ConnectionsCOMMUNITY

T H E N E W S L E T T E R of T H E O R E G O N C O M M U N I T Y F O U N D A T I O N

Checking It OutOregon Public Library Needs Assessment Tells the Story

Growing up in the rural Ozarks, 75-year-old Ann du Pont fondly remembers trips to the public library and the book- mobile that visited her school. Every month, she’d carry

home yet another armload of fiction.

“The public library’s role in the community is vital in a democratic so-ciety,” says du Pont, a retired Klamath County librarian. “Everybody is welcome. It’s great to see such a wide variety of people, whether they’re working at a computer, browsing the shelves, taking a nap or playing with a puppet.”

Adequate funding lets public libraries thrive, and OCF wanted to know how philanthropy can best support these critical resources. So, in 2014, we com-missioned the first-ever, just-released Oregon Public Library Needs Assessment, thanks to financial support from the Lora L. & Martin N. Kelley Family Foundation Trust and the Betsy Priddy Fund of OCF.

From existing information, focus groups, interviews and online surveys about Or-egon’s 131 public libraries, we learned that our libraries are the country’s most heavily used, yet Oregon ranks 36th in state support of them. So, they’re much more dependent on local funding, competitive grants and philanthropy.

Continued on page 4Shelly Johnson leads "Storytime" at the Sandy Library.

Autumn 2015

INSIDE THIS I S S U E

LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

OCF BOARD OF DIRECTORS

RECEPTION

AROUND OREGON

DONOR PROFILE

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E X P E R T I S E A D V I C E C O L L A B O R A T I O N

Oregon’s public libraries range in size from Agness Community Library in Curry County, which serves 140 people, to the 19-branch Multnomah County Library system, which serves a population of more than 770,000.

Dear Friends,

As we watched the supermoon eclipse a few weeks ago, it signaled the beginning of fall and a hoped-for change from such a hot, dry summer. But of course, The Oregon Community Foundation doesn’t slow down for heat waves: The past few months have been busy and memorable.

First, we are grateful to the city of Newport, which played host for our board retreat and community reception this August. The Oregon Coast

Aquarium, the Hatfield Marine Science Center and a number of other nonprofits opened their doors to us, and as ever, the food was delicious and the community spirit inspiring.

We enjoyed another season of impactful grantmaking, and are pleased to announce that, as a result of our recent Equity, Diversity and Inclusion initiative, we have significantly increased both the volume and amount of community grants made to culturally led and culturally specific organizations.

Our staff and donors also continued to learn from each other and from our grantees, cel-ebrating Eastern Oregon at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph, touring organizations that combat homelessness in Eugene, and helping distribute dental health kits to thousands of school-bound kids.

This summer also saw the release of two publications that we hope will inform our and oth-ers’ grantmaking in the future: our “Oregon Public Libraries Needs Assessment” (our front page story) and our “Natural Resources & the Environment” report, a timely resource for interested donors, given the stress that many rural communities experienced during this summer’s droughts and fires.

And more recently, I would like to thank all those who attended and participated in our “Women Give” event in Portland — we saw a remarkable turnout for a fascinating discus-sion about women in philanthropy.

The coming months will be ripe with opportunities to give back. We at OCF feel grateful to be in the company of so many generous Oregonians who do just that.

Many thanks for all that you do.

Best wishes,THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERSTim Mabry, Chair, Hermiston

Kirby Dyess, Vice Chair, BeavertonDuncan Wyse, Treasurer, Portland

Jim Mark, Secretary, PortlandSue Miller, Past Chair, Salem

MEMBERSPenny Allen, Bandon

Patrick Criteser, TillamookRomán Hernández, Portland

Duane McDougall, Lake OswegoSue Naumes, Medford

Corrine Oishi, Forest GroveSabrina Parsons, Eugene

Trish Smith, BendKay Toran, Portland

Carolyn Walker, Portland

PRESIDENT AND CEOMax Williams

A LETTER from MAX WILLIAMS, PRESIDENT and CEO

OCF REGIONAL OFFICESPORTLAND

1221 SW Yamhill St.Suite 100

Portland, OR 97205503.227.6846

BEND 15 SW Colorado Ave.

Suite 375Bend, OR 97702

541.382.1170

COOS BAY 915 S First St.

Coos Bay, OR 97420541.269.9650

EUGENE440 E Broadway

Suite 160Eugene, OR 97401

541.431.7099

MEDFORD818 W Eighth St.

