Orcas Island Community Foundation Launches Economic Opportunity Program with the Support of All In WA

By Hilary Canty, Executive Director of Orcas Island Community Foundation

The Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) – a partner of All In WA – is dedicated to improving quality of life for communities of Orcas Island and has developed creative solutions to support their residents amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. From housing to food security to financial aid, OICF is working hard to ensure the needs of their communities are being supported . With the help of All In WA, OICF has been able to launch a partnership with the San Juan County Conservation which will focus on land management and fire reduction, as well as reinvigorating the area’s economy and workforce.

How has COVID-19 impacted your community? 

While San Juan County has one of the lowest case counts per capita, we also lead the State in year over year job loss (25%), nearly twice the national rate. Our economic dependence on tourism meant that many of our businesses and workers have been hit very hard and are in dire need of assistance.

In what ways is OICF supporting community members in need? Can you share some specific stories?

OICF opened the Community Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide support for the most vulnerable in our community. Working with the OPAL Community Land Trust, we have provided rent and mortgage support for over 270 families and individuals consistently for several months. Looking for ways to help businesses and their employees, grants have been made to the Orcas Food Bank so they can purchase bread, produce, and protein from local producers – giving much needed income to our restaurants, farms and bakeries at a time when they had very little and giving Food Bank customers incredible local fresh food. We launched a Shelter program to provide temporary shelter and hygiene facilities to a number of unhoused neighbors. We also provided funding to start a buddy check in program for Seniors.

Can you describe the program OICF launched in partnership with San Juan County Conservation?

Looking for opportunities to diversify our economy while creating long-term jobs and workforce development, OICF has partnered with the SJ County Conservation District to launch the Orcas Civilian Conservation Corps. Participants will be paid full time and housing is provided to take the 10-and-a-half-month course. They are trained in land management and wildfire mitigation – recognizing that the San Juan Islands are at the highest risk of any Western Washington County for catastrophic wildfire. This impactful program addresses our ecological and our economic challenges head-on.

What makes this program unique? How do you see it impacting your community in the short and long term?

What makes this program unique is the partnership to develop the curriculum and teach the course between the Conservation District, Western Washington University and the NW Indian College. For the first time in US History the university program will teach participants in not only modern forest management and wildfire risk reduction, but also native land management, forestry and fire reduction recognizing that the Coast Salish People utilized a vast array of strategies built over millennia. They have also received a contract with AmeriCorps, so all students will receive health insurance and a $6,000 education stipend, and health insurance. To address racial and gender equity we worked to make sure that a diversity of participants benefited from this program. Of the 10 students enrolled, three are from the Lummi Nation, two are Latino, three are Black, and three are women, impressive diversity for our community.  WWU became so enthusiastic about the program they redirected a grant they were writing and have now received additional funding which will allow 20-30 additional students to participate over the winter. 

Most exciting however is the sustainability of the program and the value of the skills being taught. The San Juan County Land Bank, The San Juan Preservation Trust, Washington State Parks and other land organizations have already pledged significant funding to hire the crews into the future supplementing crews that have historically been hired out to crews from Olympia and Seattle. Also, the training the participants receive will qualify them for good paying jobs throughout the Western United States if they should desire.

How has All In WA helped make this program possible?

Thanks to the critical matching funds provided by All In WA, OICF was able to leverage $110,000 in CERF donations into $220,000, enough to launch the program.