Community Raises $18.2 Million in 14 Years!

On Wednesday evening, the Community Foundation of Teton Valley hosted the 14th Annual Tin Cup Challenge Awards Ceremony. This beloved community event brought nonprofit leaders, donors, and volunteers together to celebrate the results of the 2021 Tin Cup Challenge.  After recognizing the significant contributions of the Foundation’s Board, staff, and volunteers who support the success of both the Tin Cup Challenge Giving Period and Event Day annually, the Community Foundation’s Executive Director, Tim Adams, announced results to an anticipatory crowd, “This…

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Your Foundation in Action

With supporters like you, we’ve elevated lives in Teton Valley over the last year through Youth Philanthropy, Competitive Grant Programs, and Nonprofit Workshops. Youth Philanthropy brings the Community Foundation into the classroom of high school seniors with three classes that serve to illustrate philanthropy in action and bring awareness to the local nonprofit landscape. In our most recent cycle, these emerging community leaders worked through real-world budget constraints and critical community needs to award $5K to 6 nonprofits. Students gain…

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Youth Philanthropy Inspires

The calendar has begun again and with it, fresh hopes and dreams for the new year.  Our resolutions for the year ahead reflect the future we envision for both ourselves and our community. The Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Program rounded out in December but continues to inspire us on both of these fronts into the new year. Now in its 8thseason, Youth Philanthropy gives back in a number of ways. During this year’s program, 32 high school seniors were introduced…

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Counseling for Clients in Need: Family Safety Network

Youth Philanthropists are consistently awed by the various needs of our community. Participating Teton High School seniors rallied to fully fund counseling for Family Safety Network’s clients with a $960 award through the Community Foundation’s Youth Philanthropy Program. Family Safety’s Counseling Program fills a desperate community need by providing victims of domestic violence and sexual assault access to individual counseling sessions. The funding request of $960 was meant to bridge the gap in available funding and ensure that all victims get…

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Animal Shelter Enrichment: Teton Valley Community Animal Shelter

Teton High School seniors funded the Teton Valley Community Animal Shelter’s Youth Philanthropy Grant for Animal Shelter Enrichment with a $730 grant award. The Teton Valley Community Animal Shelter takes in stray and unwanted animals, caring for them while they wait to be adopted. When people visit the adoptable animals, they appreciate knowing that the animals are well cared for and happy. This can be difficult if the dogs and cats are stressed or bored. When the animals are content,…

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Hasty Team Winter Equipment: Teton County Idaho Search and Rescue

Growing up in the shadow of the Tetons has impressed upon Teton High School Seniors the importance of a quick, experienced, and well-prepared response team should things go awry in the mountains. In light of their concern for Teton County’s growing population using the backcountry via horseback, four-wheelers, skis, and snowmobiles, Youth Philanthropy students awarded Teton County Idaho Search and Rescue $620 in grant funds to update some of their field equipment used by rescue teams during search missions. With…

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Dreamer Scholarships: Immigrant Hope-Wyoming/Idaho

Participating Teton High School seniors understood the power and impact of Immigrant Hope-Wyoming/Idaho’s Youth Philanthropy Grant Application immediately. There was little question that it would receive the full grant award of $960 to provide two Dreamer scholarships for present and/or former Teton High School students. DACA – Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or Dreamers, is a US government program for high school students and graduates, brought to the US as children, to obtain a renewable document which gives them the…

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Helping Community Cats: PAWS of Jackson Hole

Teton High School seniors participating in this year’s Youth Philanthropy Program recognized the immediate impact PAWS of Jackson Hole’s Trap-Neuter-and-Return program would have in Teton Valley and chose to partially fund this grant with an award of $730. Feral cats are community cats that live in colonies. Just as we help our human residents, community cats need our assistance with food and shelter, and they need to be spayed and neutered. Without control feral populations readily grow beyond their resources.…

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Community Resource Center of Teton Valley – Tech Upgrade Project

Tech Upgrade Project – $1,707.92 One of the four theories of change at the Community Foundation of Teton Valley is that greater capacity within nonprofits leads to larger impact in the community. The Foundation understands that streamlining services can save organizations time, money and resources while simultaneously extending the reach and breadth of their missions. The Community Resource Center of Teton Valley seeks to improve lives by connecting those in need with a network of resources. To accomplish their mission…

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Downtown Driggs Association – Essential Tools

Essential Tools – $1,500 A top priority goal for the Community Foundation is organizational health, for both ourselves and others. By increasing organizational health and sustainability, we create greater capacity within nonprofits, and in turn, have a larger impact in our community. The Downtown Driggs Association aims to foster a thriving and vibrant downtown community through free cultural arts events that help build and sustain community identity and wellbeing. The Community Foundation of Teton Valley partially funded their grant for…

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Friends of the Teton River – (H2)-KNOW your well water quality

(H2)-KNOW your well water quality – $2,750 As a Foundation with strategic values, the Grants Committee chose to fully fund Friends of the Teton River’s Competitive Grant for a well water testing cost-share program for Teton Valley residents. Mail-in test kits provided at a reduced cost enable individuals to accurately, affordably, and conveniently test their well water. Cost-share programs like this one are offered in neighboring communities, like Jackson, WY, as incentive to ensure drinking water sources are safe. Friends…

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Girls Actively Participating! (GAP!): Teton Valley GAP!

