Twisp, Washington · Methow Valley
Indigo Unlimited is a Washington 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by Dominick & Tarah Wernicke. We start practical, community-run initiatives in the Methow Valley and Okanogan County: care for animals with nowhere to go, and real business skills for the valley's young people.
01 · Mission
The Methow Valley is rural and seasonal. Some needs here go unmet simply because the services that exist in larger cities are hours away. Indigo Unlimited takes on those gaps one initiative at a time, keeping each one small, local, and accountable to the community it serves.
We are based in Twisp and work across the Methow Valley and Okanogan County. Gifts stay with the nonprofit and its initiatives here, not a distant office.
02 · Initiatives
Okanogan County has no public shelter, and dumped and homeless dogs and cats end up on back roads and highways. The refuge is our effort to build local intake and shelter capacity so people have somewhere to bring an animal instead of leaving it on the road.
Online refuge gifts appear as the Methow Valley Animal Intake Fund, through Cheddar Up.
A hands-on entrepreneurship program for valley youth. Students learn to find a customer, cost a product, sell it, keep books, and treat people well, using local food and local markets as the classroom.
Read about the Academy ↓03 · Methow Youth Enterprise Academy
Young people here grow up around farms, trades, tourism, and small shops, but there's almost no structured way to learn how to start and run a business. Most business education is in larger cities. The Academy fills that gap.
Youth ages 14–18 (high school cohort) and young adults 18–24 who live or attend school in the Methow Valley / Okanogan County
10 months, September to June, with two sessions a month plus farm field days
12–16 participants in year one. Small on purpose, so each student runs a real project
No GPA cutoff. Commitment and a workable idea matter more
Learn
Customer research, pricing, food costing, basic bookkeeping, sales, hospitality, and food safety.
Build
Each student or small team launches a product, pop-up, catering item, farm-stand product, or service, with seed funds for ingredients and supplies.
Mentors
Methow farmers, cooks, and business owners mentor students, with farm field days and production labs.
Showcase
Students sell to the community in Twisp and present what they earned, spent, and learned.
We're planning to work with WSU Extension – Okanogan County, the Town of Twisp and Twisp Chamber, Methow Grown farms, and local schools.
Applications aren't open yet. Families, farms, and mentors who want to hear when they open can get in touch.
04 · Support
Indigo Unlimited is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 99-3699154. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
To support the Academy or Indigo Unlimited in general, mail a check or contact us. Mentors, farms, and in-kind help are welcome too.
Card gifts go through Cheddar Up as the Methow Valley Animal Intake Fund.
Donate online05 · Contact
Dominick & Tarah Wernicke, Indigo Unlimited