BCCF was founded in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020 when the Wood River Valley and Blaine County as a whole were hit with the COVID-19 virus. Citizens were ordered to shelter in their homes on March 25, 2020, and immediately many Blaine County citizens, both employees, and small business persons lost their incomes and employment.
The city of Hailey is ranked the 9th out of 916 metropolitan areas in the country with the most unequal income gap, and 1 in 3 are food insecure or one crisis away from it. Costs of living are only increasing and access to affordable housing decreasing. During BCCFs first nine months of operation, it was found that there were many in the Blaine County Community that do not qualify for many state and federal offered programs. Of those that applied for assistance with BCCF, 65% were extremely low income (10-30% of the Average Median Income AMI for Blaine County), and 30% were very low income (40-60% AMI). 78% of BCCF's applicants identify as Hispanic/Latino.
Although the pandemic created a community-wide crisis, it ultimately exposed the vulnerability of many in our community to withstand this or any future life crisis. BCCF seeks to provide impactful grants to Blaine County families with household expenses that are in immediate need of payment and cannot be deferred or negotiated. These may include health insurance premiums, immediate medical needs such as medication, rent, car insurance, or other immediate expenses.
The goal of BCCF is to remain in place long past this pandemic.
