A History Rooted in Community

In 1984, southwest Washington was getting to work finding its own solutions. After experiencing two recessions in just three years, our region was grappling with increasing unemployment rates and government budget cuts.

Mary Granger, a longtime community activist, was serving as a regional representative to Governor John Spellman. People in crisis flooded her office with daily calls for assistance. Mary did the only thing she could: she started contributing.

She volunteered her time to rally a group of business and nonprofit leaders into the Community Responsibility Task Force. The group held food drives, raised funds for emergency housing and organized free medical care for their neighbors in need.

Mary recognized the critical role nonprofits play in times of crisis, and she saw that many lacked stable funding. She also heard about community foundations and soon presented her vision for a local endowment. While many doubted it could be done amid a recession, her colleagues knew it needed to happen.

With Mary leading the way, they launched the Clark County Community Foundation and went to work raising the initial funds. Slowly they built public trust and relationships that pushed the organization past the $1 million mark in year three and cemented this bold idea into our region’s charitable landscape.