The Peninsula Daily News Home Fund has allocated $90,000 in grants to 15 nonprofit organizations in Clallam and Jefferson counties.
The grants provide funds for food and child care, housing and transportation and health care programs serving those in need on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Administered by the Olympic View Community Foundation (OVCF), the grants are entirely composed of donations from local community members.
“We extend our heartfelt thanks to our generous donors,” said Eran Kennedy, publisher of the Peninsula Daily News (PDN), as well as the Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum.
“Your compassion and commitment are making a real difference in the lives of those who need it most,” she added.
The PDN began the Peninsula Home Fund in 1989 and continued through four publishers. The program became an annual tradition for many community members, collecting donations to provide “a hand-up, not a handout,” as the late John Brewer said, for people in need living in the two Peninsula counties.
In its 35th fundraising year in 2024, the Peninsula Home Fund partnered with a new program administrator, OVCF, and upgraded its method of dispersing funds.
Now, instead of funds given by case workers directly to individuals in need, charitable organizations with their boots on the ground apply for grants, outlining how money will help people living in Clallam and Jefferson counties, and a committee sets the final allocations.
“The Peninsula Home Fund exemplifies the compassion and resilience of our community,” said Jessica Elliott, executive director of OVCF.
“By partnering with these remarkable local nonprofits, we ensure critical support reaches those who need it most — from urgent medical care and housing assistance to transportation and basic necessities,” she added.
Although the bulk of the donations come in during the PDN’s special holiday fundraising campaign that begins at Thanksgiving each year, some people give all year.
“Each donation matters,” Kennedy said. “Working with your neighbors in donating to the Peninsula Home Fund magnifies the power of your gift to support critical work for the community.”
In July, donations reached $115,236.91. Leaving some in the fund to cover administrative expenses and to serve as seed money for the next campaign, a committee sifted through 17 applications and awarded grants to 15 nonprofits.
It was important to the committee that, as is tradition for the fund, grants address essential needs specifically for our neighbors on the North Olympic Peninsula.
The following is a list of the Peninsula Home Fund grant recipients for this year, each selected for their outstanding dedication to helping individuals and families overcome unexpected hardships.
• Bayside Housing & Services — $8,000. The grant will subsidize rent and utility expenses for permanent supportive housing at the 17-unit Woodley Place in Port Hadlock.
• Boys & Girls Club of Olympic Peninsula — $10,000. Funds will support food security and life skills development for teen members, with money used to provide free, nutritious meals to teens 13 to 19 years old at centers in Port Angeles and Sequim.
• Kathleen Sutton Fund – $3,000. Money will reimburse transportation costs specifically for women in Clallam and Jefferson counties to reach cancer treatments in Seattle and elsewhere.
• Olympic Medical Center – $10,000. The grant supports the Patient Navigator Program at OMC, which provides holistic assistance to low-income cancer patients. The grant will be used to cover health-related and basic living expenses that can become barriers to treatment compliance and recovery.
• Olympic Peninsula YMCA – $3,000. The funds will be used in coordination with the Youth & Family Resources Navigation Program to enhance access to key social resources for residents of Clallam and Jefferson counties when facing hardship. Money will provide individuals and families with access to concrete support for food, housing payment assistance, transportation assistance/gas cards, utilities, childcare, clothing, supplies needed for employment or other necessities.
• Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship – $5,000. Money will purchase food for the volunteer-run Free Pantry program, which has seen a 35 percent rise in expenses over the last year.
• Port Angeles Food Bank – $5,000. Funds will be dedicated to bridging the winter nutrition gap from November to February by providing clients with fresh local produce.
• Sequim Community Aid – $10,000. Sequim Community Aid had lowered its maximum per household from $350 to $300 when providing help with deposits, rent and utilities to low-income families and individuals facing unexpected hardship. The grant allow the agency to return its maximum funding to $350 per household.
• Sequim Food Bank – $5,000. The grant will increase access for families in need to fresh local produce, which is purchased from six small farms in Clallam County.
• St. Vincent de Paul (East Jefferson) – $5,000. Money will provide low-income neighbors with help to meet such basic needs as groceries, fuel, utilities, housing, vehicle fees and repairs and other items. Less than 2 percent goes to overhead expenses.
• St. Vincent de Paul (Port Angeles) – $5,000. The grant will provide such essentials as food, rent, utilities, gas, medical needs, auto repairs and other needs to families in sudden hardship.
• St. Vincent de Paul (Sequim) – $5,000. Funds will provide assistance in three critical areas: Rent and rent deposits, utilities and transportation.
• The Answer for Youth (TAFY) – $3,000. TAFY provides assistance to people experiencing homelessness up to age 35, their families and those at risk of being unhoused. The grant will provide hot, nutritious meals, help with vehicle maintenance needed to get to work or live in, shelter and cooking items, basic clothing and hygiene needs, and rent and utility assistance.
• United Way of Clallam County – $3,000. Funds will be used to support low-income adults in completing educational programs that are not funded by state or local financial aid but which are high quality and lead to employable skills. The cap is $500 except for a Class A commercial driver’s license, which is capped at $1,000.
• Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County – $10,000. The grant is for a pilot program to provide an emergency fund to address immediate basic patient needs when facing critical hardships, with a cap of $500 per patient.
Grantees will distribute funds directly through their existing programs and report on outcomes later this fall.
Established in 1989 by the Peninsula Daily News, the Peninsula Home Fund has raised more than $4.93 million through donations from community members to their neighbors on the North Olympic Peninsula.
Each donation is fully federally tax-deductible for the year in which it was made.
Donations will be listed in the Peninsula Daily News.
To donate, go to https://ov-cf.org/peninsula-home-fund-donation, mail checks made out to the Peninsula Home Fund to Olympic View Community Foundation, P.O. Box 3651, Sequim, WA, 98382 or drop off checks made out to the Peninsula Home Fund at the Peninsula Daily News.
To donate via a credit card, go to https://ov-cf.org/peninsula-home-fund-donation-2.
Those who have been donating to the Peninsula Home Fund through Olympic Community Action Programs, which once administered the fund, will need to change how they make their donation to remain with the Peninsula Daily News Home Fund.
Elliott said this year’s grant-making process was informed in part by insights from OVCF’s Nonprofit Town Hall in June, when nonprofit leaders discussed the impacts of federal grant freezes and shifting funding landscapes.
“The feedback we received … helped us shape a grant-making process that reflects the current realities nonprofits face, and highlights just how vital local support continues to be,” she said.
For more information, contact Kennedy at the Peninsula Daily News at eran.kennedy@peninsuladailynews.com, visit https://ov-cf.org/phf-grantmaking or contact Olympic View Community Foundation at 360-775-3532 or email execdirector@ov-cf.org.
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Leah Leach is a former executive editor for Peninsula Daily News.
