Feature Stories

These are stories of our members. They are dynamic funder profiles, activities that went beyond mission, and stories that aren’t told every day. They are features that allow for continued peer-to-peer learning as well as opportunities for members to share their personal passions. Read and enjoy!

Funder Profile: The John and Linda Shelk Foundation - Come Be Our Partner

Creating Connections - The John and Linda Shelk Foundation


Grant, Wheeler and Crook counties have some of the most rugged and spectacular scenery in Oregon. People here are resilient and self-sufficient. They need to be when resources are limited and help from an ambulance, fire engine, sheriff, and neighbors can take hours to arrive.

These are our people and the John and Linda Shelk Foundation (JLSF) is proud to have a mission to help the nonprofits that serve them. We are inviting you to join us as a funding partner and experience the rewards of helping rugged individualists who can do, make do, and don’t expect someone else to do it for them.


Ever heard of the Boob Bus? Every month a busload of Wheeler County women take a six-hour trip to Bend for mammograms. On the drive over they learn about health issues: diet, stress, disease treatment and prevention. They have lunch and do some “big city-style” shopping. If someone receives bad news from her screening, she has support from friends on the way home.
 
Photo credits: The Oregonian

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Stories from the Field: Update on the Willamette River Initiative

Building Knowledge - Meyer Memorial Trust


In 2007, the Meyer Memorial Trust (MMT) announced a new initiative focused on the Willamette River.  MMT had many reasons to target the Willamette as a strategic funding priority.  The Willamette Basin is home to 70% of Oregon’s population and produces 75% of its economic output.  The river is one of the defining features of the state’s geography and intrinsic to our sense of place and history.  The Willamette and its tributaries provide essential services to the people and environment of western Oregon – water for drinking, irrigation and industrial uses; critical habitat for native fish and wildlife; and special places where people can fish, boat and swim.


Aerial view of the Willamette River, photo courtesy of Willamette Riverkeeper


Waterfowl taking off from the Willamette floodplain, photo courtesy of Greenbelt Land Trust

In July 2008, the MMT board of trustees authorized the first two WRI funding strategies; one focused on the mainstream Willamette and the other on its tributaries.  On the mainstem, the Trust joined with the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) to encourage and co-fund projects that restore channel complexity, floodplain connectivity and fish and wildlife habitat in high priority reaches.

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Empowering Individuals Through Dollars, Education & Opportunity

Valuing Diversity - The Black United Fund


The Black United Fund is dedicated to assisting in the social and economic development of Oregon’s low-income communities and contributing to a broader understanding of ethnically and culturally diverse groups. Since 1983, we continue to work on cultivating ongoing sources of financial support for low-income and minority communities to address issues such as education, social justice, youth empowerment and economic sustainability.

 


Through our Grants Program we offer annual grants of up to $5000 to small grass-roots nonprofit organizations that are working directly with low-income communities in Oregon and SW Washington.

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Pacific Power and the Pacific Power Foundation: A Century of Commitment

Promoting Excellence - Pacific Power

Only 30 years after Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, Pacific Power & Light Company began serving the Pacific Northwest. Pacific Power’s story began in 1910 when small utilities in Astoria and Pendleton, Ore., and Yakima and Walla Walla, Wash., were combined into one company. From 7,000 customers served then – Pacific Power, as part of PacifiCorp – now provides electric service to more than 1.7 million customers across six western states. Pacific Power serves customers in Oregon, Washington and California, and sister utility Rocky Mountain Power serves Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. Just as 100 years ago, company headquarters remain in Portland, Ore.

With the firm belief that the company is only as strong as the communities it serves, Pacific Power has a long-standing commitment to the growth and vitality of the communities in which the company has the privilege of serving. To help serve the needs within its communities, PacifiCorp created the PacifiCorp Foundation in 1988. Since then, the Pacific Power Foundation and Rocky Mountain Power Foundation have awarded more than $48.8 million to nonprofit organizations, of which more than $1.9 million was awarded in 2009.

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Empowering Communities to Create Lasting Partnerships

Exchanging Ideas - The Oregon Community Foundation

Eastern Oregon Regional Action Initiative Takes Additional Steps to Focus on Mentoring & Enrichment Opportunities for Youth

In celebration of reaching a $1 billion endowment in 2008, the OCF board of directors launched the Regional Action Initiative to empower volunteers in each region with $1 million to create long-term beneficial change.  Eight regional leadership councils began a process two and a half years ago to determine how to invest the funds in their communities.  The Eastern Oregon Leadership Council identified academic achievement as the principal focus area for their nine county region. In order to improve academic achievement, the council developed strategies to improve access to mentoring and enrichment opportunities for youth.

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