Legends Casino Hotel has awarded more than $1 million in community grants through its Yakama Cares program and the Community Impact Fund, continuing a long-standing tradition of investing in local nonprofits and essential services.
While both programs support important causes, each serves a unique purpose.
Yakama Cares provides grants ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 to nonprofits focused on helping families, veterans, and individuals in need.
The Community Impact Fund, by contrast, supports larger-scale public services like police and fire departments, funding long-term, broad-reaching projects.
“This year’s distribution, we had fewer applications — only 320 compared to 468 last year,” said Deirdre Fojuwaye, assistant marketing director at Legends Casino Hotel. “The difference is that about 76% of the applications we had this year were actually qualified, and last year, only 40% qualified. That change actually made it better for us, and we now know that we are reaching organizations that are truly eligible to apply for these funds.”
Among the 2025 recipients is the Toppenish Food Bank, which plans to use the grant for food, hygiene items, and school supplies.
The food bank serves approximately 800 families a month and up to 70 homeless individuals daily.
By the end of the year, they’ve helped more than 10,000 families.
“Without our community, we wouldn’t be here,” said Cecilia Chavez, director of the Toppenish Food Bank. “The support from the casino is a way of saying thank you — and shows that the work we put in truly has a benefit.”
For the Memorial Foundation, the philanthropic partner of MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, the funding supports healthcare services from birth through end-of-life care.
“We believe very strongly that financial reasons should not interfere with people getting access to healthcare,” said Josh Munson, relationship officer for the Memorial Foundation. “When you’re fighting for your life and struggling with utility bills, gas, and groceries, it can feel like the weight of the world. These funds help lift that burden for our community members.”
Fojuwaye said the casino’s charitable efforts reflect the values of giving back to the region that has supported them for nearly three decades.
“One half of 1% of the net revenues from our tribal lottery systems are actually funding these communities,” she said. “If our community continues to sustain us and help us, those monies will increase. We’ve had 27 years of a wonderful partnership with the community, and we hope to continue that and expand this program.”
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