History of Wild Rivers Connect
In 2011 the Ford Institute Leadership Program (FILP) sponsored a Community Collaborations networking event in Smith River, CA, which brought together over fifty organizations to network, share and identify their needs. Facilitated by Human Systems (now Community Systems), this event was part of FILP’s five year investment in Curry County. The highest identified need of the attendees was for a regional communication hub. The Wild Rivers Connect (WRC) steering committee was created as a result.
The newly formed steering committee had its initial meeting in February, 2012 and held ongoing discussions of vision and mission. The committee also developed and administered a survey, which guided the strategic planning and the development of a communications-based website. To support this work, WRC was awarded a technical assistance grant from The Ford Family Foundation (TFFF) to build capacity and develop a communication strategy. Wild Rivers Community Foundation (WRCF) became our fiscal sponsor, . On September 28, 2013, WRC kicked off a community event to celebrate the launching of its website, wildriversconnect.org.
In those first few years, WRC hosted the first ever “Cash Mob” event in Curry County, along with workshops on grant writing, video storytelling, Google Docs. Even a Haiku workshop was held, which was especially memorable: not only for the program given by the Oregon Community Foundation, but also for the successful $25,000 grant received by one of the attendees who had been inspired by the workshop.
In 2015, the decision was made for WRC to become an Oregon non-profit. As an Oregon non-profit, WRC could be a more structured yet flexible organization. It would have the stability of a board of directors to help guide its mission of “Nurturing community vitality through collaboration, education and networking.” Current members of the board of directors are all Ford Institute Leadership Program graduates, and a couple are also Ford’s Community Ambassador Trainers (CATs).
Additional funding from The Ford Family Foundation in 2016 allowed WRC to develop a more interactive and updated website, growing its community outreach. We were able to hire Outreach Coordinator, Kathleen Dickson, to help grow our Nonprofit Leaders luncheons, workshops and gatherings. Then, in 2018, with another infusion of grant funding from TFFF, we hired Content Manager, Rebecca Marcus, who worked to enhance the content on the website, adding nonprofit resources and crafting community “success stories”. Both Dickson and Marcus transitioned onto the Board of Directors in 2019, after their staff positions ended.
Other highlights from the past few years include:
- In 2016, WRC was one of the sponsors of the popular “Learn by Doing” grant writing series of workshops, taught by Meredith Howell of Rural Development Initiatives
- In 2017 WRC kicked off the year with the “Be My Volunteer” workshop and Ice Cream Social on February 12th
- In the Spring of 2018 WRC sponsored (along with Curry Fair Friends, OSU Extension 4-H, and the Ford Family Foundation) a workshop entitled “Nonprofit Board Training”, facilitated by the Center for Nonprofit Stewardship and held in Gold Beach
- In the Fall of 2018 (in part due to the Chetco Bar Fire the summer prior), Wild Rivers Connect, Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation Emergency Services, and Curry County Emergency Services organized the first ever “Family Emergency Preparedness Fair” at Kalmiopsis School in Brookings
Look to see more opportunities from Wild Rivers Connect to support your nonprofit or service organization in its valuable work for our communities in Curry and Del Norte counties.
