S moke S ignals
january 1, 2014
Community Fund December grants top $39,000
By Ron Karten
Smoke Signals staff writer
Spirit Mountain Community
Fund Director Kathleen George an-
nounced $396,635 worth of fourth-
quarter grants to 27 area agencies
on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Grants to 25 were made in Tribal
Council Chambers in the Gover-
nance Center. Grants to two others
were made previously.
“We want to support and be the
tool for the Tribe’s desire to help,”
she said to the assembled grantees.
“We want to empower your work.
The formalization of Spirit Moun-
tain Community Fund continues a
long tradition of giving.”
Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno
said that granting “is one of the
best things we do. In the beginning,
others said that it was not a well
thought-out program. We turned
that around and you have helped.
It’s worked out well for all. And the
membership is very supportive of
the program.
“The community took care of us for
the 30 years before Restoration, so
we’re happy to return the favor.”
The grants went to nonprofits
in five program areas: $164,635
in education, $22,000 in the arts,
$159,000 in health, $31,000 in
public safety and $20,000 in envi-
ronmental preservation.
Recipients came from Portland,
Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Or-
egon City, Hillsboro, McMinnville,
Troutdale, Hebo and Falls City.
The Portland-based Bradley
Angle House’s Resource Center
for Survivors of Domestic Violence
received $20,000 to provide cul-
turally specific services to survi-
vors within communities of color,
and among the lesbian, bisexual,
gay and transgender community,
said Executive Director Deborah
Steinkopf.
Photo by Michelle Alaimo
From left, Julia Willis, Spirit Mountain Community Fund grants coordinator,
Michele Haynes, relations officer for the Virginia Garcia Memorial
Foundation, and Louis King, Spirit Mountain Community Fund program
coordinator, talk during the fund’s winter grant presentation in the
Governance Center Atrium on Wednesday, Dec. 18. The Virginia Garcia
Memorial Foundation received $30,000.
The facility is part shelter and
part resources and services for 400
to 500 adults and children every
year. This is the organization’s third
grant from the Community Fund.
Portland-based Triangle Pro-
ductions received $2,500 to help
produce a play about Native jazz
musician Jim Pepper. Managing
Director Don Horn said that the
play is scheduled to open May 4
at the Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza,
18th Street and Sandy, in the old
Salvation Army building.
“It’s a story that’s not been told,”
said Horn. “It will include dancers,
story-telling and actors coming into
the audience.”
This is the group’s second Com-
munity Fund grant.
For the 2013, 110 grants worth
almost $3 million went to 11 coun-
ties. Multnomah (48 for $994,700),
Polk (nine for $518,759) and the
Reservation community (seven for
$471,614) led the list.
By program for the year, educa-
tion (40 for $785,083), health (39
for $739,678), public safety (11 for
$581,845) and environmental pres-
ervation (11 for $246,500) received
the most grants and the largest
dollar amounts.
And the total since Spirit Moun-
tain Community Fund began now
amounts to more than $61 million.
Other grant recipients on Dec.
18 were:
• Camp Fire Columbia, Portland,
$20,000;
• CASA of Marion County Inc.,
Salem, $5,000;
• Clackamas Women’s Services,
Oregon City, $20,000;
• Community Arts Project, Hebo,
$4,500;
• Corvallis First United Methodist
Church, $4,000;
• Eugene Hearing & Speech Cen-
ter, $25,000;
• Hope Network, Portland,
$20,000;
• Human Solutions, Portland,
$10,000;
• Innovation Partnership, Port-
land, $10,000;
• Lane Coalition for Healthy Active
Youth, Eugene, $4,000;
• McKenzie Watershed Alliance,
Eugene, $10,000;
• McMinnville School District,
$20,000;
• Northwest Employment Educa-
tion and Defense Fund, Portland,
$10,000;
• North w es t O u tw a rd Bou n d
School, Troutdale, $9,635;
• Oregon Environmental Council
Inc., Portland, $20,000;
• Oregon Tradeswomen Inc., Port-
land, $15,000;
• Polk County School District 57,
Falls City, $2,000;
• Q Center, Portland, $10,000;
• Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer
Foundation, Portland, $15,000;
• The Geezer Gallery, Portland,
$5,000;
• Virginia Garcia Memorial Foun-
dation, Hillsboro, $30,000;
• Yamhill Community Action Part-
nership, McMinnville, $20,000;
• Yamhill County Transit Area,
McMinnville, $10,000;
• A Family For Every Child, Eu-
gene, $50,000;
• Reading Results, Portland,
$25,000. n
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