Spirits were high as members of the Promontory Club and guests from dozens of local nonprofits gathered for the Promontory Foundation’s giving event. Executive Director Kelli Brown welcomed the crowd with news that the foundation had a record-breaking year, both for the number of grant applicants - 47 in total - and the total dollars to be awarded - $370,000 - to 30 area nonprofits.
Brown also announced that in addition to its traditional grants, the foundation had created a new $50,000 "high-impact" award.
"As we got to the end of last giving season, we really took a step back and said, ‘You know what, it would be great if we could find a way to have a particularly meaningful impact on an organization that could really use some extra funding,'" said Brown. "So, we created a new grant for 2023 called the ‘Promontory Promise’ grant."
Habitat for Humanity of Summit and Wasatch Counties received the inaugural “Promontory Promise” award. The housing nonprofit will use the funds to renovate its Park City ReStore location by constructing a covered all-seasons drop off area for those donating furniture and other household goods. Sales from the Park City ReStore generate revenue for Habitat’s affordable homeownership programs.
Shellie Barrus, Habitat’s Executive Director, said the Promontory Foundation’s investment will help families in the community build a foundation for the future, while also diverting hundreds of tons from local landfills each year.
Other 2023 Promontory grant recipients include the Christian Center of Park City, which will use funds for its local food pantries, Peace House for its clinical therapy program, and the Egyptian Theatre’s YouTheatre program. KPCW was among the recipients and will use Promontory grant funds to expand Spanish-language news and public service announcements in the coming year.
Now in its 17th year, the Promontory Foundation is a charitable organization whose mission is to support local nonprofits with a particular focus on arts, culture, and social services. Brown said the goal is to give Promontory members a way to give back to the community even if they don’t live in Park City year-round.
"We have a large percentage of our Promontory homeowners that call Promontory their second home, but we still wanted them to have a meaningful way to connect to the community that they love," she said.
The foundation raises funds during the Promontory Club’s annual charity event in July and awards grants each summer. As part of its grant conditions, the foundation requires that recipients secure outside matching funds to supplement Promontory’s contributions. Under this model, Brown said the foundation has donated more than $2.6 million to area nonprofits since its inception in 2006, with a total impact of more than $7.4 million across Summit County.
Applications will open for next year’s grant cycle in May 2024. Nonprofits interested in applying can learn more on the Promontory Foundation website.