Medford, OR 97501541.773.8987

SALEM 1313 Mill St. SE

Suite 203Salem, OR 97301

503.779.1927

Community grant applications are moving online!You will soon be able to submit applications online to OCF’s Community Grant Program. The application window for the upcoming cycle will open Dec. 1, 2015, and close at midnight on Jan. 15, 2016.

Although the system is changing, the Community Grant guidelines will re-main the same. The online application system is compatible with any Web browser and can be accessed from OCF’s website: oregoncf.org.

Should you have technical difficulties, we will continue to accept paper copies of Community Grant applications through 2016.

Our transition to online applications for other grant programs will be rolled out slowly. Please review the OCF website for the latest information about application procedures for individual programs.

Monday with Max: November 16, 9:30 a.m.-10 a.m. Teleconference/WebinarJoin OCF President & CEO Max Williams for a brief update on the state of the Foundation and future projects and priorities. This event will be a live audio broadcast that you can access by phone or com-puter. Go to oregoncf.org/calendar to register for this event.

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Board Retreat and Community Reception

August 7 was perfect for a visit to the Oregon Coast Aquarium: blue skies, warm breezes and playful sea otters. That evening, The Oregon Community Foundation board of directors hosted a reception at the aquarium to honor community and nonprofit leaders and volunteers from the region. Attendees dined, toured the aquarium and visited with OCF board members and staff.

The reception followed a two-day board retreat that included a tour of the Samaritan Health Services Education Center, the OMSI Coastal Discovery Center at Camp Gray and the Hatfield Marine Science Center, followed by lunch at Oregon Coast Community College.

OCF Board Chair Tim Mabry said that evening, “OCF depends on community members to help us learn about the issues that you care about. Events like this one give us a great opportunity to hear firsthand what’s important to you.”

Celebrating the Oregon Coast

Top row: OCF board members and staff tour nonprofit sites near Newport.Bottom rows: Coast community members join board and staff for a reception at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Of the top eight roles our public libraries play, here’s how Oregon library directors prioritize and partly fulfill them:

• Encouraging Reading — Summer reading and booklists, author talks and afterschool programs, book-discussion groups, “One City, One Book” projects.

• Early Childhood Learning — Storytime, play areas with educa-tional toys and materials, outreach to preschool and childcare providers, music and movement programs, caregiver literacy training.

• Education and Lifelong Learning — School outreach, resources for genealogy and homeschooling, homework help and tutor-ing, language and literacy classes.

• Digital Inclusion — Public-access computers and Wi-Fi, e-resources, computer classes.

• Arts, Culture and Creativity — Performances, arts and crafts programs, author talks, writing workshops, exhibits, history pro-grams, film screenings.

• Civic and Community Engagement — Government services (printed IRS forms and health-insurance sign-up), speakers, bal-lot boxes, town halls.

• Economic and Workforce Development — Technology and software training, small-business resources and meeting space, workshops in resume writing and social media.

• Supporting Limited English-Speaking Communities — Non- English-language information, collections, storytime and signage; bilingual staff and ESL classes.

Fundraising helps, as libraries look to local service organizations, such as the Rotary Club; Oregon foundations like OCF; the Oregon State Library/Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) federal program; and grants from regional/national companies and the NEA.

In our society, there’s nothing like public libraries, encouraging us to explore our curiosity, expand our knowledge and skills, and engage with others. “Even people who don’t use the library benefit from it,” says du Pont. “Because they always know it’s available.” Let’s make sure Oregon’s libraries continue to be there for all of us.

I would like to see a very fine collection of books, records, and documents pertaining to the history of Harney County … As the “old-timers” die, so die the memories of struggle and challenge which were unique to the prairie …

From a letter by Claire McGill Luce in 1970

Claire McGill Luce (1923-1971) grew up overlooking the arid flats of the Alvord Desert on a remote ranch at the base of Steens Mountain. It was a place that she remembered fondly, even after a successful career that took her from Oregon to New York, where she worked her way into a high-rank-ing financial position within Time Inc. that led her to meet her third husband, Henry Luce III, TIME Magazine’s publisher.

