Salem, Ore. – Donations to the Oregon Cultural Trust surpassed $5.7 million in fiscal year 2022, an 11.7 percent increase over fiscal year 2021. The amount also surpasses previously announced 2021 calendar year results of $5.55 million, important as fiscal year results determine the funds available for grant awards to cultural organizations across the state.
“We sent out a spring appeal reminding donors that donations made prior to June 30 increase our pool of funding available for grant awards, and they responded generously,” said Cultural Trust Executive Director Brian Rogers. “It’s clear that cultural donors recognize that the more than 1,500 cultural organizations we support are continuing to recover and rebuild from losses suffered during the pandemic.”
More than half of the money raised will be distributed directly to Oregon’s nonprofit cultural community later this summer; the remainder will grow the Cultural Trust permanent fund. Cultural Trust grants are distributed to the five Statewide Cultural Partners – Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Humanities and the Oregon State Office of Historic Preservation – as well as through the 45 County/Tribal Cultural Coalitions, who regrant the funds in their communities, and directly to cultural nonprofits via Cultural Development Grants.
The 90 projects supported by Cultural Development Grants in FY2022 include:
- Access to culturally relevant celebrations and events involving traditional art, music and dance for Latinx families and the greater community by Comunidad y Herencia Cultural in Springfield;
- An exhibit at the Favell Museum in Klamath Falls by Klamath Modoc artist Ka’ila Farrell-Smith — her first for her Native community. Her art explores the space between the Indigenous & western paradigms;
- Indexing, cross-referencing, digitization and expanded access to the Harney County Library oral history collection for the community, researchers and genealogists by the Harney County Library Foundation in Burns;
- Access to robust, community-led art making and exhibition opportunities for BIPOC artists, cultural workers and residents in East Portland’s Jade District by the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon in Portland;
- Construction of the Arrival Plaza at Astoria Nordic Heritage Park, a cultural attraction for North Coast residents and visitors by the Astoria Scandinavian Heritage Association;
- The installation of a lift for better accessibility to the landmark Carnegie Library building in La Grande by Eastern Oregon Regional Arts Council, Inc.;
- Funding the Portland Chinatown History Foundation’s first paid executive director to further develop, sustain, strengthen and grow operations, programs and collaborations;
- Expanded access to the performing arts of India through a hybrid model of delivering the in-home experience of live concerts and master classes via social media by Rasika Society for Arts of India in Hillsboro; and
- The preservation of Historic Community Hall by strengthening wall supports and replacing damaged roof trusses by the Willamette Community and Grange Hall Historic Building Foundation in Corvallis.
For a full list of Cultural Trust grant projects, including links to Cultural County Coalitions and several hundred county projects they are funding this year, visit www.culturaltrust.org.
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The Oregon Cultural Trust was established by the Oregon Legislature in 2001 as a unique means to reward Oregonians who invest in culture. Oregonians who donate to a cultural nonprofit and then make a matching gift to the Cultural Trust receive a 100% state tax credit for their gift to the Trust.
