President's Letter

At the Idaho Community Foundation, we are always looking for ways to make it easy for our fundholders to support the community organizations that are important to them and for nonprofits, schools and students to apply for ICF grants and scholarships. When we started using our current system in 2018 it was state-of-the-art.

But as we all know, technology changes quickly. We are excited to announce that our staff has been working behind the scenes for many months researching a new system to make giving grants and applying for grants and scholarships even easier. The new system will be launched on Monday, Oct. 9.

In order to prepare for the launch, we must limit access to the existing system. Until Oct. 9, fundholders and fund contacts will only be able to view their fund information on the portal. They will not be able to make a grant online or contribute to their fund online during this time.

Additionally grant applicants, except applicants to the Chobani Community Impact Fund, will not be able to apply for a grant online until Oct. 9. Click to see guidelines and to apply for the Chobani Community Impact Fund.

However, we are here to help! If you need to:

• Make a grant from your fund, please email grants@idahocf.org. Grants may take up to three weeks to process, due to the system changeover.
• Donate to your fund or any ICF fund, please mail a check to Idaho Community Foundation, 210 W State Street, Boise, ID 83702.

We have notified fundholders and fund contacts about the changes. If you are a fundholder or a fund contact and you haven’t received an email or letter, please contact us at fundportal@idahocf.org. Once the changeover to the new system happens, we will provide training documents, videos and one-on-one sessions.

As with all software conversions, there will be a few kinks to work out in the first couple of months, so we appreciate your patience and understanding. However, we are confident that this new system will provide everyone with the tools and reporting capabilities to give the highest level of service possible. 

A big thanks to my staff, including Zach Mars, Boone Kizer, Savannah Slater, Megan Perez and Judy Ramos for all their work in identifying this new product and steering us through the conversion.

Best wishes,
Steve Burns

Save the Date to Celebrate our 35th Anniversary!

We are excited to announce that we are hosting a Celebration of Philanthropy in recognition of our 35th Anniversary. The event is Thursday, Nov. 9, from 5-8 p.m. at JUMP in Boise. Invitations will be mailed and emailed soon, and registration begins in October.

At the event, we will thank Alice Hennessey for her commitment to strengthening Idaho communities through philanthropy by presenting her with the Board of Directors Forever Idaho Award.

We thank our Presenting Sponsors Boise Cascade and Norco, and Philanthropist Sponsor DL Evans Bank for their support of this event!

Idaho Community Foundation staff and the Board of Directors were saddened by the passing of community leader J.J. Saldana over the weekend. J.J. served as a member of ICF’s Southwest Regional Council, where he helped the community foundation direct our grantmaking by understanding the greatest needs in the region and the organizations working to address them.

“We join the community in mourning the loss of J.J. Saldana's leadership. As a member of our Southwest Regional Council, J.J. shared his deep knowledge of southwest Idaho with us and he cared deeply for the people who live here,” said ICF President and CEO Steve Burns.

Click here to read more about J.J. Saldana from BoiseDev.

We are so pleased to welcome Jenessa Hansen-Evans as our Marketing and Events Associate. Jenessa will organize ICF events throughout the state and help tell ICF’s story through a variety of channels. She brings nearly 10 years of event management experience and is a Certified International Festival & Events Executive.

A native Idahoan whose family has been in the state since the late 1880s, Jenessa enjoys building and fostering community connections through events. Before coming to ICF, Jenessa worked for the city of Eagle, the city of Boise, and Lovevery.  

Jenessa enjoys various activities, and she likes to take the time to unwind with her family and friends. She and her husband Andrew are parents to August, who is always ready to laugh and dig in the dirt for worms. Jenessa and Andrew enjoy playing with their dog, Gertie, gardening, and trying out new recipes (their current favorite is a white miso tomato vinaigrette).

“Being a part of the Idaho Community Foundation means a lot to me because I can combine my passions with my skills,” Jenessa said. “It fulfills my desire to make a big impact and help others.”

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