“I am forever grateful to Harney County,” she wrote in a letter to a friend in 1970, explaining that she wished to foster the region’s heritage and culture by pledging $30,000 in Time Inc. stocks to the Harney County Library. By 1999, those stocks’ value had grown to over $2 million, and the county shifted the library’s endowment into an OCF fund that will support the library in perpetu-ity. Luce’s endowment will help preserve the library’s priceless collection of over 500 remarkable audio recordings of early settlers’ life stories.

Checking It OutContinued from page 1

Medford Library

LEGACY LEADERSHIP IMPACT

For more information about the Oregon Public Library Needs Assessment, please visit oregoncf.org

HARNEY COUNTY LIBRARYClaire McGill Luce Endowment Fund

OCF Donors Take Action to Support LibrariesThe Schamp Family Fund of OCF recently contribut-ed $50,000 toward a new Oregon Library Innovation Fund. The fund will support the needs of Oregon li-braries as identified in the library assessment. The

fund is open to all for contributions. You can contribute to the fund at oregoncf.org/givenow.

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As the holidays approach and nonprofits begin their end-of-year giving fundraisers, OCF is proud to support the #OregoniansGive campaign. The idea is simple: Orego-

nians come together on Dec. 1 (known nationally as #GivingTuesday) to give something back to their favorite nonprofits. The goal is one dollar for every Oregonian — $3.97 million! Nonprofits, businesses and individuals are all encouraged to register (it’s free) at oregoniansgive.org

#OregoniansGive Initiative

COMMUNITY CONNECTION PARTNERSHIP

NEW FUNDS Thank you to the following for establishing funds at OCF this year!

Bruce Berning and Marcia Darm FundRobert H. Bigley Medical Scholarship FundJessie M. Bork and Jessie M. Bell Scholarship FundPauline and Harold Bryan Memorial Scholarship FundEdmund J. Burke Foundation FundTom and Kathy Carstens Applegate FundRufus and Carol Cate FundDorothy and Al Cereghino Scholarship FundCommunity Wellness FundCornyn Family FundCox Family FundJemma Crae Advised FundMichael and Christine Crossland FundDeferred Action for Immigrants FundMatt and Doris Doherty Scholarship FundForest Grove Senior and Community Center FundFriends of the Animal Shelter Endowment FundFriends of the Columbia Gorge FundFriends of Outdoor School Endowment FundFriends of Trees Endowment FundGerdemann Endowment Fund 21Harris/Holt FundMargaret E. Hull Fund for South Benton Nutrition ProgramJohnson Creek Watershed Council FundJane and Ron Jones FundThomas Jeremy Keep Scholarship FundJules E.F. Kessler FundThe Marjorie Ann Kundiger FundLaurel Ladies FundMartin Lipsky and Darice Zabak FundMacdonald Center Endowment FundLinda and David McCammon Advised FundNorth Bend Public Library Foundation Endowment FundLindsay Peters Scholarship FundDF and BG Peterson FundPotato Pioneers FundDave and Sue Ramus FundRees Family FundJannotta Rothenberg Family FundRay and Vivian Rudeen Scholarship FundSalem Parks Foundation FundSandberg Academic Scholarship FundJordan Schnitzer and Thomas Lauderdale Confluence Art Endowment FundSchweinfurth Scholarship Fund 44Shamrock FundSouth Coast Orchestra Endowment FundAnn C. Thornton Memorial Scholarship FundTigard Garden Club Legacy Gift FundJoe Town Math and Science Scholarship FundMaxine Town Scholarship FundJohn Mark Turetzky Scholarship FundHeather Nicole Wallace Memorial FundJames B. Wiley FundCarolyn Wood FundZuko and Sophie Fund

55 new funds @OCF in 2015as of 8/31/15

Year-End Giving and Tax Savings

You are passionate about having impact in your community through your gifts to a nonprofit organization or through working for a nonprofit or-ganization whose mission speaks to you. At OCF we partner with donors and nonprofits in the spirit of lifting up the fabric of our society through philanthropy.

This year-end, consider joining hundreds of others in making a gift to OCF that reflects your personal goals and values. Here are some of the benefits:

Give now — decide laterFor a charitable tax deduction in 2015, add to an existing fund or create a new fund from which you can make gifts to nonprofit organizations in the future. This means you can sort out the organizations you want to give to later, after the pressure of the holidays and Dec. 31 have passed.

Consider giving real estate, a privately held business interest or publicly traded mutual fundsOCF has the expertise to help you give complex assets. However, the review process for these gifts can take longer, so please contact us by the begin-ning of November if you are considering making these gifts.

