STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

Wood River Women’s Foundation members are about to beg people to ask them for money.

But, first, they celebrated their successes of the past year with a Christmas party at Trinka Dyer’s handsome mountain lodge-style Valley Club home.

“We’re about to start our 19th grant cycle,” WRWF President Sandy McCullough told the women who had gathered. “What you do makes a huge difference in the community. It’s pretty simple: We collectively put our money in a pot and give it away. It’s wonderful to be around women who are kind and generous and doing so much work in the community.”

The Wood River Women’s Foundation, a philanthropic organization, had its genesis on a chairlift ride up Bald Mountain as Barbara Thrasher and Jo Murray brainstormed ways to benefit the community.

The organization’s 300-plus members have given more than $4 million to dozens of projects benefitting the community since the WRWF’s inception in 2005. And it will begin fielding applications for new requests on Jan. 12 at https://woodriverwomensfoundation.org/apply-for-a-grant/. The grant cycle closes on Jan. 26.

The organization also had a banner year for new members this year, said McCullough.

The women involved in the foundation get to learn about the various nonprofit organizations working to make Blaine County a better place as they review applications and visit nonprofits to see how their grant monies are being used. In between, they also make new friends as they attend Mix and Mingles, go on field trips and take part in events like the Christmas Social.

To learn more, visit https://woodriverwomensfoundation.org/.