12
S moke S ignals
april 1, 2014
Community Fund nears $2 million in giving
More than $727,000
in grants awarded
on March 19
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Spirit Mountain Community
Fund, the philanthropic arm of
the Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde, inched closer to the $62 mil-
lion mark in giving when it awarded
29 grants worth $727,391 during its
quarterly check presentation held
Wednesday, March 19, in the Tribal
Governance Center.
The most recent awards bring
the Tribe’s total charitable giv-
ing through the fund up to $61.8
million distributed through 2,040
grants since its inception in 1997.
The Community Fund receives 6
percent of Spirit Mountain Casino
profi ts and uses the money to award
grants to non-profi t organizations
in 11 western Oregon counties.
Grants are awarded in the catego-
ries of arts and culture, education,
health, historic preservation, public
safety, environmental preservation
and problem gaming.
Spirit Mountain Community
Fund Executive Director Kathleen
George welcomed grant recipients
and thanked them for creating so-
lutions that make western Oregon
a healthier, more resilient place
to live.
Tribal members Jan Looking
Wolf Reibach, Brian Krehbiel,
Jon A. George and Reina Nelson
performed the welcoming drum
and song, and George provided the
blessing before the event.
George, who is also a Tribal
Council member, was joined by
fellow Tribal Council members
Reyn Leno, Toby McClary and
June Sherer at the event. The lat-
ter three also serve on the Board of
Trustees of Spirit Mountain Com-
munity Fund.
Leno, who also is Tribal Council
chairman, welcomed the grant re-
cipients to Grand Ronde and talked
about being on Tribal Council when
the fund was formed 17 years ago.
“We like to have you come to the
Governance Center so you can fi nd
out what we’re all about,” Leno
said, adding that the Tribe likes
to dispel the myth that it is only
its casino.
“We appreciate all your efforts,”
said Ron Reibach, who works at
Spirit Mountain Casino and also
sits on the fund’s Board of Trustees.
“I see where the money comes from
and it is a pleasure to see the money
fi lter down to you folks.”
Kathleen George added that the
Community Fund continues the
Native tradition of potlatch.
In a new format, the Community
Fund had McClary and Reibach
hand out checks to the represen-
tatives. The Community Fund
also raffl ed off three gift baskets
that went to the Salvation Army,
Stand Up for Children Leadership
Center and Northwest Family
Services.
The fund also provided an op-
portunity for one representative to
talk about what their organization
does.
Laurie Gift Harris, director of
Marketing and Development at
the Tucker-Maxon Oral School in
Portland, said that the school offers
collaborative classrooms in which
children with typical hearing and
children with hearing loss learn
together.
Grant recipients during the
March 19 presentation were:
• Black Parent Initiative in Port-
land for its Family Impact proj-
ect, $15,000;
• Cascade Pacifi c RC&D Area Inc.
in Tangent for its Lower North
Santiam Floodplain Restoration
Alternatives Analysis, $5,000;
• Clackamas Heritage Partners in
Oregon City for its Oregon City
and Grand Ronde Parallel His-
tory Project, $5,000;
• Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
in Portland for its Breast and
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Photo by Dean Rhodes
Tribal Council secretary Toby McClary helped pass out checks to grant
recipients during the March 19 spirit Mountain Community Fund quarterly
check presentation held in the Governance Center Atrium in Grand Ronde.
The Community Fund inched closer to $2 million in total giving since its
inception in 1997. spirit Mountain Community Fund Trustee Ron Reibach
also handed out checks during the event.
Cervical Health Education and
Support efforts, $15,000;
• Family Promise of Lincoln City
for a transportation van from
congregation sites to a day center,
$5,000;
• Friends of Saturday Academy in
Portland for its STEM Academy,
$25,000;
• Native Fish Society Inc. of Oregon
City for its Regional Coordinator
Expansion and Enhancement
Project, $26,000;
• Neighborhood House Inc. of Port-
land for its capital campaign
to build a Neighborhood House
Children’s Center at Stephen’s
Creek Crossing, $52,000;
• Northwest Family Services of
Portland for its Four Cities Peer
Court, $10,000;
• Oregon Children’s Foundation in
Portland for its SMART Pre-K
expansion, $50,000;
• Parrott Creek Child & Family
Services in Oregon City for its
Family Engagement Services,
$15,000;
• Pathfi nders of Oregon in Portland
for its Rockwood Youth Violence
Prevention Initiative, $20,000;
• Polk County Sheriff’s Office in
Dallas for Confederated Tribes
of Grand Ronde Enhanced Law
Enforcement, $225,000;
• Portland Homeless Family Solu-
tions for capacity building to sup-
port Portland’s homeless families,
$30,000;
• Randall Children’s Hospital Foun-
dation in Portland for its Trauma
Focused Cognitive Behavioral
Therapy Program, $20,000;
• Returning Veterans Project of
Portland for its Service Expan-
sion Project, $20,000;
• River Network of Portland for its
habitat restoration on the Wil-
lamette River, $25,000;
• Sauvie Island Center of Portland
for farm fi eld trips for elementary
school children, $4,976;
• Schoolhouse Supplies Inc. of
Portland for Tools for Schools,
$10,000;
• Siuslaw Outreach Services of
Florence for a new roof and build-
ing renovation, $20,000;
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul of
Portland for its Food Recovery
Network, $10,000;
• Special Advocates for Vulnerable
Oregonians of Portland for its
Multnomah County Guardian-
ship Monitoring and Assistance
Project, $10,000;
• Stand Up for Children Leadership
Center of Portland for its Stand
University for Parents, $25,000;
• Salvation Army of Happy Valley
for its SAFES housing assistance
fund, $10,000;
• Tucker-Maxon Oral School of
Portland for its early intervention
for children with hearing loss,
$15,000;
• Volunteers in Medicine Clinic
of Springfield for its Diabetes
Education and Management Pro-
gram, $9,415;
• Wellmama Inc. of Eugene for
perinatal mental health support,
$5,000;
• Womenspace Inc. of Eugene for
preventing intimate partner
violence through community out-
reach and education, $40,000;
• And Yamhill County Treatment
Courts Foundation of McMin-
nville for clean and sober housing
for treatment court participants,
$5,000. n