Teton Valley GAP! – $5,000 Girls Actively Participating’s grant spoke to all of the Community Foundation’s strategic pillars. The Grant Committee saw that with this grant the Foundation could simultaneously invest, empower, and enrich Teton Middle School girls. GAP! is an after-school program at Teton Middle School available to all girls. They experience topics such as developing relationships that lift instead of hurt, implementing mindful tools, understanding the power of authentic voice, embracing uniqueness, observing the impact of gender and…

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Mountain Bike the Tetons – MBT Youth Program Coordinator

MBT Youth Program Coordinator: $2,400 The Community Foundation partially funded Mountain Bike the Tetons grant for a dedicated program staff in order to meet growing community needs and expectations set by the groundbreaking, local youth cycling education program Sprockids. This outstanding opportunity will provide MBT with the foundation necessary to provide a more robust, inclusive, comprehensive and affordable summer program to local kids and their families. The Sprockids Program is the first of its kind for our region. MBT recognized an…

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PAWS of Jackson Hole – Veterinary Financial Assistance for Teton Valley Residents

$5,000 — Veterinary Financial Assistance for Teton Valley Residents The Community Foundation’s Grant Committee fully funded PAWS of Jackson Hole’s Competitive Grant that was both compassionate and strategic in nature. PAWS understands that sometimes people and their pets need veterinary help. When an owner can’t afford to pay for a vet, pets go without proper care. Whether a pet has an unfortunate accident or a sudden illness, this can mean financial hardship for local families. PAWS MedFund provides supplemental funding…

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Teton County Idaho Search & Rescue – Emergency Communication

$1,256.40 – Emergency Communication Mountain communication is inconsistent, posing considerable risks to Search & Rescue team members and those being rescued. The Community Foundation of Teton Valley chose to fully fund Teton County Idaho’s Search & Rescue’s competitive grant to strategically invest in four InReach locators. These GPS devices will be carried in the field by search teams to ensure another layer of communication and safety. Communication with teams in the field, specifically in the mountains, is one of Search…

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Teton Rock Gym – Kids Climbing Capacity Building

Kids Climbing Capacity Building – $3,500 The Community Foundation of Teton Valley fully funded Teton Rock Gym’s Competitive Grant that will further enrich our community through a strategic investment in expanding and improving the children’s section of the Rock Gym facility and offering free family climbing days during this summer. This project helps meet the needs of our community for more healthy, affordable, year-round recreational activities. Despite Teton Valley’s enviable location, surrounded by spectacular mountain terrain, Teton Valley has a…

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ABC-Above & Beyond the Classroom and Teton Arts — ART FOR ALL: Bringing Art to the ABC Summer School Program

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Over 70% of ABC’s students are from economically disadvantaged families and 60% are Hispanic. Research demonstrates that promoting out-of-school programming, connecting families to their schools, and promoting relationships with caring adults increase the likelihood participants will graduate from high school, have fewer discipline issues during regular school, and are less likely to engage in at-risk behavior. Teton Arts knows the inherent benefit of art experiences and the positive impact on academic performance and social engagement. While Teton Arts offers…

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Teton School District #401 – Improving Reading Instruction

Improving Reading Instruction – $3,000 The Community Foundation understands the importance of a solid educational foundation that includes strong reading skills. With struggling readers present in every school across the nation, the Foundation fully funded the School District’s competitive grant to improve reading instruction. As teachers and school systems work to meet the needs of all of their students, having a strong toolbox of strategies and methods to tackle learning challenges is of the utmost importance. This project will provide…

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Teton Valley Aquatics — Community Learn-to-Swim Program

Community Learn-to-Swim Program – $2,000 The Community Foundation of Teton Valley appreciated the strategic nature of this grant to invest in swim education and empower families with the access and knowledge to swim.  Teton Valley Aquatics’ Pilot Community Learn-to-Swim program to address limited accessiblity to water safety education opportunities in Teton Valley was granted full funding during our Competitive Grant cycle. As a result of this program, a broader cross-section of our community will have improved swimming and safety skills. In…

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Teton Valley Community Recycling – Community Compost Program

Community Compost Program – $750 The Community Foundation was pleased to fully fund Teton Valley Community Recycling’s competitive grant to strategically and collaboratively reduce waste and increase composting locally. Teton Valley residents currently send large amounts of food and yard waste to the landfill for disposal thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions through transport and the resultant anaerobic decay of landfilled materials. The new Community Compost program creates a neighborhood composting network and a sustainable way to feed the soil! Teton…

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