Springing into Summer

Spring in the Gorge is my favorite season. The wildflowers, spring rains, return of the sun, fruit tree blossoms and get togethers with friends in the outdoors. Spring is by far our busiest time of the year at GCF with scholarships and our Community Grants. It is also the most rewarding. We love seeing students receive well deserved scholarships to help them pursue their dreams or notifying nonprofits that they have been selected for a Community Grant.

All of our fund holders are welcome to join us in supporting the local nonprofits via our Community Grants. This is one of the ways that GCF can augment our annual giving and we would love to see some more of these wonderful organizations funded for these worthy and meaningful projects. This year’s Community Grants can now be found in your fund holder portal on our website.

GCF is also celebrating a few new milestones. With this last batch of scholarships GCF has now given out over $1M in scholarships to students throughout the Gorge. We also just crested the $11M in endowments mark thanks to a few new funds, additional donations to existing funds and the recent stock market gains. Each fund created and dollar gifted cements a legacy of giving and philanthropy in the Gorge. We greatly appreciate all of our fund holders, thank you for your generosity and leadership.

Our board member Megan Davis has donated a few gift cards to Pine Street Bakery to GCF for some in person conversations. Thanks Megan and the team at Pine Street Bakery! If you would like to get together while the weather is still beautiful and discuss your fund or the potential of creating or supporting a fund please let me know. Enjoy these last days of spring and I hope to see some of you this summer.

With Gratitude,

Tucker Szymkowicz

Executive Director

Gorge Community Foundation

Tucker@gorgecf.org

Honoring a Visionary: With Thanks and Best Wishes to Lynn Everroad

By: Jill Burnette

In 1998, a small group of Gorge leaders had a bold idea - to launch a community foundation to help support the place they loved not just once, but into perpetuity. The group was led by Lynn Everroad, a fundraising professional with broad experience and deep affection for the Gorge. The skeptics were many. Specialists approached about the idea said that a region of fewer than 80,000 people couldn't support a community foundation. Others said the concentration of wealth wasn't great enough - or that there was too much competition. Still others contended that it was too complex to organize across Washington and Oregon lines, navigating each state's tax regulations.

Nevertheless, as the saying goes, she persisted, and the Gorge Community Foundation was born in 1998, making its first grants in 2001. Lynn knocked on doors, signed up neighbors, canvassed for donations of $5, $10 and $100, and encouraged many who might otherwise have sent their donations elsewhere to create their own donor advised funds and focus their giving where they lived. Lynn and an active, engaged Board of Directors recruited members from GCF's six-county service area on both sides of the Columbia River.

As the Operations Director and a founding and continuing member of the Board of Directors, Lynn has watched the Gorge Community Foundation grow from a seedling to a $11 million powerhouse, distributing over $500,000 each year in grants and scholarships to Gorge-area non profits including arts and culture, education, social services, environment, youth, senior services, and to students throughout the six-county service area.

Lynn recently retired as Operations Director and her replacement, Mary Nicolet, shares a passion for non-profit, community based organizations and brings broad financial and operational experience. With Mary as the new Operations Director and Tucker Szymkowicz as Executive Director, GCF is ready for its next phase of growth. Lynn continues as a board member and will always be a cherished and respected part of the Gorge Community Foundation. With enormous gratitude, the board, staff, donor advisors and friends of GCF salute our friend Lynn Everroad.

Introducing Mary Nicolet our new Operations Director

I am excited to join the Gorge Community Foundation as Operations Director.

Throughout my career, I have been passionate about helping mission-driven organizations build the financial, operational, and administrative foundations they need to thrive. I have partnered with nonprofits to strengthen operations, improve financial stewardship, streamline processes, and navigate periods of growth and change.

I believe that strong organizations create stronger communities, and I am honored to support the Foundation's mission of enhancing the quality of life throughout the Columbia River Gorge. I look forward to working alongside our dedicated staff, board members, donors, and community partners to further this important work.

Outside of work, I enjoy hiking and paddling with my family, attending live music events, and tackling puzzles—there is almost always one spread out on a table somewhere in my house.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this remarkable organization and look forward to getting to know the community and contributing to the Foundation's continued impact.

This scholarship season GCF awarded $68,000 in scholarships to students from around the Gorge. From Hood River to South Wasco, Goldendale and the Dalles. Our scholarship committee members reviewed so many incredible applications and were blown away by the quality and heartfelt essays as well as the long lists of accomplishments from grades to sports and community service. The Gorge is lucky to have this next generation of students and we look forward to hearing their stories and successes in their next phase of their educational journeys.

James A. Titus Scholarship Fund

We would also like to announce our newest scholarship, the James A. Titus Memorial Scholarship. Mr. Titus was the principal at Lyle High School for many years and when Stan Lockhart, Class of 1980, learned of his recent passing he contacted GCF to start a scholarship in his honor. During his time as principal at Lyle HS Mr. Titus made a huge impact on the faculty and students as a coach, mentor and friend. He continued his service to the community as an active member of the Lyle Lion’s Club and working at Amery Farms.

Stan Lockhart made it clear that while he started the fund that he is hoping to grow it with the support of other Lyle alumni. If you would like to donated towards the James A Titus Scholarship or any of our scholarships at GCF please click on the link below and select the scholarship you would like to support in the drop down menu. Here’s to all of the soon to be graduates of the Classes of 2026 throughout the Gorge, congratulations!

TO COIN A PHRASE BLOG

From Ferguson Wellman

IMPEDIMENTS AND BENEFITS OF A CURRENT ESTATE PLAN

In this quarter’s Wealth Management Insights video, "Impediments and Benefits of a Current Estate Plan," Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, explains that although people often delay estate planning due to common psychological and practical barriers, creating a thoughtful, up-to-date plan provides significant benefits.

Parting Thoughts

As most of you already know, the funding landscape has changed dramatically over the last 18 months. I have spoken with many local nonprofit leaders, and while they are doing their best to adapt, the path forward has often been challenging. Stability and consistency are what every nonprofit craves. As many organizations enter a new fiscal year, having consistent support through recurring donations, multi-year grants, or endowment distributions can make a tremendous difference.

At Gorge Community Foundation, we help individuals, families, and organizations establish donor advised funds, designated funds, scholarship funds, and charitable gift funds that make giving easier and more consistent. Today, GCF manages 104 charitable funds with more than $11 million in endowments. Together, these funds distribute over $500,000 annually to Gorge nonprofits and students, and that impact continues to grow each year.

Those numbers are possible because 104 local philanthropic leaders, families, businesses, and organizations chose to invest in the future of the Gorge. But it is not the amount given that matters, it is the important work being accomplished and the lives being changed by these funds that us important. Now imagine this. The six counties we serve on both sides of the Columbia River are home to more than 90,000 people. Imagine the untapped potential for generosity, community investment, and lasting impact that exists right here in our region.

Please help us continue to grow a culture of philanthropy in the Gorge. Philanthropy is a learned practice, and stories are one of the most powerful ways we inspire others to give. Share why giving in the Gorge is important to you. Tell a friend about GCF or introduce someone to your favorite local nonprofit. Small conversations can lead to meaningful impact.

Most importantly, thank you. Thank you to our fundholders for your dedication to the Gorge and its future. Thank you to the nonprofit professionals, volunteers, board members, sponsors, and donors who work every day to strengthen our communities. There is remarkable work happening across the Gorge, and it deserves to be celebrated and supported. Keep up the good work, share your stories, and help us build an even stronger future for our region.