STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Idaho Future Fund, established in 2015 by an anonymous couple in Blaine County, has included organizations in Blaine County and Lincoln County among the recipients of its 2024 grant cycle.

The fund awarded The Advocates for Survivors of Domestic Violence $20,00 to provide sliding-scale early learning scholarships for low-income preschool children at the organization’s new Thrive Kids community center in Hailey.

It also awarded $15,000 to The Space Idaho, to connect students to afterschool tutoring. And it awarded $15,000 for summer educational programming at the Lincoln County Youth Center in Shoshone.

Also regionally, the organization awarded $10,000 for STEAM programming to the Children’s Museum of the Magic Valley; $15,000 to match funding for reading tutors for Reading & Math Inc. in Twin Falls County and $18,000 to the YMCA of Twin Falls to support preschool and afterschool care.

The Fund is distributing nearly $300,000 to nonprofit organizations across Idaho this year to bridge critical gaps in educational programs from preschool through 12th grade. The fund was created to address challenges faced by educational institutions due to the decline in adequate funding models to support the needs of Idaho’s school districts.

Some of this year’s funds, for instance, went to Giraffe Laugh to support two new preschools in Boise and Kuna, and to Friends of Idaho Public Television for IPTV’s Storytime in a Box program.

To learn more, visit www.idahocf.org or email info@idahocf.org.

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#P`#The Advocates Color Our World display is up through the weekend at Cinimo Park at 5th and Main streets in Ketchum. Nearly 200 of the ribbons represent one crisis call made to The Advocates by someone in need of immediate help this year; 264 represents someone who found safety and support in The Advocates shelter last year.