Community Foundation’s Critical Needs Task Force Tackles Community Hot Spots

What began with an idea from the San Juan Island Community Foundation to actively address the local impact of the global economic downturn on the island community, has blossomed into the formation of community-wide workgroups involving in total, over 300 local people who are creating solutions for our community’s greatest needs.

The immediate focus is developing a short list of priority funding for a new Critical Needs grant cycle by the Community Foundation to be awarded within 60 days.

“The premise of the Critical Needs Task Force is to reach out to those whose lives have been most displaced by our economic times while bringing control of our community’s future back to a simpler and more sustainable model,” said Charles Anderson, Chair of the Community Foundation. “We hope that these ‘area-of-need’ community conversations will continue on a permanent basis and serve as a think tank for new community solutions to our most pressing problems.”

The Task Force is an open-ended group, see organization chart (powerpoint file) or (jpeg). The group will also serve to foster a list of new infrastructure initiatives, develop a new community services electronic access system and enable public policy support for projects designated as high priority by the workgroups.

“We are also working with the other islands in this process. Shared solutions will benefit us all and make us a stronger overall community,” said Pamela Gross, SJI Community Foundation Board member.

The Foundation wishes to recognize and thank the organizations that have provided meetings space at no cost for the myriad meetings that have occurred over the last four months: Key Bank, Friday Harbor House, Whidbey Island Bank, Friday Harbor Library and Windermere Realty.

The Community Foundation serves as a non-profit philanthropic umbrella organization helping donors, non-profits and public organizations to achieve their goals through direct grants, organizational assistance and philanthropic resource management. The Foundation office is located in the Technology Center, Mullis St., phone 378-1001.