Immediate Needs Alert

The Wyoming Community Foundation and donors meet the basic needs of our state's families and individuals during this economic crisis.

The issue:

Food pantries throughout Wyoming are seeing increased demands and, at the same time, flat or declining contributions. Gov. Dave Freudenthal expressed his support for much-needed hunger relief across the state, saying, "It's a difficult time for many working families in Wyoming, even with food stamps and energy assistance from the government. I applaud the Wyoming Community Foundation for its leadership and for setting up a statewide response so quickly.

How we responded:

Over $100,000 in support for Wyoming's food pantries, coming from earnings of the Wyoming Community Foundation's unrestricted endowment funds, plus contributions from several of its donor advised fundholders, were awarded to 32 food banks across the state.

Our donors to this project are:

“This kind of grantmaking is only possible because our Community Foundation is blessed with donors who have trusted us with unrestricted funds--meaning no strings attached-- that allow us to continue to make modest grants in areas of greatest need," said Lynette Morris, CPA, vice president of finance of the WYCF.

According to Arne Jorgensen, the chair of the WYCF's Distribution Committee, “As a group, we realized there was an immediate, unmet need that we could address because of the foresight of donors who have entrusted the Community Foundation with unrestricted funds. This allows us to be responsive and ready for unanticipated community problems."

How to submit a final report if your organization received an INF grant:

Final reports are due in the WYCF office on or before April 30, 2009. Click here for instructions on completing a final report.

Final reports should contain three elements:

• Grantee information
• Narrative
• Financial report

For more information:

Contact the Wyoming Community Foundation's program staff at samin@wycf.org or 307-721-8300.

Click here to read our January 7 press release

Click here to read our February 11 press release