Whatcom Community Foundation

Though small in assets, Whatcom Community Foundation is active in impact investing and economic development. With outside grants and support from activist donors and community partners, the foundation helped to develop the Whatcom Farm-to-School program, which supported local-food purchasing at 15 schools, a farming cooperative, a workplace-community supported agriculture (CSA) program at the area’s largest employer, as well as the Whatcom Farm Incubator Fund, increasing farmland accessibility to local, organic farmers. The foundation is raising money for the Cascadia Foodshed Funding Project and the NW Catalyst Fund, and offers loan guarantees to help businesses scale. It also makes PRI loans to nonprofits.