A Wasatch County service organization made up of community volunteers is looking for support as it helps residents.
The majority of the Wasatch Community Foundation’s funding comes from donations. During the remainder of this year, the foundation’s looking to form a group of 100 sustaining donors.
Chair of the foundation board Tom Fowler hopes these can come from outside of Wasatch County, as well as within.
“Our efforts are truly for the families, the individuals in Wasatch County,” he says. “That’s who we are. But I would like to say, a lot of these individuals, a lot of these family members living in Wasatch County, are working in Park City, so I would ask the businesses, the individuals in Summit, in Park City, to help us help them if they can.”
The Wasatch Community Foundation formed in 2000 to centralize many independent service efforts going on locally then.
Now, with a team of over 50 volunteers, it’s the largest nonprofit in the county.
“Our mission is really to help advance the wellbeing of Wasatch County residents by uniting community resources and programs. We do that through our structure. We have areas of focus, including health, recreation, education, arts and human services,” Fowler says.
With the economic challenges the COVID-19 pandemic has brought on, the foundation has been focusing on human services in the last year. Fowler said it paid over $300,000 of residents’ bills in the past year. Some primary partners for that fundraising effort were the Christian Church of Park City, St. Mary’s Church and St. Lawrence Church in Heber City.
Another primary focus is in the health pillar. The annual children’s health clinic offers free wellness exams and vaccinations to children who don’t have insurance.
Coming up in a couple months is the annual community Thanksgiving dinner. It’s a free meal for up to 500 with music and festivities.
Recurring initiatives benefit school-supply drives, food pantries and recreation and arts facilities.
Board member Jerry Pitts, who oversees fundraising, says donors have control over their gifts.
One primary reason for that is the option to contribute to specific events or pillars within the foundation.
Team members are volunteers and administration fees are minimal - so about 99% of donations go toward helping county residents and projects.
To visit the Wasatch Community Foundation website, go to ourwcf.org.
