COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Few people dominated the community life of Clark County Washington as deeply over such a long period of time as the late E.W. Firstenburg, who turned a rural bank into First Independent Bank, one of the county’s largest local banks, and who, with his wife, Mary, donated millions for civic projects.

The Firstenburg Foundation continues their philanthropic legacy by investing in non-profit organizations that make measurable improvements to the economic conditions and quality of life within the communities of Southwest Washington (Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, and Skamania counties) that were formerly served by the Bank.

The Firstenburg Foundation is a private philanthropic organization committed to improving the quality of life of citizens in communities in which First Independent Bank was originally established and thrived.

The foundation awarded its first grants in 2008. To date, the Foundation has approved grants of over $22 million.