Why Blaine County Charitable Fund?
BCCF was founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, when the Wood River Valley and Blaine County as a whole was hit with the COVID-19 virus. Citizens were ordered to shelter in their homes on March 25, 2020, and immediately many Blaine County citizens, both employees and small business persons, lost their incomes and employment.
The city of Hailey is ranked the 9th out of 916 metropolitan areas in the country with the most unequal income gap, and 1 in 3 are food insecure or one crisis away from it. Costs of living are only increasing and access to affordable housing decreasing. During BCCF’s first nine months of operation it was found that there where many in the Blaine County Community that do not qualify for many state and federal offered programs. Of those that applied for assistance with BCCF 65% were extremely low income (10-30% of the Average Median Income AMI for Blaine County), and 30% very low income (40-60% AMI). 78% of BCCF's applicants identify as Hispanic/Latino.
Although the pandemic created a community-wide crisis, it ultimately exposed the vulnerability of many in our community to withstand this or any future life crisis. BCCF seeks to provide impactful grants to Blaine County families with household expenses that are in immediate need of payment and cannot be deferred or negotiated. These may include health insurance premiums, immediate medical needs such as medication, rent, car insurance, or other immediate expenses.
The goal of BCCF is to remain in place long past this pandemic.
Blaine County Charitable Fund Board of Directors
Stephen D. Thompson, President
Kevin Jones, Co-founder/Secretary
Daryl Fauth, Co-founder/Vice-President
Becky Klassen, Treasurer
Penny Thayer
Herbert Romero
Sheila Moriarty
Robert Shuford
Staff
Mary Fauth, Director / Co-Founder
Monica Carrillo, Program Assistant