Innovia Awards Roughly $100,000 to Stevens and Ferry Counties

The Spokane-based Innovia Foundation held a Making More Possible reception in Colville at the Crossroads Event Center on May 19. During the event, representatives with the organization awarded grants, and highlighted individual programs and initiatives the Innovia Foundation champions.

During the reception, grant recipients were announced for the Tri-County area, with approximately $100,000 awarded across Ferry and Stevens counties. Three grants that totaled more than $25,000 went to the Inchelium Cultural Resource Center, Feeding Ferry County, and the Ferry County Health Foundation. In Stevens County, seven grants were awarded for a total of $75,000: the Tri-County Economic Development District, Communities in Schools of Northeast Washington, Stevens County Youth Outreach, LaunchNW and Providence, Friends of the Kettle Falls Library, Kettle Falls Community Chest, and N.E.W. Hunger Coalition.

After the grants were announced, Innovia Foundation CEO Shelly O’Quinn discussed different initiatives and programs that the organization is focused on. O’Quinn highlighted the foundation’s annual Leadership Summit, its community photography contest, and The Longest Table, in which a community closes down a street for a meal and discussions about the future. Ben Small, executive director of LaunchNW, spoke about that education initiative. Small also honored the late Don Baribault, former superintendent of North- port School District who passed away following an accident in Long Beach last year. LaunchNW scholarships awarded to Northport High School students will now be known as the Don Baribault LaunchNW Scholarship.

Longtime Innovia Foundation volunteer Debra Hansen then spoke about the Stevens County Forever Fund that she established. According to Hansen, the fund, managed by the Innovia Foundation, provides annual grants specifically to Stevens County and anyone can donate or leave a portion of their estate to the fund.

The Innovia Foundation, established in 1974, started as a $15,000 fund, O’Quinn said at the reception. The organization now covers 10 counties in eastern Washington, 10 counties in north Idaho and has 300 volunteers. The organization has awarded $4.2 million in Ferry, Stevens, and Pend Oreille counties since its establishment, O’Quinn stated.

Grant recipient N.E.W. Hunger Coalition was awarded $15,000 that will help with a variety of projects, said Stephani Smith, executive director of the Hunger Coalition. Those projects include the staffing for the licensed food processor, stipends to help cover fuel costs for food pantry clients to attend classes, a table that can hold both hot and cold foods, and more storage for products, said Smith. “I thought this was lots of buckets to hold spices, and I was out almost immediately. Once you begin to do something, you quickly learn what you didn’t know that you needed,” said Smith. N.E.W. Hunger Coalition is “a nonprofit that works to improve nutrition and reduce hunger in our three counties,” stated Smith.

She highlighted the nonprofit’s Farm to Food Pantry program, which involves purchasing local, healthy produce and distributing it to 18 food pantries across the tri-county area. The organization also hosts its Grow Your Own Row program, in which coalition team members “go out, teach, and equip people to grow their own healthy food,” said Smith. “We take all the materials for people to successfully vegetable garden for themselves,” said Smith. The coalition also has a freeze dryer, and will take local fresh produce, or produce that might be starting to wilt, and freeze dry them. Smith said the team then compiles ingredients into healthy, full meals, such as blueberry oatmeal, minestrone soup, or fiesta soup. “All a pantry client would need to do would be to boil four cups of water, simmer for 25 to 20 minutes, and have a healthy meal,” said Smith.

Many foods that can be accessed through food pantries are too high in salt, fat, or carbohydrates, said Smith. “We’re trying to get healthy, whole foods to people,” said Smith.

LaunchNW received a $10,000 grant, stated Small via email. “The grant is in partnership with Providence to support a weeklong Healthcare Career Camp for juniors and seniors from Tri-County high schools,” said Small. The camp, which will be held from June 22 to June 26, is “designed to introduce high school students to the breadth of career opportunities in healthcare – both clinical and nonclinical – while strengthening the local workforce pipeline,” he stated.

Feeding Ferry County, a nonprofit focused on “reducing food insecurity across Ferry County by providing free, shelf-stable meal kits and connecting residents with food resources,” was awarded $7,500, stated Stephanie Connor, the organization’s executive director, via email. “Since launching at the end of 2025, the organization has distributed more than 1,000 meal kits and helped ensure that food which might otherwise go to waste reaches local families and individuals instead,” stated Connor. The grant will go toward buying food and meal kits supplies, transportation and distribution costs, and “organizational infrastructure needed to serve more neighbors in rural communities,” Connor said. “This investment will help ensure that nutritious food remains accessible to local residents while supporting the organization’s continued growth and long-term sustainability,” she added.

The Friends of the Kettle Falls Public Library was awarded a $2,500 grant, stated Lisa Wolfe, president, via email. Two years ago, the organization started a program to provide after school snacks at the Kettle Falls Public Library, said Wolfe. “The Kettle Falls Public Library lies right in the middle of the three schools in town, and so, as a safe space, draws many kids after school,” stated Wolfe. Some youth are there for programs, for their homework, to visit with friends, and some wait for parents to get home from work, she said. “Whatever the reason, the kids do better when they’re not hungry. The librarians had been buying them snacks, but that wasn’t tenable for the long term,” said Wolfe. “The Friends stepped in and started applying for grants to buy healthy, nonsugary snacks for the kids.” Spokane Teachers Credit Union’s Here for Good Foundation underwrote the first two years, but the program qualified for Innovia’s grant theme this year, stated Wolfe.

The Friends of the Kettle Falls Library also partners with the Kettle Falls Community Chest food bank, another Innovia grant awardee. “Their contributions stretch our snack budget to last longer through the year,” Wolfe said. The organization has also received funding from anonymous donors recently as well, she noted.

The Stevens County Youth Outreach was awarded a $15,000 grant for electrical improvements to the nonprofit’s shop facility, enabling the space to become a functioning automotive training shop, explained Katie Taylor, grants and operations manager for the organization, via email. “Once completed, the shop will be used to teach automotive classes and basic vehicle maintenance and repair skills,” said Taylor. Stevens County Youth Outreach’s mission is to “empower local youth through education, mentorship, workforce development, and hands-on learning opportunities,” she said. The automotive shop project “directly supports our mission by creating additional pathways to employment and providing youth with hands-on experience, practical skills, and exposure to career opportunities in the automotive industry,” stated Taylor. Stevens County Youth Outreach’s team is “incredibly grateful” to the Innovia Foundation. “The grant is much more than a facility improvement. It represents an investment in the next generation of workers, leaders, and community members,” stated Taylor.

For more information on grants awarded to local organizations, visit innovia.org.