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New nonprofit Bear Lake Outreach seeks grants, wins business license from Garden City Council
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Summary
Bear Lake Outreach presented plans to connect seniors and at-risk youth through intergenerational programs and said it is pursuing grant funding ("anywhere from $200,000 to $2,000,000"); the council approved its business license and several other routine licenses.
Sandra Blake, identifying herself as a founding partner and president of Bear Lake Outreach, addressed the Garden City Council on plans to connect seniors and at-risk youth through fitness, mentoring and social programs. "My name is Sandra Blake, and I'm a founding partner and the president of Bear Lake Outreach," she said during the council's meeting.
Blake described pilot work done through a community pickleball club and a slate of community activities she said are designed to reduce isolation among older residents while giving younger people mentorship and structure. She said the group is pursuing grant funding and described the scale of the awards they are seeking: "we are looking at applying for a grant that is anywhere from $200,000 to $2,000,000," money that could be used to acquire land, build and operate a modular community field house, or both.
Blake told the council the nonprofit will operate on a sliding-cost model and will not turn people away due to inability to pay. She said volunteers will deliver programs hosted in community spaces and that Bear Lake Outreach is finalizing general-liability insurance naming Garden City and Laketown as additional insured when city facilities are used.
Councilors asked about grant administration and oversight; Blake said the grants discussed are federal funds administered through the state and in at least one program the National Park Service performs periodic monitoring. She also described plans to work with local schools on tutoring and mentoring programs as part of the organization’s strategic planning.
After the presentation councilors moved and voted to approve a business license for Bear Lake Outreach as part of a routine batch of licenses. The council also approved licenses for several small local businesses at the same meeting. The council later denied the application for a remote property manager that lacked a local contact and agreed to revisit that application when local contact information is provided.
The council packet lists Bear Lake Outreach as a newly registered 501(c)(3) public-benefit nonprofit; Blake said the organization will host a free community spaghetti dinner in the Mountain View Room as an outreach event and is pursuing corporate partnerships and donations to seed a longer-term endowment.