New Board Member & Appointed Officers

The Community Foundation of Teton Valley recently welcomed Stella Martin as a new Board member and Tina Culman as a returning Board member, after a three-year hiatus. New governance and committee roles for existing members were also established.  “Great strides are made through the collective and selfless work of individuals committed to a common goal and purpose,” says Bonnie Self, Executive Director of the Community Foundation. “By gathering committed individuals with a passion for helping, we move our mission forward. We…

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Earn Your Wings with the Blake Chapman Flight Scholarship

The Blake Chapman Young Eagles Flight Scholarship was created by a group of individuals who wanted to give students in Teton County, ID the opportunity to learn how to fly. This scholarship provides up to $10,000 towards the cost of a Private Pilot Certificate – including instruction, flight time, and books. Recipients will incur some fees, as the total cost of obtaining a license is approximately $13,000. Applicants must be at least 17 years of age by June 1st of…

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Earn Your Wings with the Blake Chapman Flight Scholarship

The Blake Chapman Young Eagles Flight Scholarship was created by a group of individuals who wanted to give students in Teton County, ID the opportunity to learn how to fly. This scholarship provides up to $10,000 towards the cost of a Private Pilot Certificate – including instruction, flight time, and books. Recipients will incur some fees, as the total cost of obtaining a license is approximately $13,000. Applicants must be at least 17 years of age by June 1st of…

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Community Emergency Response Fund Converts to Opportunities Fund

The Community Foundation of Teton Valley’s new Opportunities Fund effectively moves resources collected in support of nonprofits during the pandemic into a long-term fund that will help with acute community granting needs going forward. While any nonprofit can apply, funding will be restricted for the next two-years to grants focused on addressing health & human services.  Beginning in 2025, the Community Foundation will remove the health & human services restriction, using the fund to facilitate collective impact and address critical community…

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Opening Doors/Abriendo Puertas Program

$1,000 – Education Foundation of Teton Valley The 2022 Youth Philanthropy students were honored to fully fund a grant of $1,000 to the Education Foundation of Teton Valley for the purpose of supporting Opening Doors/Abriendo Puertas – a national parenting program designed to honor and support parents as their child’s first teacher. The Youth Philanthropists recognized the Education Foundation’s concern that low-income parents do not always have the tools to support and assist their children as they start their school-based education.  The…

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Veterinary Care for Homeless Pets in Teton Valley

$1,000 – PAWS of Teton Valley The 2022 Youth Philanthropy students were pleased to fully fund a grant of $1000 to PAWS of Teton Valley for the purpose of providing veterinary care for homeless pets in Teton Valley. On Jan 1, 2022, PAWS of Jackson Hole acquired the Teton Valley Community Animal Shelter in Driggs, ID, because it was going out of business. Renamed, PAWS of Teton Valley, it is the only open-admission shelter accepting all stray, surrendered, and abandoned…

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Cultivating a School Farm and Garden Program

$1,000 – Driggs Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization The 2022 Youth Philanthropy students were honored to fully fund a grant of $1000 to the Driggs Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (DES PTO) for the purpose of providing field-trip educational program days that will help to initiate a farm and garden program at Driggs Elementary School. DES is the last public K-3 elementary school in Teton Valley to have a school farm and garden program and on-site garden. The school has the most…

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Maintaining Clean Streets & Volunteer Safety

$500 – Downtown Driggs Association The 2022 Youth Philanthropy students were honored to provide a partial grant of $500 to the Downtown Driggs Association for the purpose of purchasing equipment to keep volunteers and partners safe during large-scale annual Driggs trash pick-up events and streetscape improvement efforts. According to a 2022 report from Teton Regional Economic Coalition, Teton Valley’s population has grown quickly over the past few years, by more than 2000 individuals between 2016 and 2021 alone. The population…

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Continuing Education for Animal Care Staff

$500 – Aska’s Animals Foundation The 2022 Youth Philanthropy students were honored to provide a partial grant of $500 to the Aska’s Animals Foundation for the purpose of providing the organization’s animal care staff with continuing education to further their knowledge of canine behavior and development and to better assess and rehabilitate dogs with aggressive tendencies. The Youth Philanthropists recognized Aska Animal’s concern that during COVID many people adopted or bought dogs to keep them company at home and now that…

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Rescue Backboard for Summer Pool Program

$500 – Teton Valley Aquatics Youth Philanthropists partially funded a rescue backboard for the Teton Valley Aquatics Summer Pool Program. In 2022, Teton Valley Aquatics expanded its Summer Pool Program to include over 400 adult activity participants. However, with this increase of adults, particularly elderly participants, the risk of removing an unconscious adult from the pool also increased. If an adult medical emergency occurs, the need for a rescue backboard as an effective way to remove an unconscious adult from…

