At a special ceremony Thursday morning at the Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, the Wasatch Peaks Foundation — in collaboration with the Federal Home Loan Bank Des Moines — distributed $203,000 in grants to nine area organizations.

Tod Schroeder, executive director of the Wasatch Peaks Foundation and chief marketing officer of Wasatch Peaks Credit Union, told the Standard-Examiner this is a major opportunity to give back to the community they call home.

“We are given the wonderful opportunity to partner with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines in their grant program,” he said. “We were able to connect with our community partners and have matching funds through the Federal Home Loan Bank to give to our community partners.”

Schroeder said this was the second time Wasatch Peaks has partnered with the Home Loan Bank to make donations to local partners. The first time was in 2023 and the grants are made every two years.

He added that grant beneficiaries are decided by who Wasatch Peaks has worked with in the past, noting they’ve long worked with the Weber School District Foundation and Ogden School District Foundation for decades while entities like the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park are new partners.

“As we look at the community and the needs and how that pairs with our goals and objectives, then we make a determination to partner with them, provide funding and provide leadership on their boards of directors,” Schroeder said.

Grant recipients at Thursday’s award ceremony included:

• The Box Elder School District Foundation, which received $12,500 to support development of teen resource centers.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Weber-Davis Counties, which received $8,750 to help combat food insecurity.
• Ogden’s George C. Eccles Dinosaur Park, which received $12,500 to boost educational programming.
• The Ogden Schools Foundation, which received $50,000 to expand student support centers.
• Ogden-Weber Technical College Foundation, which received $12,500 to enhance student programming.
• The Trails Foundation of Northern Utah, which received $37,500 for establishing a trailhead in the area of Ogden’s 27th Street.
• United Way of Northern Utah, which received $12,500 to strengthen its 211 service.
• The Weber Human Services Foundation, which received $7,500 to strengthen community mental health programs.
• The Weber School Foundation, which received $50,000 for teen resource centers.

Schroeder said the grants help fill a gap other entities can’t always fill.

“There’s so much need here in in the city of Ogden and in Northern Utah in general,” he said. “We can’t always rely on government to fund these initiatives, so, in many cases, the community needs to step forward in assisting and raising funds that will fuel programs to benefit our community.”