Two local community foundations meet, discuss collaboration
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News from the Greater Polson Community Foundation
POLSON — When the leaders of the Greater Polson Community Foundation (GPCF) and the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation (LFVCF) met on June 3, even the location – cozy Allentown Restaurant at beautiful Ninepipes – seemed to reflect the spirit of the gathering. In purpose and in location, it was somewhat of a “meeting in the middle” for volunteers of two different foundations who share the common mission of doing good things for the people and surroundings in our little corner of the world.
LFVCF’s interests span the entire Flathead Indian Reservation, while GPCF focuses its activities and attention on a sub-section of the reservation – within the Polson School District boundaries. Both organizations are 501 (c) (3) entities, both use savvy volunteer boards to manage endowment funds and allocate grant monies, and both consider youth a special area of emphasis.
Mary Stranahan, long-time board member at the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation, explained that LFVCF is greatly interested in “bringing tribal and non-tribal members together to work on projects to preserve and conserve the cultural, natural, and human resources of the region.”
Penny Jarecki, president of the Greater Polson Community Foundation, stated that GPCF “also believes in the importance of collaboration and everyone’s voice being heard in order to make all aspects of life in our community the best they can be, now and into the future.”
In addition to Stranahan, board members in attendance for the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation were Germaine White, Rod Johnson, Mark MacDonald, Don Olsson and Carlene Bockman. Greater Polson Community Foundation representatives, in addition to Jarecki, were John Cowan, Toni Young, John Mercer, Darlis Smith, Jules Clavadetscher, Liz Marchi, and George Barce.
Talk around the meeting table focused mostly on getting to know one another and obtaining updates on each other’s projects, but some ideas for joining efforts to maximize impact on specific projects were discussed.
The two organizations plan to meet again in a few months to continue the conversations.
“Our areas of service overlap, our missions are in alignment with one another, we receive some of the same funding requests, and we even face some of the same organizational challenges,” GPCF board member Darlis Smith said, “so it just makes sense for our organizations to attempt to work together more closely. The two community foundations have met together from time to time in the past, but this was my first LFVCF-GPCF meeting. I walked away feeling inspired and optimistic about joining forces on some important projects in the near future – plus I met some wonderful new people.”
Community foundations provide donors with opportunities to fulfill their charitable goals and make an impact on projects and programs that are important to them. Donors from all walks of life find working with local community foundations is an effective way to make a lasting difference.
For more information, contact Carlene at the Lower Flathead Valley Community Foundation at lfvcf@lfvcf.com or Penny at the Greater Polson Community Foundation at pennymt@centurytel.net.
