The Norcliffe Found-ation of Seattle will award the Village Green Foundation a generous gift once the building permit is secured and construction starts on the new Kingston Community Center, according to Village Green Foundation board president Mary McClure.

“Together with the donation of $50,000 by the late Rea Mowery, and a subsequent $50,000 pledge from an anonymous local individual, the Norcliffe gift puts our funds raised at $6 million toward our total goal,” she said.

“When we contacted the [Norcliffe] Foundation after we initially received this great news, their representative said simply, ‘We are very excited about this project.’ ”

In acknowledging this latest gift, McClure said, “We renew our thanks to the C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust and the Seattle Foundation, which awarded VGF $1 million in 2012; and the A.Y. Petter Family Fund at Kitsap Community Foundation, which awarded $1 million for the library at the Village Green, in 2013.”

These gifts, she said, along with the state grant for $1 million, and the individual and multi-year donations large and small, plus fundraising community events such as Pie in the Park, coffees, Dine Out events at the Axe Handle and the Oak Table, “all reflect collective enthusiasm for the project,” she said.

Indeed, because the project will result in a new 22,975-square-foot building at the Village Green to serve people of all ages throughout the north end of the county, the base of support for the project seems to just get broader.

“Without the confidence of all of you whose generosity has gotten us to this point, we’d still be thinking of this as a dream,” said Bobbie Moore, Village Green Foundation board member.

With the funding impetus the newest gift has given the project, she said, the foundation board members will now be able to look at a variety of strategies to be able to start construction sooner to head off the further negative impact of rapidly rising construction costs.

“We gratefully acknowledge the Norcliffe Foundation’s generous gift, which builds on the generosity of so many supporters of this project,” McClure said. “Let us not lose sight of our goals while we reflect on how far our all-volunteer efforts have taken us.”

Accordingly, the Village Green Foundation board wants you to save the following dates.

March 22: March Meatball Madness at the Village Green picnic pavilion (stay tuned for details).

May 4: Cinco de Mayo celebration.

June 7: Scavenger hunt.

Aug. 21: Pie in the Park.

In September: Cider press, on a date to be determined.