With a recent bequest of $3 million pushing its philanthropic assets above $100 million, Inland Northwest Community Foundation President and CEO Mark Hurtubise says the foundation now has its sights set on reaching $250 million.

In the last 30 months, the foundation, which started in 1974, has raised $25 million, an average of $833,000 per month. At that pace, it would take 15 years to reach the $250 million milestone.

Hurtubise says 85 percent of the $25 million has been a result of professional referrals from the foundation’s current partners.

For more than three decades, the foundation awarded $800,000 in grants annually on average. But since its governing board adopted a more aggressive fundraising approach in 2006, the foundation has seen a 313 percent increase in average annual grant awards.

In the last decade the foundation has averaged $3.3 million in charitable donations, and in its most recent fiscal year that ended June 30, 2016, the foundation doled out a record high $4.9 million in grants, Hurtubise says.

Today, the foundation manages more than 450 funds that have been established by individuals, families, and businesses, he says.

Of the foundation’s desire to reach $250 million in assets, Hurtubise says, “There are a variety of things that we want to accomplish, and that’s one of them.”

The foundation oversees targeted endowments, local grants, and scholarships. Last month the foundation announced that the estate of Helen F. Stowell, a 93-year-old woman who died in 2015, had left $3 million to the foundation.

Stowell’s gift gives the foundation the ability to create 25 different grants totaling $100,000 each, Hurtubise says.

The Inland Northwest Community Foundation’s administrative offices are located in 4,900 square feet of space on the sixth floor of the Paulsen Center, at 421 W. Riverside. The foundation has 10 full-time employees, relies on 130 volunteers, and has a 13-member board of directors. The foundation serves 10 counties in Eastern Washington and 10 counties in North Idaho.

The foundation claims 95 nonprofit partners, including organizations such as Blessings Under The Bridge and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Inland Northwest.

“We’re a savings account for the community,” Hurtubise says.

If the foundation ever reaches the lofty goal of attaining $250 million in assets, he likely won’t be in his current position to see it, unless it somehow happens quickly. After 11 years at the helm, Hurtubise says he will retire when his current contract ends next June.

He says he and his wife, who have three adult children and three grandchildren, want to travel and spend more time with the family.

“What’s in place here is a strong and dedicated system of philanthropy that runs very smoothly,” Hurtubise says.

He says he’s never had a job more rewarding than his position as top executive of the foundation.

“After I got hired, Alan Toole (a foundation co-founder) said to me, ‘Congratulations, you’ve just accepted the most rewarding job you’ll ever have.’ And he was absolutely right.”

Not long after being hired, Hurtubise and the foundation’s board of directors put together a strategic plan based on research showing that the 20 counties served by the foundation were becoming increasingly complex and fragmented.

“The research clearly revealed that the foundation must intentionally expand its role beyond being a competent steward of charitable assets and grant maker to a visible convener, catalyst, and dynamic partner for community improvement,” he says.

The strategic plan emphasized building relationships with professionals, community leaders, and other charitable organizations, he says.

An example of the kind of partnering Hurtubise describes will be on display at the beginning of 2017 as part of a foundation initiative that will benefit the Coeur d’Alene School District.

The foundation has partnered with Columbia Trust Bancorp., Mountain West Bank, Numerica Credit Union, Bouten Construction Co., and the University of Idaho to create a $600,000 grant to help boost reading and comprehension for students in kindergarten through third grade.

“The district says at least 3,000 students K through three are below reading proficiency,” Hurtubise says, adding that an estimated 35,000 students in that age range across Idaho are below proficient readers. “We believe they have a birthright to be able to read.”

The University of Idaho will serve as the lead partner for the initiative. 

Bob Bishopp currently serves as chairman of the foundation’s board of directors. He’s a wealth management adviser who specializes in helping clients match their financial resources with their personal values and goals.

In the summer 2016 edition of the foundation’s magazine, Bishopp says, “Inland Northwest Community Foundation connects people’s passion with a cause, and it gives them the tools to support that cause in perpetuity—that’s really the beauty of it.”

He adds, “I’m a strong believer in the foundation’s mission.”