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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2016)
S moke S ignals APRIL 1, 2016 7 Community Fund surpasses $69 million in giving By Dean Rhodes Smoke Signals editor The 39 grants totaling $1.336 million distributed by Spirit Moun- tain Community Fund during its first quarterly check presentation of 2016 held on Wednesday, March 16, leapfrogged the Tribe’s philan- thropic entity past the $69 million mark in giving. At its last presentation in Decem- ber, the Community Fund sat just shy of the $68 million mark. The Community Fund receives 6 percent of Spirit Mountain Ca- sino profits as part of the Tribe’s gaming compact with the state of Oregon and distributes the funds to nonprofit organizations in 11 northwestern Oregon counties, as well as once a year to the state’s nine federally recognized Tribes. Granting categories include ed- ucation, health, arts and culture, environment, historic preservation and public safety. On March 16, the Community Fund distributed 27 large grants, 11 small grants and one Tribal grant. The largest single grant stayed close to home with $322,500 being awarded to the Grand Ronde Tribal Police Project as part of the Oregon Tribal Grants program. Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees Chairman Sho Dozono and Tribal Council member Ed Pearsall, who also serves on the fund’s Board of Trust- ees, welcomed grant recipients to Grand Ronde. “Community fund program days are the four best days of the year,” said Kathleen George, Community Fund director. “We get to invite our friends and partners out to our homelands.” George said the Community Fund cherishes the opportunity to empower organizations in accom- plishing the work they do in their respective communities. Dozono, who has served 18 years on the Board of Trustees, said board members appreciate what the organizations do to make west- ern Oregon a better place to live. Before the grants were awarded, recipients watched a video that recounted the Grand Ronde Tribe’s history, as well as explained how the Community Fund helps various organizations in its granting area. After the video, Community Fund Program Coordinator Louis King and Dozono distributed the checks. Other grant recipients were: • Beyond Toxics of Portland, $5,000, for its Cosecha Hermosa (Beautiful Bounty) Neighborhood Gardening for Food Security pro- gram; • Carlton Police Department, Photo by Dean Rhodes Shawn Fleek, Community Engagement coordinator with OPAL, talks with Spirit Mountain Community Fund Program Coordinator Louis King and Grants Coordinator Julia Willis before the Wednesday, March 16, quarterly check presentation held in the Atrium of the Governance Center. OPAL received a $20,000 grant to build its Youth Environmental Justice Alliance program. Fleek is a descendant of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. $5,000, for its Speed Reduction & Traffic Safety Enhancement Project; • Center for Hope and Safety of Salem, $75,000, for its shelter for victims of domestic and sexual violence; • Chehalem Youth & Family Ser- vices of Newberg, $20,000, for its Family Advocacy and Support Team; • Community Sharing Program of Cottage Grove, $4,000, for its Latino Food Box Project; • Constructing Hope Pre-appren- ticeship Program of Portland, $25,000, for its Skill Trades Training Program; • Corvallis Multicultural Literacy Center, $5,000, for its Com- munity Beginner English for Survival, Work and Citizenship program; • Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon of Portland, $30,000, for breast and cervical health education and support; • Gleaners of Clackamas County Inc. of Oregon City, $5,000, to acquire a forklift; • Greater Yamhill Watershed Council of McMinnville, $4,700, for its Watershed Education Adventures Youth Stewardship Program; • HIV Alliance of Eugene, $25,000, for reducing injection-related HIV infections in Lane County; • I Have a Dream Foundation of Oregon of Portland, $40,000, for its Dreamer School Engagement Project; • Japanese Garden Society of Or- egon of Portland, $75,000, for its Cultural Crossing expansion project; CPA returns Doris Rose, a certified public accountant, will be returning to the Grand Ronde community. She will be in the Grand Ronde Housing Department office on Tuesday and Thursday through April 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 503-293-4128. • Johnson Creek Watershed Coun- cil of Milwaukie, $10,000, for its Citizen Science 2016 project; • Juliette’s House of McMinnville, $40,000, to support its clinical services; • Ka Ana Ike Aka Ohana Founda- tion of Tualatin, $2,000, for its Ho’omoana Hawaiian Cultural Immersion Camp; • Kukatonon African Children’s Dance Troupe of Portland, $5,000, for its Elele (Joy!) Dance, Culture and Heritage project; • Mental Health for Children Inc. of Springfield, $100,000, for a build- ing to house wellness and commu- nity-based treatment programs; • Northwest Catholic Counseling Center of Portland, $23,500, for mental health care for lower-in- come older women; • Northwest Human Services of Salem, $50,000, for its QuickCare capital project; • Northwest Zen Sangha Center of Portland, $20,000, for its Siskiyou Square Community Garden; • OPAL Environmental Justice of Portland, $20,000, for its Youth Environmental Justice Alliance capacity building project; • Oregon Center for Public Policy of Silverton, $5,000, for its Great Schools, Great Communities proj- ect; • Oregon Coast Children’s Theatre of Lincoln City, $5,000, for its Arts in Education and Commu- nity Arts Initiative; • Oregon Environmental Council Inc. of Portland, $50,000, for reducing toxic air pollution in disadvantaged communities; • Oregon Latino Health Coalition of Portland, $50,000, for prenatal care outreach and education; • Pacific Rivers Council of Port- land, $25,000, to protect rivers and water on Oregon’s private and state timberlands; • Pacific University of Forest Grove, $50,000, for its Vision Care community outreach; • Pathfinders of Oregon of Port- land, $30,000, to help children of incarcerated parents break the cycle and build family strength; • Portland Community ToolBank, $5,000, for building better com- munities; • Rebuilding Together of Portland, $25,000, to rebuild homes for low income, elderly and disabled peo- ple; • ROSE Community Development of Portland, $32,590, for its Lents Youth Initiative; • Sauvie Island Center of Portland, $10,000, for its Farm to Kitchen: Engaging the Next Generation program; • Tillamook Bay Community College, $75,000, to create a Partners for Rural Innovation Center to serve Tillamook Coun- ty; • Triangle Productions of Portland, $2,000, for its co-production of “Heathers: The Musical.” • Tryon Life Community Farm of Portland, $5,000, for its Beyond Nature As Backdrop hands-on ethnobotany education project; • Willamette Valley Cancer Foun- dation of McMinnville, $5,000, for its Kids on the Block Tobacco Awareness Program’s interactive materials update. • YWCA of Greater Portland, $50,000, for its Family Preser- vation Project. The Community Fund also drew for door prizes of Tribal vests and Oregon photo books. Winners were Chehalem Youth & Family Ser- vices, Northwest Zen Sangha, Portland Community ToolBank, Constructing Hope Pre-appren- ticeship Program and the Pacific Rivers Council. Since its inception in 1997, the Community Fund has awarded 2,283 grants totaling almost $69.2 million.
