A Note from our President:

In just a few short weeks we will have our 2021 WRWF Grants Ballot in front of us. This moment is typically the highlight of our year and even amid a pandemic, this year is no exception.

Every candidate on our ballot has been thoroughly reviewed, vetted and advanced by dozens of members of the Grants Committee. Given social distancing requirements, there will not be our usual live presentation by the Executive Directors of the applying non profits. Instead, their presentations will be live-streamed on March 3. These presentations will be recorded and posted on the WRWF website for you to review at your convenience. Once that information is ready, we’ll send you an email with a link.

This year’s ballot will also include another voting opportunity. In this part of the ballot, you will be asked to rank three areas of need for our new Focus Grant 2022. The area of need that receives the highest ranking will become the “theme” of this new grant initiative. Applications for the Focus Grant 2022 will be solicited in the fall of 2021 and voted on in the 2022 ballot. The three areas of need you will be ranking are (in no particular order):

• Building an Inclusive and Equitable Community
• Closing the Opportunity Gap in Education
• Bolstering Mental Health Assistance and Addiction Prevention Programs

I’m sure you will have many questions about the Focus Grant 2022 and I encourage you to visit the new page on our website (here) to learn details about these options and to review a range of information provided to help you determine your choices.

Ballots will go out via email on March 3 and you will have until March 26 to complete your voting. Between now and then, you will be receiving information to help you educate yourself about the choices both for 2021 pooled grants and the area of need for the new Focus Grant 2022. Please continue to open your WRWF emails, read the News Brief, spend 20 minutes watching Louisa’s video presentation on the Focus Grant 2022 webpage, view our social media, and visit the website. Additionally, there will be live Zoom sessions to answer your questions. Please check the calendar for these sessions.

To the many members who have volunteered their time to bring this ballot to our full membership – THANK YOU! Your commitment ensures WRWF has a continuing role in helping to support the many needs in Blaine County.

The WRWF grants vote is our defining act each year; we will soon be awarding more than $285,000 to very deserving nonprofits. It is up to each of us to be informed philanthropists by doing our part to understand what is being requested of our grant dollars, and to vote with both our heads and our hearts. I hope you enjoy this giving process as much as I do!

Together in philanthropy,

Terri Bullock, WRWF President