The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) Board of Directors recently approved $365,000 in grants to 22 Central Oregon nonprofit organizations. The grants target a wide range of causes in the communities of Bend, La Pine, Madras, Prineville, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver and Warm Springs.
“Our non-profit partners are coming forward with truly innovative programs to address a variety of unmet needs in our Central Oregon communities. From health and homelessness to the arts and education, our team and grant evaluators have been impressed with the thoughtfulness of the requests and the scope of the programs,” said Cheryl Puddy, associate program officer/regional coordinator for The Oregon Community Foundation in Central and Eastern Oregon. “These agencies are helping to close the opportunity gap and improve quality of life in our region.”
Some of the grants awarded this spring include:
AAUW of Oregon, Bend; $12,000 for the launch of a week-long residential camp at the OSU- Cascades campus, allowing 36 eighth-grade girls from Central Oregon to connect with STEM classes, professionals and careers.
Arts and Culture Alliance of Central Oregon, Bend; $15,000 in support of a community coordinator to improve marketing, branding and membership strategies to promote the creative economy in Deschutes and Jefferson counties.
Bend 2030, Bend; $10,000 to expand the Workforce Housing Workgroup beyond professional builders, realtors and city planners to include more Latinos, low-income families, seniors and veterans.
Boys & Girls Club of Warm Springs, Warm Springs; $18,500 to support the Triple Play/Healthy Habits program, to enable Native American youth to engage in activities promoting nutrition and physical fitness in Jefferson County.
Camp Tamarack, Sisters; $15,000 for improvements — including ADA accessibility — to camp facilities where outdoor experiences and education are offered for youth ages 8-12 from Jefferson and Deschutes counties.
Central Oregon Youth Development, Inc., Prineville; $20,000 to improve financial stability of out-of- school programs for Crook County K-12 students.
Crook County School District, Prineville; $15,000 for launch of a guitar-building STEAM program for high school students.
Dawn’s House, Bend; $15,668 to provide displaced women recovering from addiction with structured, guided, sober transitional housing and help in implementing work and education plans.
Family Access Network Foundation, Redmond; $15,000 ear to increase funding streams which support eight Redmond advocates who connect disadvantaged families at 13 schools to needed services.
High Desert Museum, Bend; $15,000 to add a curator of art & community engagement, helping to increase access to art and expand programming throughout the community, including area schools.
La Pine Community Kitchen, La Pine; $20,000 to expand the distribution of fresh food, hot meals, clothing and other supplies to those in need in Deschutes County.
Madras Aquatic Center Foundation, Madras; $20,000 for a community playground structure and sand pit at the aquatic center, to promote healthy, active, outdoor lifestyles for the kids in Jefferson County.
Mosaic Medical, Bend; $20,000 to relocate the existing Redmond clinic to a planned affordable housing complex and expand oral health services.
Prineville Kiwanis Foundation, Prineville; $10,000 to provide summer school for K-3 students underperforming in reading and math.
Redemption House, Prineville; $15,000 to hire two night-shift staff for the women and children’s shelter, to provide additional safety and services for individuals experiencing homelessness in Crook County.
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, La Pine; $25,000 to renovate the thrift store, expanding its square footage so that sales can be increased to support more social services for individuals in Deschutes, Klamath, and Lake counties.
Sunriver Music Festival, Sunriver; $10,000 for the 40th-anniversary celebration of the two-week summer festival, providing youth programming, music education, and three concert performances in Bend and four in Sunriver.
Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory, Sunriver; $15,000 for a K-12 education and outreach program, designed to engage Deschutes County students in STEM and field work.
Younity, Bend; $10,000 to hire a program director to develop and improve bullying prevention programming, network with area schools, and recruit community volunteers as facilitators.
Statewide, OCF announced $8.9 million in grants, including $3.3 million for the Community Grants program. These grants represent a relatively small portion of the Foundation’s total grant-making and scholarships, which exceeded $108 million in 2016. Other types include advised fund grants, field of interest grants, designated grants, education initiative grants and many others.
For full lists of grants awarded around the state and more information about OCF initiatives visit http://www.oregoncf.org/grants-scholarships/grants/community-grants/recent-awards.
The Oregon Community Foundation
The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life for all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awarded more than $108 million in grants and scholarships in 2016. For more information about OCF, please visit: www.oregoncf.org.
