GRAYS HARBOR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION

THE McCAW FUND

In the Spring of 1996, lifelong Harborites Don and Vera McCaw established a donor-advised fund at the Grays Harbor Community Foundation to give long-term support to their favorite local charities.  Their fund became one of our foundation's first donor-advised funds.

Don was well-known on the Harbor for leading the music programs of the Aberdeen School District and Grays Harbor College, and for conducting the Grays Harbor Symphony and the Aberdeen Elks National Band.  Don later joined his family's real estate business and helped start a cable television system for Grays Harbor. 

Don's wife, Vera, was likewise born and raised on the Harbor.  She was active all her life in a variety of music, business and civic groups. 

The McCaws decided to create a fund with the Grays Harbor Cmmunity Foundation because, as Don put it:  "We were born and raised here, so the idea of leaving a lasting contribution really appealed to us."

Since the creation of the McCaw Fund -- and since July 2001, when Don and Vera died within weeks of each other -- the Fund has provided steady, annual support to the Aberdeen Methodist Church and to the Grays Harbor College Foundation, as well as periodic support to a variety of charitable causes.  In 2002, a $500 grant from the McCaw Fund helped bring the Dallas Brass to Hoquiam High School, where music students from Hoquiam, Aberdeen, Elma, and South Bend joined the world-class brass group for a day of workshops and an evening mass-ensemble performance.

The McCaw Fund is today advised by the McCaws' son, Bill, of Olympia, Washington.

Follow a link to learn more:

• Stories

• What is a community foundation?

• A history of community foundations

• The Fund for Grays Harbor

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Ways You Can Give

• Grants

• Scholarships

Grays Harbor Community Foundation is a tax-exempt public charity dedicated to serving the broad needs of Grays Harbor County in Washington State.  We are a member of the Council on Foundations; we have committed ourselves to the National Standards for U.S. community foundations; we are audited annually; and we consider ourselves accountable to the public upon whom we depend for support.

We thank Darrell Westmoreland, Kevin Hong, Ellen Pickell, and the Polson Museum for providing the photographs used in this website.  We'd like to showcase the work of more local photographers and artists on this website and in our publications.  Please contact us if you'd like to help. 

Mail:        707 J Street  |  P.O. Box 615  |  Hoquiam, WA  98550

Email:      info@gh-cf.org

Phone:     360.532.1600

Fax:         360.532.8111

Last modified: 08/21/06