The Grays Harbor Community Foundation, with help from a major gift by Hoquiam native Bob Mandich, a retired dentist now living in California, has awarded $350,000 in grants to help local non-profits that have had to adapt to significant operational changes in order to provide services despite the pandemic.

It’s the first time the “Nonprofit Appreciation Grants” have been awarded. “We would like to extend a big thank you to our wonderful donor Bob Mandich,” read a statement from the foundation. “Bob read about our Appreciation Grant cycle in our January e-newsletter and called to say he wanted to help our nonprofits in their time of need. Thanks to Bob, we were able to award over double what we had originally budgeted for this granting program! Thank you Bob, for continually making a difference in your community and always thinking of the people in your hometown, even from afar. “

Sixteen organizations were awarded with funds to help jump start 2021.

The organizations are:

7th Street Kids

Beyond Survival

Catholic Community Services of Western Washington / Feed the Hungry

Connections

Downtown Aberdeen Association

Driftwood Players

Family Promise of Grays Harbor

Grays Harbor Youth Works

Habitat for Humanity

Olympic View Grange

Polson Park and Museum

The ARC of Grays Harbor

United Way of Grays Harbor

Vietnam Veterans of America

Westport South Beach Historical Society

YMCA of Grays Harbor

“This granting cycle was particularly rewarding because we were able to leverage donor-advised funds with Foundation funds to make a really big impact,” said Grants Committee Chairman Don Arima. “Our donors are the fabric of our operations and allow us to really make a difference in our nonprofit community through our granting programs. People like Bob, who are invested in their local communities and have a desire to be philanthropic, are change-makers in our community. Philanthropy takes several people working together toward a common goal and the Foundation is honored to be a part of the process of connecting donors to causes they are passionate about. When that happens, we in turn are able to better serve our nonprofit community and local schools to provide vital services and resources to our community.”

Mandich graduated from Hoquiam High School as valedictorian in the class of 1957.

According to background from the Community Foundation, Mandich received a $750 scholarship for four years which he used to attend the University of Washington — and without it would not have been able to attend college at all. In 2004, working with the foundation, he established a scholarship fund to help local students attend college.

Mandich served two years in the Army Dental Corps during the Vietnam era then practiced in Kent until retiring in 1997 and now lives in Carlsbad, California.

“But I always think of myself as a guy from Hoquiam,” Mandich said in an online post written by the foundation.

For more about the grants program, check the Foundation website at www.gh-cf.org or contacting our office at 360-532-1600 or by e-mail at info@gh-cf.org.