Great Fish Challenge launches July 20

Whitefish Community Foundation will kick off this year’s Great Fish Community Challenge on Thursday, July 20, with a Gone Fishin’ social gathering and Great Fish Community Challenge launch party at First Interstate Bank of Whitefish from 5 to 7 p.m. The foundation will offer $500 worth of grant opportunities to nonprofits for donations made at the event.

The third annual giving campaign features 45 nonprofits and will begin with a $200,000 match fund. The community foundation organizes the challenge and provides the matching funds to inspire the community to give to the participating nonprofits. The challenge will run 10 weeks and culminates with a community celebration Sept. 9 at Depot Park in Whitefish with the Great Fish 5K Color Run and nonprofit fair.

Sign up for the Color Run and get a free T-shirt while supplies last, at www.greatfishchallenge.org/5k-color-run-and-fair/.

New to this year’s Great Fish Community Challenge is a jingle competition. Nonprofits in the challenge are invited to submit a jingle about the Great Fish Challenge. Three jingle finalists will be selected by a panel of judges and will perform at the community celebration. The winner will be chosen through a community vote and awarded a $1,000 grant at the Great Fish grant awards presentation Oct. 12.

More than $15,000 of bonus and incentive grants will be awarded to nonprofits this year. Every week during the campaign, an incentive grant will be announced.

The announcements will be released each week in the Whitefish Pilot and on social media sites. The incentive grant for the upcoming week will be awarded to the nonprofit that receives the most individual donations between July 24 and July 30.

Donors can start making gifts on July 20 online at www.greatfishchallenge.org, or by sending in an official donor form. Donor forms will be mailed July 18 and will be available in newspapers, at the Whitefish Community Foundation office, local downtown businesses, Whitefish Chamber of Commerce and from participating nonprofits. Forms also can be downloaded from the website.

For more information about the Whitefish Community Foundation and the Great Fish Community Challenge visit the foundation website at www.whitefishcommunityfoundation.org or call 863-1781.