Community Impacts:
Making a Lasting Difference
Fund for Idaho impacts our community in many ways. We
have impact through the work of our grantees. Our donor/grantee forums bring
together those doing the work in the field with those whose contributions help
support the work for meaningful dialog. Our programs bring nonprofit leaders to the community to
educate donor, grantees, and any others who are interested. Our Nelle Tobias
Award for Philanthropy celebrates a remarkable lifetime of service and
generosity and recognizes philanthropic leaders in our state. We hope it
inspires others as much as it inspires us.
Our Grantees
Since we awarded our first
grants in 2003, our grantees have had a tremendous impact on our state.
For many of these groups, ours was the first grant they received. As is often
the case, that first small grant allows groups to carry out strategic work for
justice in their communities. Each grantee is working to change what they can
in their corner of Idaho.
Bit by bit, their work is changing our state. Here are links to information
about our grantees' accomplishments.
 |
The BUGS summer program provides youth with an
alternative to a world of instant gratification, fast food, fast travel, and
consumerism. BUGS teaches youth the value of the natural world, patience,
perseverance, and responsibility for themselves, their community and the
planet, and empowers them to make their world a better place.
|
|
The Snake River Latino Parent Action Committee’s parent action group prepares
Latino parents to have a voice in and become partners in their children’s
education. Because Latinos are the largest minority group in the school, parents
chose the MALDEF curriculum as a good source of material. They invited Sam Byrd, a Latino organizer and former farm worker
himself, to teach because he was a great speaker who could identify with the
farm worker parents. This photo shows one of the school’s multicultural
celebrations started by this program.
|
|
Idaho Community Action Network
(ICAN) is part of a coalition of groups sponsoring ads at bus stops to remind
Idahoans about our heritage and reduce the climate of fear for immigrants. They are also leading a series of conversations in homes to help people figure out how to talk about this issue in a way that connects to individuals and values. Here
are two of the messages.
|
|
| |
|
Donor/Grantee Forums
| In addition to our grantmaking program,
Fund for Idaho is committed to increasing the dialog and building
relationships between our donor/activists and our grantee organizers.
We hold regular forums to promote this dialog and to raise awareness of
our grantees work in the community. These forums are consistently
attended by at 30 - 40 grantees and donors. They provide the
opportunity for grantees to shared inspiring conversations about the
work being done and to strategize on what needs to be done in the
future. It’s so important for those working for justice to have a
chance to be reminded they are part of a larger fellowship. |
 |
Our Community Programs
We have had several opportunities
to host programs that share the expertise of national nonprofit and philanthropic
leaders with our community. Some of these include:
In collaboration with the Center
for Community Change of Washington, D.C., we hosted a dinner with Pablo Eisenberg, currently a Senior Fellow at the Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute, who had come to Boise as the keynote
speaker for the Idaho Nonprofit Center Conference in October 2007. Pablo is a leading
scholar and advocate for greater accountability and commitment by philanthropy
in the United States
to the poor, people of color and social justice issues. Twenty-five Idaho progressives and activists enjoyed a delightful, thought provoking
evening exchanging ideas and sharing information about philanthropy in Idaho and across the
country.
|
|
|
In April of 2008 we were pleased to
host a reception for John-Paul Chaisson-Cardenas, the recently
appointed director of the Social Justice Fund NW and the former Product
Development Manager for Northwest Area Foundation in April of 2008.
Over thirty-five activists and community members attended this
informative session.
|
|
|
We had the opportunity to honor Ann and Doug
Christensen, whose generous philanthropy made them the recipients of our first
Nelle Tobias Award for Philanthropy. We celebrated with two champagne brunches
– one in Boise
in May 2007 and one in Ketchum in July 2007. Each event drew about 45
people. At the second event, we had the
privilege of sharing the expertise of Tracy Gary of Inspired Legacies, who
spoke about how to begin your own inspired legacy.
|
|
| In July 2008 we had the privilege of honoring Kathy Troutner of Boise and
McCall with our second Nelle Tobias Award for Philanthropy. The event at the Ester Simplot Performing Arts Academy drew 70
community members. We were able to share a
video segment of Nelle Tobias, which was enjoyed by those who knew here
and gave deeper insight to those who had not had the opportunity to
know her. This was followed by a marvelous introduction of Kathy by Rick Johnson. |
 |
"We're all in this together!"
|
