Greater Coeur d’Alene foundation awards $10,000 to local nonprofits

Six nonprofits serving the greater Coeur d’Alene area split a $10,000 Idaho Gives prize pool Tuesday, and the money was reserved for organizations that could clear a high bar: 100% board giving during Idaho Gives. The community prize stayed local, aimed at nonprofits serving Coeur d’Alene, Hayden, Hayden Lake, Fernan Lake Village, Dalton Gardens and surrounding communities.

Heidi Rogers, the foundation board vice chair and a Coeur d’Alene resident, said, “Strong board leadership helps fuel strong communities.” Mary Sanderson, a founding donor to the Greater Coeur d’Alene Community Foundation, said the prize was created “to celebrate the nonprofits that care so deeply about North Idaho and the people they serve.” The prize pool was built through donors who wanted a lasting, community-driven philanthropic resource for the area, not a one-time photo opportunity.

The award landed in the middle of Idaho Gives 2026, a statewide campaign run by the Idaho Community Foundation and powered by ICCU that collected donations May 4-7. Organizers describe it as Idaho’s largest giving campaign, and the foundation says the effort has brought in more than $33 million since 2013. Last year’s campaign set a record at $5.1 million, and 85% of participating nonprofits found at least one new donor, a sign that the event keeps widening the circle of support beyond habitual givers. Kevin Bailey, vice president of impact and the nonprofit center at the Idaho Community Foundation, said, “Idaho Gives is more than four days of giving. It’s a reminder of how deeply folks care about their communities.”

For Kootenai County, the significance is practical. Lake City Center’s Meals on Wheels program delivers about 5,000 meals a month to seniors in Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Huetter, Hauser and Dalton Gardens, while volunteers log roughly 190 to 200 hours a month on Meals on Wheels and 200 to 220 hours on congregate meals. Village of Hope CDA partners with foster parents, social workers and the wider community to support children and families in crisis, and Family Promise of North Idaho says its mission is to help every child and family have a home and a livelihood. Dollars that start as a prize pool can end up as route gas, staffing time, shelter support and the other unglamorous costs that keep those services moving.