The Promontory Foundation has awarded more than $2.4 million to local nonprofits since its inception in 2006. Funds are raised by homeowners in the private community who donate during an annual fundraiser each July. Promontory Foundation board members then review grant applications with awards announced each September.
“We have a few criteria that we really try to focus on,” said Kelli Brown, General Manager of the Promontory Club. “First of all, it needs to be local to our community, so we’re really focusing on organizations that exist here in Summit County. The second is that it needs to be an unmet need. So if there are already 5 or 6 other organizations that we feel are meeting that specific need, we might look at that with a little harder scrutiny to make sure we’re trying to be as impactful as we can.”
Another factor the foundation considers is whether applicants have opportunities for Promontory homeowners to volunteer or get personally involved.
“The people that are living in Promontory, most of them are second-home residents, and so they already have an opportunity to give in their home community, “ Brown said. "So if they are going to give again in their second-home community, we want it to be something where they can come and participate. If it’s important to them, it’s important to us.”
In 2022, the foundation received roughly 40 applications and awarded more than $300,000 to 28 recipients, including People’s Health Clinic, PC Tots, Youth Sports Alliance, and KPCW.
The foundation anticipates making a similar number of awards this year, and is introducing a new "high impact" award as part of its 2023 grants cycle.
“This year it’s very exciting because we are giving out our first 'Promontory Promise' grant,” said Nicole Barton, Executive Director of the Promontory Foundation. “That is a grant of over $50,000 for one nonprofit where we see the direct need in the community.”
Brown and Barton said the goal of the new “Promontory Promise” grant is to help nonprofits that might be at or near capacity either expand their physical space if that’s needed, or expand the services beyond what they are currently able to provide.
“We’re trying to provide something that’s meaningful enough that will ratchet up that organization to the next level, and sometimes it really takes a significant grant like that to do that,” said Brown.
She also noted the foundation is also placing more emphasis on an organization’s ability to track impact as a key factor in determining awards.
“This year we even changed up our application a little bit because we want to do a better trying to measure,” said Brown. “We can look at that the following year and say ‘Did they fulfill the mission that they were trying to accomplish?’ There are a lot of great organizations out there with a lot of great intentions, so we have to be pretty selective about who we give to.”
Summit County nonprofits have until June 23 to apply. The application is posted on the Promontory Foundation’s website: promontoryclub.com/promontory-foundation.