Let OCF do the legworkOCF’s team of professionals has extensive knowledge of the nonprofit com-munity throughout Oregon and the broad charitable needs of our state. We are able to connect you to research data, knowledge about nonprofits in various sectors, etc. The wealth of information at OCF about the nonprofit sector is yours for the asking when you have a fund with us.

Talk to your professional advisorAs always, before making any significant gift, consult with your accountant, attorney or other advisor to understand the gift’s impact on your taxes.

I’d love to talk with you. Please contact me to learn more at jthoeresz@oregoncf.org or phone 503.227.6846.

Johanna Thoeresz, OCF Chief Development Officer

Around OREGON

The Women Give event drew more than 300 women to the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland. Upper right: Panelists Sharon Gary-Smith, Eden Rose Brown, Cynthia Grant and Gun Denhart. Lower right: Facilitator Martha Richards.

Women GiveAccording to research from the Lily Foundation, “females are more likely than any of the male single-headed households to give to people in need, health care, education, and youth or family.” It’s clear that the way women think about giving matters.

That’s why OCF hosted 300 women in Portland – to begin a conversation about the role of money in our lives and how to focus our giving. As one par-ticipant said, we should “give regularly and with intent.”

The keynote speaker at the inaugural Women Give event was Sara Vetter from the Soul of Money Institute. Following her speech, OCF’s Laura Win-ter led the group on an exploration to identify the areas we are passionate about supporting. A panel discussion, led by Martha Richards, explored how we can think about smarter ways to have collective impact. Panelists were Sharon Gary-Smith, Eden Rose Brown, Cynthia Grant and Gun Denhart. The challenge to the group: Be brave with your money!

FALL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEETINGSJoseph. Carlton. Klamath Falls. Clatskanie. These are just a few of the places where OCF held this fall’s OCF Leadership Council meetings. At the meetings, the councils delved into the TOP Indicators report. This report is published by OCF and OSU and tracks Oregon’s eco-nomic progress through different lenses. The latest report focuses on income inequality and generated great discussions about OCF’s support of education and economic development opportunities.

OCF’s volunteer Leadership Councils help the Foundation prioritize needs and spread the word about philanthropy in their communi-ties. Next on their list, the councils will read “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis,” author Robert Putnam’s examination of the growing inequality gap, in preparation for a virtual discussion group. Eastern Oregon Leadership Council members and OCF staff join nonprofit partners

for site visits in Enterprise.

And the Winners Are …OCF’s volunteer grant evaluators! These 100 talented local volunteers were selected as winners of the 2015 Governor’s Volunteer Award for a “Statewide Community-Based Volunteer Program.” OCF’s grant eval-uators analyze grant applications and assess nonprofit needs for the statewide OCF Community Grant Program and The Reed and Carolee Walker Fund of OCF.

OCF grant evaluators on stage at the 2015 Governor’s Volunteer Award event.

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LET ’ER BUCK!OCF Board Chair Tim Mabry and President and CEO Max Williams joined the Westward Ho! Parade at the Pendleton Round-Up.

Over the past few years, the Pendleton Round-Up Foundation has received grants of more than $30,000 from OCF through the Glen and Jean McKenzie Fund and the C.M. Bishop Jr. Family Fund for general operating support and facility improvements.

OCF’s Tim Mabry and Max Williams

Eugene Donors Tour Local Nonprofits Recently, a group of Eugene OCF donors sat down with clients and staff from three local nonprofits to learn how their organizations are meeting the needs of people expe-riencing homelessness. After presentations and a delicious breakfast prepared by the Eugene Mission’s trained cooks, the group toured the Eugene Mission’s facilities, had a chance to speak with veterans living in Community Supported Shelters’ accommodation and visited with residents of SquareOne Villages (formerly Opportunity Village). “I appre-ciate it when people like having the tours, because I am proud of living here,” said Teresa Gurnicz, a resident and volunteer at SquareOne Villages. She can relate to OCF donors’ reasons for giving and feels the same way about her own service. She says: “We all like giving back ... it’s important to feel like you’re a contributing member of society.”

OCF donors from Eugene tour homeless shelters.

Anne Stephens presents grant award to Gwen Trice.

