Completing a process that began in the fall of 2013, the Vashon Alliance to Reduce Substance Abuse (VARSA) recently received its designation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Lisa Bruce, VARSA’s Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI) grant coordinator, explained the group had filed its articles of incorporation nearly two years ago, but only recently felt that it was in a position to move forward with the application.

“It’s just been in the last couple of months that we felt ready, with the re-vamped bylaws and infrastructure to do this,” she said.

Bruce credited Lee Kopines for managing the paperwork involved to meet the requirements, and noted that the group received its response within a week of filing.

The nonprofit status gives the organization more options for fundraising outside of the CPWI grant, as well as allowing it to receive tax-deductible donations.

“The community now has more buy-in,” Bruce explained. “This gives us more freedom, and it will allow us to do things that are very ‘Vashon’… things that were outside the scope of the grant money before.”

VARSA also has just been approved for another year on the CPWI grant, something that Bruce says the organization has no intention of giving up any time soon.

“It’s open-ended, so there’s no end point,” she said. “We are certainly not looking to sever that relationship. That’s an awful lot of money we’d have to raise on our own.”