Maintaining Our Funding Stream

Goosefoot is unusual for a nonprofit organization in that we are self-sufficient and no longer rely on outside funding to fulfill our mission.

Goosefoot owns 7.87 acres within the Bayview Center shopping plaza

We earn the funds for our charitable giving and other programs through responsible management of the properties we own, including the Goose Community Grocer. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Goosefoot must invest any profits back into supporting our mission.

Goosefoot wasn’t always self-sufficient—it wasn’t until 2014 that we could stop fundraising to meet our own needs. Initial seed funding for Goosefoot and for the purchase and renovation of the Bayview Cash Store and surrounding property was provided by Seattle and Whidbey Island philanthropist Nancy Nordhoff. After that, rental income from our tenants at Bayview Corner and Bayview Center, combined with donations from generous individuals in our community, supported our work.

The Bayview Cash Store is home to more than 10 businesses and organizations. It’s also a lively place at night!
When you “shop the Goose” you help support our South Whidbey community.

Although Goosefoot opened the Goose Grocer in 2009, it took five years to realize enough profit from the store to cover our own operating costs and begin donating directly to the South Whidbey community. In 2017 and 2019, we donated more than $1 million to 35 local nonprofit organizations through a formalized community grant program. Goosefoot also provides annual grants to our three supported organizations (South Whidbey @ Home, Whidbey Island Nourishes, and Whidbey Watershed Stewards).

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we restructured our grant program to support organizations dealing with food insecurity and access issues in our community. Goosefoot was not able to bring back our community grant program because of major infrastructure repairs and improvements required on our properties and buildings in 2022. We also decided to provide the funding and staffing to foster a new non-profit—Island Roots Housing—in response to the affordable housing crisis on Whidbey Island.

Three locally owned businesses and Goosefoot tenants at Bayview Center: Island Boutique and Casey’s Crafts; the Goose is working on a new community cafe in the old Big Wierbowski space!

Our programs are sustained by the funding stream provided by the Goose Grocer and our rental properties. That’s why we are committed to maintaining our buildings and grounds as best we can.

  • We invest in the maintenance and improvement of our properties.
  • We ensure that the Goose Grocer is successfully managed for the benefit of shoppers as well as for Goosefoot’s work in the community.
  • We maintain quality places for our tenants to operate in, including the Bayview Cash Store, Bayview Center and the Sears House.