded: 60
- Community Outreach & Public Education: $10,648
Grants Committee
To ensure funding decisions are informed by deep local knowledge, JCF assembled an esteemed Grants Committee, comprised of community-minded, seasoned professionals, to review and respond to proposals and direct funds.
Members include:
- Meredith Wagner
Former Executive Director of the Jefferson County Rural Library District - Kathleen Kler
Former Jefferson County Commissioner District No. 3 - Jean Baldwin
Former Public Health Nurse and Jefferson County Public Health Director - Rose Lincoln Hamilton
Former President & CEO of the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation and Chair of the Jefferson Community Foundation Board of Directors
Grant Recipients:
