Once upon a time, in the land of books and publishing, Harlequin asked readers, authors and fans to help choose the recipients for the 2012 Harlequin More Than Words award – a program that recognizes and rewards women making extraordinary contributions to their community.

The story continues when the winning recipients, including Helen McGovern, who oversees Emergency Food Network are paired up with Harlequin authors and the recipients' journeys become the inspiration for three fictional short stories, which will be available in 2013 in ebook format to download at no cost.

Walmart's Washington State Giving Council has awarded 10 grants totaling $375,000 to nonprofit organizations across the state. The grantees are all focused on addressing basic needs, including hunger and job training.

Organizations receiving grants include:

Folk are likely to be very busy Friday and Saturday with year-end online charitable giving.
 
According to a seven-year study by Network for Good, 22 percent of all online gifts to charities are made in the last two days of the year, capping a month during which charities receive one-third of all their online donations.

The Pierce County local board of the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program is accepting applications for 2012. Pierce County may receive up to $551,000 funding to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the county for 2012.

The national board is chaired by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and consists of representatives from The Salvation Army, American Red Cross, United Jewish Communities, Catholic Charities USA, National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA and United Way of America. The board distributes funds appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter programs in high need areas around the country.

Three local organizations are among 6,000 international entries that have received top-level Marcom Awards from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation was recognized for its "Be the Spark" event, which featured Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Quadrant Homes, a subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Real Estate Co., and the Weyerhaeuser Giving Fund have awarded grants totaling $24,000 to four nonprofit organizations serving King, Pierce and Skagit counties.

South Sound recipients include Emergency Food Network of Tacoma, Maple Valley Food Bank and Air Force Reserve Care and Share Society at McChord Air Force Base.

As scammers seek to exploit holiday generosity, Better Business Bureau urges consumers to protect well-intentioned donations.

According to the Nonprofit Research Collaborative's November 2010 Fundraising Survey, the majority of all charitable contributions are made in the last quarter of the year – October to December. Not surprisingly, scammers ramp up efforts during this time in hopes of snagging funds for themselves.

This Cyber Monday, the busiest online shopping day of the year is not only expected to top $1 billion in online spending for the second year in a row, but World Vision says virtual shoppers could make a significant contribution toward helping those in need. Cyber Monday is Nov. 28.

According to the 2011 World Vision Gift Giving study, the charitable giving trend is expected to continue despite another holiday season faced with a struggling economy.

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation announced today it has received the largest gift in its history, a $15 million bequest from the estate of Donald and Mary Williams.

The approximate $15 million bequest from the Williams estate will provide support to the arts, youth and horticulture in Pierce County under the Donald R. and Mary E. Williams Fund.  A portion of the gift will also go toward unrestricted giving, to meet the changing needs of the community.

South Sound Partners for Philanthropy will recognize the recipients of its annual Leadership in Philanthropy Awards during a luncheon Nov. 8 at Saint Martin University

Honorees include:

• Business of the Year (Large): Nisqually Tribe
• Business of the Year (Small): Ramblin' Jacks/Mercato/I.talia
• Philanthropic Organization of the Year: Lacey Sunrise Lions Club
• Couple of the Year: Ken and Nancy Anderson
• Family of the Year:  The Seaman Family
• Paul Grudis Inspirational Award: Sylvia Barclift

Romance! Intrigue! Fabio! Emergency Food Network?

Popular book publisher Harlequin is seeking to inspire more than just romance with their More Than Words Award. Five women from around the country were selected as finalists for the award based on their work in their local communities and personal stories that capture hearts and encourage others to make a difference.

Camile St. Onge has joined JayRay as an adviser. She has experience in commercial lending, retail banking, health insurance and association business and most recently lead the media relations team at Washington Restaurant Association.

Larry Bleich has been named vice president of resource development for Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound. He has experience with both for-profit and nonprofit organizations, including serving as senior vice president of marketing and development for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale, Ariz.

One hundred nonprofit organizations from 44 states and the District of Columbia have received grants from the U.S. Small Business Administration under the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs Act.

The money will be used to provide business-based training and technical assistance to low-income and very low-income entrepreneurs to help them start, operate or grow a small business. Grants also will be used to better equip community-based nonprofit organizations to provide training.

The Unemployment Services Trust and Washington Nonprofits have reached a partnership agreement to help nonprofits save money on unemployment expenses.

Unemployment tax rates are expected to continue rising over the next decade. While tax breaks have provided relief to many nonprofit employers, there are still many recovering from the recession and looking for new funding and ways to free up more of their funds to support their mission.

Emergency Food Network has received $75,000 from The Gary E. Milgard Foundation. The gift came on the heals of a two-year, $30,000 annual gift from the Medina foundation as well as an anonymous gift of $50,000 to match $50,000 from the Murdock Charitable Trust.

Milgard and Medina funding will help EFN distribute nearly three weeks worth of food throughout the community. The anonymous matching gift will be used to help pay for EFN's $300,000 roof replacement project.

Safeco Insurance has named Helen McGovern a Community Hero for her work with the Emergency Food Network of Pierce County and Tacoma, which will receive a $5,000 donation from Safeco on behalf of McGovern and McKendry Insurance.
 
Each year Safeco celebrates local heroes who make a positive difference through its Agent Giving Program, which is designed to focus on three areas: education, health and safety, and civic engagement.

Habitat for Humanity of Mason County has hired Richard McGrue as its new executive director.

McGrue was previously the executive director of NW Institute for restorative Justice in Tacoma.

Cascade Land Conservancy in Tacoma is among the recipients of $2.5 million in grants awarded by The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. CLC will receive $100,000 to improve the supply of fresh vegetables in Tacoma area food banks.

Thirty-eight nonprofit organizations serving the Pacific Northwest received funding. The organizations include 24 nonprofits in Washington, eight in Oregon, three in Idaho, two in Montana and one in Alaska.

The Moyer Foundation, which recently partnered with the USO and the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors to extend its Camp Erin children's grief program to four U.S. military instillations, featured Joint Base Lewis-McChord as the first site.

"It's all about the kids," said foundation president and former Mariners pitcher Jamie Moyer, who co-founded the organization with his wife, Karen. "We know that the kids are all feeling the same thing, but the loss might be in different stages. The important thing is that they know that they're being heard. And that they know it's OK. It's OK to feel what they're feeling."

The Puget Sound Energy Foundation distributed $398,000 to local charitable organizations throughout Washington during the first six months of 2011.

In July, as part of the foundation's first of two annual funding rounds, $137,500 was awarded to 54 organizations within PSE's 11 county service territory. These grants range from $1,000 to $30,000. Earlier in the year, the foundation contributed more than $260,000 to local United Way chapters throughout western Washington.