Donate money
Financial contributions are one of the best ways to support GHP FISH. They enable us to buy needed foods, at a discount when possible. They also fund financial aid to clients facing emergency needs and pay our operating costs.
GHP FISH is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) agency. Tax ID # 91-1307991.
PayPal deducts a processing fee of approx. 2.5% from your donation.
By mail
Mail your check or money order to:
Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH
P.O. Box 154
Gig Harbor, WA 98335
Please include your address, phone and email address on your check.
Online (PayPal)
PayPal deducts a processing fee of approx. 2.5% from your donation.
In person
Drop by the food bank during open hours
4303 Burnham Drive
Gig Harbor, WA 98332
Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)
Depending on your age and income, there may be a tax benefit to taking some or all the required minimum distribution (RMD) from your IRA or similar retirement account as a charitable contribution (QCD). To qualify, the check or electronic distribution must come directly from the fund manager to GHP FISH or other 501(c)3 nonprofit. Consult your financial advisor or fund manager to see it this a good giving option for you.
Donor Stories
Why we give
My wife, Ann, and I are thankful we can help Gig Harbor Peninsula FISH. It started when we moved here from San Diego six years ago and, like so many new arrivals, found we had brought a lot of goods we did not need.
We immediately searched for a place to donate those things and found GHP FISH. We soon learned that it offers clients clothing and household goods, but very much more.
Ann has long been involved in charitable work, primarily raising money for various cancer projects. Thanks to her we started making cash donations to GHP FISH, and from there our involvement grew.
We were impressed by the fact that – unlike many nonprofits – GHP FISH is run entirely by volunteers. Even the two founders, who started GHP FISH half a century ago and still work at it daily, don’t take a nickel.
Well over 300 volunteers are the engine that powers GHP FISH, and that’s extraordinary. They work behind the scenes, they work in the food bank directly with clients, they keep the operation running in high gear.
Another thing that impressed us is that GHP FISH helps our neighbors become self-sufficient. One of the stories that impressed me was a woman who was studying to become a teacher, but couldn’t get to her final term classes in Tacoma when her car died and she didn’t have the several thousand dollars needed to fix it. FISH came up with that financial aid, the woman graduated, and she’s now teaching.
Stories like that abound here.
And GHP FISH itself has needs. Our first contribution was $500 to replace the condenser on a freezer.
I’ve done well in my professional career. Ann and I decided we don’t need everything we have; our children are provided for and don’t need it all, so we decided to make donations. It is a joy to be able to do that.
Thankful we can help now and for the long run
I grew up in India, so we selected a couple of charities there. GHP FISH is our major interest in Washington. We have been what I would call fairly generous.
And we’re legacy donors, having provided for FISH in our estate plan. I’m trying to to see if we can enlist more donors to include it in their wills.
Part of my ambassador role is to sit down with major donors and get their thoughts: After 50 years of history, what should we be doing to keep getting the same “neighbor helping neighbor” results in the future?
Another part is to explain to the larger community what GHP FISH is, what it does, and how it does it.
Ann and I are committed to supporting this organization over the long term—for the rest of our lives and beyond. We have a lot of faith and trust in the people who manage GHP FISH, that they will continue to do the right thing, make the right investments and plans that will allow GHP FISH to continue to be successful decades from now.
That’s why we are in it for the long run.
Part of my ambassador role is to sit down with major donors and get their thoughts: After 50 years of history, what should we be doing to keep getting the same “neighbor helping neighbor” results in the future?
Dileep Bhandarkar, Donor Ambassador
Dileep is an independent consultant with extensive experience in the IT industry, where he was a senior executive. In retirement, Dileep and his wife, Ann, moved to Gig Harbor in 2019, and became active in philanthropy — a passion of Ann’s
for years.