Your Community Update
Looking at the Year Ahead
BCF recently conducted its Annual Nonprofit Survey with 55 nonprofit participants followed by four sector gatherings to discuss the results. Overall, the discussions were positive and nonprofits continue to prove their resilience, but programmatic and operational obstacles remain.
Isolation and mental health are the top two challenges still facing our community, which were also reflected in last year's survey. Concerns around food insecurity decreased overall, although health and human services nonprofits have been seeing a rise in food assistance requests since federal support expired. Family economic uncertainty appears to have risen across all age groups.
Other issues discussed at the sector gatherings included livable wages for nonprofit employees and recruiting more volunteers. We look forward to consolidating the analysis in the next iteration of BCF's State of the Sector Report: A View of Our Community so we can help support our neighbors. Stay tuned! To read last year's report, click here.
BCF Hosts Red Cedar Council Luncheon
BCF hosted its Red Cedar Council luncheon on Wednesday, February 16th at Heyday Farm to celebrate the gifts of a special group of visionary donors. To become part of the Red Cedar Council, donors include BCF in their wills or estate plans to achieve their long-term philanthropic goals.

At the lunch, Red Cedar Council members had intimate conversations about their visions for the future of Bainbridge Island—and how their legacy will live on through their strong connection to the foundation. These discussions over a Heyday Farm meal led to deeper connections with like-minded individuals, and many formed new relationships while others reconnected with friends.
To learn more about the benefits of joining the Red Cedar Council, please visit our website here.
Community Grants Cycle Opens March 1
BCF is accepting applications for the 2022 Community Grants Cycle from all sectors of our nonprofit community from March 1 - March 29 at 5PM. BCF is hosting a training on March 2 at 2PM for nonprofits who might want to learn more about the grant writing process. We encourage nonprofit leaders to reach out and discuss possible funding opportunities! To apply, click here or feel free to contact Debbie Kuffel at [email protected].
Free Online Programs: Financial Literacy
Former BCF Board Member Paul Merriman, founder of The Merriman Financial Education Foundation, has dedicated his retirement to providing free trainings to all ages about how to secure a more stable financial future. On behalf of BCF, Paul organizes free virtual events with nationally renowned financial experts in order to help educate our community on how to better plan for our futures. Planned programs are highlighted below. Visit our website here to learn more or to register.
"We want to make sure everyone has access to financial security, and financial literacy training is often out of reach for people. We intend to change that." - Paul Merriman
If you have any questions about this newsletter, please contact [email protected].