New philanthropic fund to benefit area

Anonymous person endows fund with $345,000 donation

SANDPOINT — Foundation Northwest is pleased to announce that a new endowed Bonner and Boundary counties fund with an initial donation of $345,000 has been established by an anonymous donor from Bonner County, Idaho.

When making the initial gift to establish this fund, the donor remarked, "There are a significant number of important charitable organizations located in Bonner and Boundary counties whose funding needs are not being adequately met at this time. It is my sincere hope that this newly-created fund will help meet those needs in the future."

Mark Hurtubise, president and CEO of Foundation Northwest, stated "Foundation Northwest is honored to have been selected as the grant making partner with this generous and strategic donor. It is our goal to work with community leaders within these two counties to identify additional potential donors so that this fund can be viewed as a permanent and significant asset from which to support the important work of nonprofits throughout Bonner and Boundary Counties."

Grants will be awarded from this new fund beginning November 2006 through Foundation Northwest's Community Strategies Grant Program. Information on this program is available on the foundation's Web site at www.foundationnw.org.

Foundation Northwest has a rich history of supporting community-based organizations in both Bonner and Boundary Counties. Organizations that have benefited from Foundation Northwest's recent grant making programs include the Panida Theater, Pend Oreille Arts Council, Memorial Community Center at Hope, West Bonner Library District, Clark Fork - Pend Oreille Conservancy, Priest River Animal Rescue and Blanchard Area Seniors Inc., among others.

Foundation Northwest, a community foundation based in Spokane, Washington, serves twenty counties throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Founded in 1974, its mission is to foster vibrant and sustainable communities in the Inland Northwest. The Foundation manages more than 200 funds with assets of approximately $46 million. Foundation Northwest has awarded more than $27 million in grants and scholarships throughout the region since its inception.