The ‘community chest’ marks five years with an expanded mission and a new name.

When Team Yeomalt or the Housing Resources Board or any other organization among the plethora of Bainbridge nonprofits needs assistance, the phone at the Bainbridge Community Foundation is likely to jingle.

It is the BCF’s self-stated mission, after all, to help sustain the organizations that in turn sustain the community.

So when Helpline House, food bank floors rotting, needed money for a renovation earlier this year, it was hardly shocking that the BCF came to its aid.

“Of course we would help them,” said BCF Development Director Kassia Sing. “They had to build a whole new floor. They serve a lot of people and the project met all of our criteria.”

With help from a $4,400 grant from the BCF, the food bank was restored. So too was the ability of Helpline House to provide the services that – along with the newly fortified floors – are the foundation on which that organization and its beneficiaries stand.

That type of support is, in a nutshell, what the BCF strives to accomplish.

Established with $170,000 five years ago as the Bainbridge Island Community Endowment, the recently-renamed BCF now has nearly $4 million spread across 18 separate funds.

Now, under the guidance of Sing, Grants Administrator Erin Hults, a 15-member volunteer board and a five-member grants committee, the BCF is undergoing its own revamp.

Besides its new name, the BCF is launching a new website to better connect nonprofit organizations with the funds they rely on to carry out their respective missions.

Set to go online next week, the website – www.bainbridgecommunityfoundation.org – will essentially act as a bulletin board to make potential donors aware of organizations in need.

To avoid confusion, the old website will link users to the new one.

The goal is simple: help donors and recipients find one another.

If an HRB-owned property requires repairs or the Kids Discovery Museum wants to offer free passes to underprivileged students, those needs can now be posted online.

It’s just one more way, Sing said, to seek assistance from the community.

“These organizations need help,” she said. “So many of them depend on grants to do what they do and this will be a great resource for them.”

BCF board members Steve Davis and Sonya Marinoni are among those who helped the foundation get its start as an offshoot of One Call for All.

The idea, Davis said, was that as an independent foundation the BCF could better serve community organizations.

“It seems to have worked so far,” Davis said. “And we think it has a lot of potential to grow.”

Marinoni said it’s a challenge to educate people about foundations. Like most people, she didn’t understand how foundations work before she got involved with the BCF. Now she has an explanation at the ready.

“Basically it’s a place you can go if you have some money you’d like to give back to the community,” she said. “Or, if you’re a small nonprofit and need help, you can apply for a grant or post your need on the website.”

Part of the BCF’s strategy is to offer a variety of ways for people to give. Area-of-interest funds allow donors to establish funds that support a specific interest, such as youth programs or environmental causes. Scholarships and memorial funds are also options. The Bainbridge Fund is the foundation’s general fund from which grants are awarded to nonprofits throughout the community.

This year the Bainbridge Fund awarded $20,000 worth of grants, which, coupled with $28,400 worth of grants awarded by donor-advised funds, brought the total amount of money channeled through the BCF in 2006 to $48,400.

By the end of November, the foundation will have infused island nonprofits with nearly $600,000 over the course of its five year existence.

It’s a start, Sing said, but the BCF’s goal is to continue growing and giving. And for those they can’t help, they hope the website will spawn new connections.

“So many people are looking to give, especially this time of year,” she said. “Now people will be able to log on and see an organization in need and say ‘hey, this is a nice thing to do.’”

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Fund the fund

To donate or for more information about the BCF, call 842-4921. Also visit www.bainbridgecommunityfoundation.org. The site will launch next week.