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Christmas for Teens

$1,000 – Subs for Santa Youth Philanthropists fully funded Subs for Santa’s proposal for student volunteers to help their program by purchasing Christmas gifts for teens that are age and gender-appropriate, which will be distributed to pre-selected teens in need over the holidays. Teens have, traditionally, been the most difficult age group to satisfy – who would know better than a teen what’s on their list? Teens have long been the most trying group to give appropriate, needed, and desired…

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Christmas for Teens

$1,000 – Subs for Santa Youth Philanthropists fully funded Subs for Santa’s proposal for student volunteers to help their program by purchasing Christmas gifts for teens that are age and gender-appropriate, which will be distributed to pre-selected teens in need over the holidays. Teens have, traditionally, been the most difficult age group to satisfy – who would know better than a teen what’s on their list? Teens have long been the most trying group to give appropriate, needed, and desired…

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Bike Helmets for Kids

$500 – Teton Valley Community Recycling With a partially funded grant from Youth Philanthropy, Pierre’s Pedal Project, sponsored by Teton Valley Community Recycling, will provide new helmets with every refurbished bike provided to children and adults in Teton Valley. This program’s mission is to ensure that everyone, regardless of age or income, has access to a bike and knows how to safely operate it. The people of Teton Valley love the outdoors and a major activity here is biking for fun and transportation.…

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Bike Helmets for Kids

$500 – Teton Valley Community Recycling With a partially funded grant from Youth Philanthropy, Pierre’s Pedal Project, sponsored by Teton Valley Community Recycling, will provide new helmets with every refurbished bike provided to children and adults in Teton Valley. This program’s mission is to ensure that everyone, regardless of age or income, has access to a bike and knows how to safely operate it. The people of Teton Valley love the outdoors and a major activity here is biking for fun and transportation.…

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Provide Holiday Meats for Families

$1,000 – Teton Valley Food Pantry Youth Philanthropists from Teton High School were pleased to fully fund the Teton Valley Food Pantry’s proposal to offer a variety of meats to community families whose resources are stressed during the holidays. They usually serve approximately 100 households per week and would offer the during a one-week period prior to Thanksgiving. Due to Asian bird flu and a possible shortage of turkeys, the Food Pantry has expanded its offerings to include additional meat varieties.…

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Community Foundation of Teton Valley Receives Award for Philanthropy

The Community Foundation of Teton Valley was honored to receive an award for Outstanding Philanthropic Organization, along with other volunteers and philanthropists from across Idaho, at Idaho Philanthropy Day’s virtual award ceremony on November 15, 2022.  “Volunteering is an important aspect of the Idaho way of life. Every year we honor our neighbors who donate time and talent to help their communities thrive,” Governor Brad Little said. Winners were chosen by the event’s judges committee after studying each nomination to decide which…

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Gratitude for Togetherness

Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. – Mattie Stepanek Your unwavering support is reflected across Teton Valley in opportunities for constituents of all walks of life. Most recently the Community Foundation, through our Youth Philanthropy program, distributed $7,000 in funding to nine organizations for critical community projects including turkeys for the Teton Valley Food Pantry this Thanksgiving, bike helmets and holiday gifts for local families in need, and new safety equipment for the Downtown Driggs…

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2022 Youth Philanthropy Grant Awards

The Community Foundation of Teton Valley’s Youth Philanthropy Program, in partnership with two Dual Enrollment Government classes at Teton High School, announced this year’s Youth Philanthropy grant winners at an Awards Assembly at Teton High School. Now in its 12th season, this year’s awards mark a total of $58,000 in granting and 460 students engaged via this multifaceted program.  Youth Philanthropy provides an excellent opportunity to introduce the concept of philanthropy to the next generation while helping students better understand the…

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Strategy in Action

In addition to monthly board meetings, the Board of the Community Foundation of Teton Valley sets aside one day a year to assemble for a Board Retreat. This time gives the Board a forum to review our mission, vision, strategy, priority goals, and key performance indicators.  This year, it also meant discussing the final assessment from our Community Feedback Survey that went out this Spring. Thank you to all those that participated in the survey and follow-up interviews to help…

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New Executive Director for the Community Foundation of Teton Valley

The Community Foundation of Teton Valley is pleased to announce that Bonnie Self has been selected as the organization’s new Executive Director. Bonnie brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Foundation after a career spent in service to nonprofit organizations on both sides of the Tetons. “I am honored to join the Community Foundation of Teton Valley as Executive Director. I have a deep appreciation for local nonprofit organizations and the critical services they provide. For 15 years,…

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