Maxville Heritage Interpretive CenterMaxville now is little more than a few ruts in a field and one remnant building, but in its heyday about a hundred years ago, it was a bustling Northeastern Oregon timber town whose residents included a sizable African-American population. The Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center in the nearby town of Joseph focuses on preserving the history and stories of this unique community. This summer, the John and Jane Youell Fund of OCF granted $8,000 to support the center’s work. OCF Eastern Oregon Leadership Council member Anne Stephens joined the annual Maxville Heritage Gathering in August to pres-ent the check to MHIC Executive Director Gwen Trice. It was, Anne says, "a great kickoff to one heck of a party!"

COMMUNITY CONNECTION PARTNERSHIP

Back-to-School with Rosemary Anderson High School East in RockwoodAs kids across Oregon geared up for school, OCF volunteers did too, help-ing ensure that students received the supplies they need to keep smiling and studying throughout the year. In Portland, OCF donors and their fami-lies helped assemble dental health kits. Then OCF volunteers headed over to Rosemary Anderson High School East in Portland’s Rockwood com-munity to help stuff backpacks filled with school supplies for the area’s many low-income students. More than 1,700 backpacks were distributed at the high school’s annual “We Got Your Back!” event alongside over 1,500 dental kits handed out by OCF and the Oregon Oral Health Coalition. “The families and kids we target are lower-income, and these dental kits were phenomenal,” said Rosemary Anderson's executive director Joe McFerrin. “They say it takes a village. OCF is a big part of our village." Volunteers handed out dental kits and backpacks filled with school supplies

to the Rockwood community at Rosemary Anderson High School East.

oregoncf.org

Joseph E. Weston Joe Weston is an expansive man — expansive in his personality and ex-pansive in his generosity. He loves all things American, and he loves Port-land, twin loves that he displays on his ties — which usually feature bald eagles and vivid flags — and on his vast portfolio of commercial buildings, many of which display beautiful rose murals dedicated to Joe’s friends, family, mentors and employees.

As with many of Oregon’s great philan-thropists, Weston had a humble start, working as a soda jerk while attending Portland’s Central Catholic High School, then building up a real estate company, and eventually deploying his entrepreneurial spirit and acumen to accumulate an im-pressive collection of properties.

With his wealth, Weston founded the $110 million Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation of OCF. “Charitable giving has always been a part of my life,” Weston says. “I was born into a lower middle class family, but even though they didn’t have money, my parents shared what they had, giving their food and time to the community. ”Beyond his parents, there were many others who influenced him to give, he says. “Our local pharmacist offered discounts on prescriptions to people who couldn’t

afford them,” and more recently, philanthropist John Gray (1919-2012), of OCF’s Gray Family Foundation, has also been an inspiration.

Weston’s Foundation is a very personal project for him, and its guiding principles reflect his love of community, his origins and his deep Catho-lic faith. “Our [primary] mission is to assist the working poor in the areas of education, employment opportunities and health needs,” Weston explains. Over the years, he has distributed tens of millions to non-profits as diverse as OMSI, the Dougy Center, the Tillamook YMCA, the Cascade AIDS Project and Meals on Wheels. He is particularly impressed by grantees that, “through their active volunteers, can multiply and further their cause,” thus magnifying his grants’ impact.

Weston says that he has been fortunate to have the means to give back so extensively. Weston’s Foundation has already transformed the lives of thousands of Oregonians, and he intends to be-queath his remaining resources to OCF to continue its work. He chose to work with OCF, Weston says, because “I wanted the assurance that the basic mission of my Foundation would continue over the years. [...] The OCF Joseph E. Weston Public Foundation will, upon my demise, be one of the largest public foundations in Oregon, and I trust that the board of trustees, with the assistance of OCF, will make a difference in the quality of life for the less fortunate of the com-munity [...] for many years to come.”

Here for Oregon. Here for Good.

1221 SW Yamhill St.Suite 100Portland, OR 97205

STAY CONNECTED TO THE CAUSES YOU CARE ABOUT

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOKTheOregonCF

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Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDPortland, OR

Permit No. 2684

STEWARDSHIP PERFORMANCE PERMANENCE

* as of 8/31/15

TOTAL $43,855,303

ARTS &CULTURE

13%$5,493,710

ECONOMICVITALITY

2%$787,165

EDUCATION

29.5%$13,033,539

HEALTH &WELL-BEING

28.5%$12,568,881

21%$9,199,271

6%$2,772,737

LIVABILITY OTHER

2015 g r a n t m a k i n g *

“Charitable giving has always been a part of my life.”

Donor Profile

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