This fall, Philanthropy Northwest celebrates 40 years as a thriving network of foundations and corporate giving programs committed to Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Last month, more than 200 philanthropy leaders joined us Under One Sky in Missoula, Montana to explore this work through the lenses of democracy and equity, and to raise a glass with our founding members, valued partners — and several new friends.

Through shared experiences, learning and action across sectors, we help each other become more skillful in our work, advance our missions and build vibrant, equitable and inclusive communities. Strengthening existing connections among our people, places and missions — and forging new opportunities every day — makes us stronger partners regionally and nationally. We are thankful for the support and partnership of our longtime members, along with three organizations that have joined us more recently:

• Grays Harbor Community Foundation: The Grays Harbor Community Foundation enables any person interested in improving any part of Grays Harbor County to make a gift for almost any charitable purpose which benefits local residents. The donor may give to an existing fund or establish a named fund, either permanent or temporary, specific or general in purpose and goals. Year after year, the income from a donor's fund might be used to make grants to local charities who request assistance, to fund scholarships for local students, or to make regular contributions to one or more specific local charities.
• Group Health Community Foundation: This new community foundation, to be funded by the proceeds of the proposed acquisition of Group Health Cooperative by Kaiser Permanente, aims to improve the health and well-being of the people in our communities and beyond. If the transaction is approved by state regulators, Kaiser Permanente will fund Group Health Community Foundation as a new 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization with approximately $1.8 billion at the closing of the acquisition. This organization will be independent of Kaiser Permanente, but Group Health’s legacy of caring, innovation, excellence, equity and inclusion will live on in this new foundation. Learning will be an essential part of their fabric. In order to serve the people of our state and tackle the most challenging issues, they will rely on community wisdom, thoughtful partnerships and research insights to determine our priorities. They will support and build on what is working today, learn from others and share what they discover.
• U.S. Bank: U.S. Bank Foundation believes that strong communities are built upon strong foundations. To build those strong foundations, U.S. Bank invests in innovative programs designed to serve local community needs. They add strength and vitality to communities through the U.S. Bank Foundation, Employee Matching Gift Program, Dollars for Doing and Corporate Contributions. Through the U.S. Bank Foundation Community Possible platform, they invest our time, resources and passion in economic development by supporting efforts to create stable jobs, better homes and vibrant communities. In 2015, the U.S. Bank Foundation provided $25.5 million in grant funding and matching gifts and dollars for doing contributions. Also, U.S. Bank contributes to the strength and health of our communities through the U.S. Bank Foundation and Corporate Giving. Total annual funding for both programs reached $53 million in 2015.

Philanthropy Northwest members work together and with our team to create conversations, policy positions and resources for the field. We encourage you to take advantage of our many membership benefits, including: 

• Convenings: Special rates for our annual conference and specialized training programs.
• Resources: Access to our Digital Resource Centers on arts funding, disaster philanthropy and impact investing. More to come in 2017!
• Get on the Map: Access to the Foundation Center's interactive data visualization of grants across our region.
• The Giving Practice: Special rates and one hour free consulting each year from our team.
• Job Bank: Free posting to our Job Bank, which has more than 10,000 visits each month.
• Networks: Invitation to members-only conversations, including our annual Foundations on the Hill delegation, Virtual Roundtable discussions and Communication Matters community of practice.

Through our relationship with the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, Philanthropy Northwest members also receive special rates for these resources:

• Bromelkamp Company's Pearl Software for Grantmakers.
• Changing Our World Toolkit +Coaching, a 16-week guided strategic planning process for community engagement to help companies develop thoughtful strategies that leverage corporate assets to benefit the community.
• ClickTime, a time and expense tracking services for nonprofits.
• D&O Insurance
• The Foundation Review
• PhilanTrack, an online grants management software.
• Stanford Social Innovation Review

Paul Kim is Philanthropy Northwest's member and donor program associate. He can be reached at pkim@philanthropynw.org.