The COMMUNITY RESPONSE FUND

Learn more about the community’s first area-of-interest fund for social service agencies who need a helping hand during a crisis.

The Community Response Fund began as an idea from a group of nonprofit staff and community leaders who wanted to ensure that Bainbridge residents would continue to be served by our local social and human service agencies, despite the economic crisis. 

This Fund will support services and programs that are critical to the wellbeing of our community.  Each day brings more news of layoffs, cutbacks and economic problems. Financial support for non-profit agencies is substantially lower this year, so when an unexpected funding crisis hits, there is not help readily available. This fund makes grants for services and programs that help the human and social services agencies support our island neighbors in need.

Following are frequently asked questions & answers about the Community Response Fund and the Bainbridge Community Foundation who established the Fund.

What will the Community Response Fund do?
The Fund will make urgent-needs grants to nonprofits that are experiencing an unforeseeable crisis. 

What qualifies as a crisis or urgent need in our community?
Any number of situations can cause a crisis at a social service agency, especially today with so many funding sources in jeopardy.  Perhaps a major grant is delayed for a few months and the nonprofit needs a few months of rental funding to bridge the gap; or maybe a computer crashes and an organization cannot run without a new one immediately; a group home is suddenly closed and its residents need immediate help relocating to new homes, counseling for the transition, and physical assistance to make the move, so the local nonprofits serving the residents are overloaded with unexpected service needs and costs.  These are examples of the types of services that the Fund could help fund on an urgent basis.  The Fund will make grants to stable local social service nonprofits to help them avoid a major financial crisis and continue support for essential programs and services in our community.

Where will my donation go?
A donation to the Community Response Fund is pooled with the other Fund donations in an account held by the Bainbridge Community Foundation.  The Fund’s assets are in a government-backed securities account.  Grants to the nonprofits are made from this pooled Fund, so your donations will go to nonprofits through a grant made by the Community Response Fund.

Who manages the assets of the Fund?
The Bainbridge Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees has fiduciary responsibilities for the assets; the Foundation has invested the Community Response Fund assets in short-term money market instruments and deposit accounts.

How will the Foundation determine grants for the Community Response Fund?
The Bainbridge Community Foundation has successfully conducted seven years of grantmaking, totaling over $1 million in grants.  It is an expert on making grants to local nonprofits.  The Grants Committee has developed criteria and a process for the Community Response Fund, and will determine if a grant will be awarded based on the criteria.

How will an organization know to apply for a grant?
All social service nonprofits serving Bainbridge Island can go to the Foundation’s website, www.bainbridgecommunityfoundation.org, and download the application and criteria.  Many of the social service organizations already know about the Fund because they provided input on the initial visioning for it. 

Can an individual person apply for a grant?
The Community Response Fund can only grant to a 501(c)3 nonprofit.  However, social service nonprofits can use the grant to support individuals, families, elders, children and groups as part of their programs and services.  Ultimately, individuals will be served and supported by the Community Response Fund through the work of the nonprofits.

Is this Fund part of the Foundation’s annual community grant cycle, or separate?
The Fund will not be a part of the Foundation’s annual community grant program.  It will have a separate grant process.

Will there be a regular grant cycle or schedule for making grants from the Fund?
There is not a regular grant cycle for the Community Response Fund; social service nonprofits can apply for a grant at any time.  The Fund will review proposals on a rolling basis.

Do you have an Advisory Committee for this Fund and what will it do?
The Foundation has established an Advisory Committee for the Community Response Fund.  A Steering Committee helped formulate the direction and vision of the Fund and nominated community leaders for the Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is a volunteer group and will advise and inform the Bainbridge Community Foundation on all aspects of the social services arena, including local issues, trends and indicators.  The committee is comprised of social service agencies staff and Board members, community members and Foundation Board members.  The Steering Committee will no longer convene since the Advisory Committee is now formed.  Every person nominated accepted a seat on the Advisory Committee. Advisory committee members are listed in the column on the right side of this page.

Who served on your Steering Committee and how did you choose the Committee members?
The Foundation established a volunteer Steering Committee as part of the development of this area-of-interest fund.  BCF invited members from the social service agencies to serve on the committee and some invited their agency’s Board members as well.  Several meetings were held to discuss the purpose of the Fund, the possible crisis elements to support, and how the Fund would best serve the community.

The following nonprofit organizations were represented on the Steering Committee:
Bainbridge Island Child Care Centers
Bainbridge Island Boys & Girls Club
Bainbridge Youth Services
Health, Housing & Human Services Council
Helpline House
Housing Resources Board
Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers
One Call For All

Is there a management fee that BCF charges for the Fund?
A 2.2% administrative fee is charged annually on the assets of the fund to cover the costs of the grants processing and administrative support.

Can anyone donate to the Fund?  Any amount?
All donations are welcome!  The Bainbridge Community Foundation is a 501(c)3 and charitable gifts are tax-deductible.

Where can I send a donation to the Fund?
You can send donations to:
Community Response Fund
c/o Bainbridge Community Foundation
221 Winslow Way West, #305
Bainbridge Island, WA  98110
Make checks out to Bainbridge Community Foundation/CRF.

Can I donate online or by credit card?
The Foundation is setting up an online donation service, which should be operational by summer.

Do you have a Board of Trustees and what is its role with the Community Response Fund?
We have a 16-member Board of Trustees.  It has fiduciary responsibility for the Fund.  The Grants Committee, a standing committee of the Board, manages the grantmaking process.  The Board will also oversee and coordinate the Advisory Committee.   Click here for information about the BCF Board.

What is a Community Foundation?
Community Foundations support community needs by focusing primarily on a particular community or region.  They raise their resources from a broad cross-section of the public, are highly flexible, and offer attractive tax advantages.  Community foundations are governed by a representative board drawn from the community and offer a unique and innovative philanthropic service, which appeals to a wide spectrum of community minded individuals.

What does the Bainbridge Community Foundation do?
We enable people with philanthropic interests to support the issues and causes they care about in our own community.   Our aim is to build permanent funds through gifts of assets from donors, to make grants from these funds, and engage in community leadership activities that address a wide range of current and long-term needs on Bainbridge Island.

What is the Bainbridge Community Foundation’s mission?
To encourage and provide meaningful ways for people to improve and sustain our community through philanthropy.

Community Response Fund Letter to the Editor

Community Response Fund:

CRF Grant Application Guidelines
CRF Grant Application Form
CRF Grant Final Report