Salem, Ore. – A new impact study of the Oregon Cultural Trust calls its geographic reach “remarkable” and reinforces its unique role as a stable and accessible funding source for arts, heritage and humanities statewide. Produced by ECONorthwest, the report concludes that the Cultural Trust has a wide-reaching influence on people’s experience of culture in Oregon, supporting cultural activities and organizations in every county with higher per capita funding, up to $15 per capita, in rural counties where grant funding can be scarce.
“The Trust effectively allocates resources to rural areas of the state by harnessing contributions from urban areas,” said Terry Moore, ECONorthwest’s senior project director. “It serves as a nexus for the entire cultural community in Oregon and can use this position to amplify the effects of its grantmaking activities.”
The impact study focused on Cultural Trust performance between 2006 and 2016, or 10 of the 17 years since the Trust was founded. During that time donations to the Cultural Trust increased an average of 4.3 percent annually, adjusted for inflation. The non-corporate donor base grew by 7.6 percent.
Between 2006 and 2016 the Cultural Trust distributed $17.5 million* in grant funds through its 45 Cultural County and Tribal Coalitions, directly to cultural nonprofits through Cultural Development grants and via its five Statewide Partners – the Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon Humanities and the Oregon State Office of Historic Preservation. The funding provided $11.2 million to support 4,958 statewide projects and an additional $6.3 million in partner and collaborative grants.
“This longitudinal view of the Cultural Trust’s impact for cultural projects and programs all across Oregon is truly extraordinary,” said Cultural Trust Board Chair Chuck Sams. “The uniqueness of the Cultural Trust in the nation is testament to how highly valued culture is in our state.”
In addition, the impact of the grants was maximized by producing goods and services, generating an additional 70 percent of the grant amounts in economic value and leveraging new funding sources for required matching grants.
Report findings also indicate that the Cultural Trust has tremendous potential to continue to grow contributions and expand its impact. As one donor said, “The Cultural Trust funds culture through a diverse statewide network that ensures its grant dollars are shared wisely. It’s a great funding model – if more donors would participate it could have a transformational impact on the cultural life of our state.”
The Oregon Cultural Trust was created by the Oregon State Legislature in 2001 to lead Oregon in cultivating, growing and valuing culture. The Legislature established an innovative funding mechanism to support that mission: the Cultural Tax Credit. Oregonians who donate to an Oregon-based cultural nonprofit qualifies for the state tax credit by donating the same amount to the Cultural Trust. The program allows Oregon taxpayers who value and support culture to redirect that portion of their taxes to Cultural Trust grant programs.
The Cultural Tax Credit now generates close to $5 million per year for the Cultural Trust. Up to 60 percent of that amount is distributed to nonprofit organizations working on cultural activities in Oregon; the remainder is invested in a permanent fund for Oregon culture.
View the full impact report and/or the executive summary.
The impact report was commissioned by the Cultural Trust’s Statewide Cultural Partners:
The more than 100 projects supported by Cultural Development Grants in FY2018 include:
- the “Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years” interactive exhibit at Oregon Historical Society and community programming by the Oregon Black Pioneers in Salem;
- theater lighting and sound equipment upgrades for the Florence Events Center;
- the renovation of the historic Baker Orpheum Theatre to become a community performing arts center in Baker City;
- exhibits and programs that highlight the LBGTQ community and Native youth as part of a Cultural Diversity Initiative by the High Desert Museum in Bend; and
- transforming a major gallery at Portland Children’s Museum into The Studio - a clay, maker and multi-purpose art space for families.
For a full list of Cultural Trust grant projects, including links to Cultural County Coalitions and several hundred county projects they fund, visit www.culturaltrust.org.
*Total grant funds distributed since the Cultural Trust was founded: $23 million.
# # #
Salem, Ore. – Governor Kate Brown will welcome newly appointed Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford and thank outgoing Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody at the Oregon Poets Laureate Celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17, at the Rockwood Boys & Girls Club in East Portland (454 SE 165th Ave). The reception will celebrate Oregon’s Poet Laureate program, which is funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and administered by Oregon Humanities. The event is free but registration is required by Friday, July 13.
The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon. The Poet Laureate provides at least six and up to 20 public readings per year in settings across the state to educate community, business and state leaders about the value and importance of poetry and creative expression.
Stafford began a two-year term as Poet Laureate in May, succeeding Woody, who had served as Poet Laureate since April 2016. Both are committed to connecting communities through poetry. Each will read from their personal collections at the event and invite youth from the center to share their original works of spoken word. Oregon’s 2018 Poetry Out Loud champion, Sarah Calvin-Stupfel, also will be featured.
“There are many ways to serve this state and among them is clarity of language and passion of purpose, which may travel from one soul to another through poetry,” said Governor Kate Brown, who appoints the Poet Laureate. “Kim Stafford is one of our state’s most generous literary teachers and I am proud to appoint him as our next Poet Laureate.”
Stafford was born and grew up in Oregon. He is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose, and edited half a dozen others. His book, “Having Everything Right: Essays of Place,” won a citation for excellence from the Western States Book Awards in 1986. Stafford has received creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Governor’s Arts Award, and the Steward Holbrook Award from Literary Arts for his contributions to Oregon’s literary culture. His work also has been featured on National Public Radio.
“Elizabeth Woody's words bring to life the landscapes, creatures and people who make Oregon special," Governor Brown added. "As Poet Laureate, the energy of her vivid storytelling helped us understand who we are as a larger community."
Woody was born on the Navajo Nation reservation in Ganado, Arizona, but has made her home in Oregon for most of her life. An enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, she has published poetry, short fiction and essays, and also is a visual artist. “Hand Into Stone,” her first book of poetry, received a 1990 American Book Award. In 1994 she published “Luminaries of the Humble (University of Arizona Press)” and “Seven Hands, Seven Hearts (The Eighth Mountain Press).”
Past Oregon Poets Laureate were Edwin Charles Markham (1921–1940), Ben Hur Lampman (1951–1954), Ethel Romig Fuller (1957–1965), William Stafford (1974–1989), Lawson Inada (2006–2010), Paulann Petersen (2010-2014) and Peter Sears (2014-2016).
To learn more about the Oregon Poet Laureate program, or to schedule an event with Kim Stafford, visit the Poet Laureate website.
Register here by Friday, July 13, to attend the Oregon Poets Laureate Celebration.
The Cultural Trust extends its gratitude to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro, the City of Gresham and Sokol Blosser Winery for their generous support of this event.
_________________
About the Oregon Cultural Trust
The Oregon Cultural Trust is an innovative, statewide private-public program raising significant new funds to support and protect Oregon’s arts, humanities and heritage. In addition to the creation of a permanent endowment, funds are distributed annually through three multifaceted, wide-ranging grant programs. No other state in the nation has a program like the Oregon Cultural Trust, which has been ranked with the bottle bill and the vote-by-mail bill as among Oregon’s most forward-thinking public policy measures. More information at culturaltrust.org.
About Oregon Humanities
Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a statewide partner of the Oregon Cultural Trust. Each year through programs and publications—the Conversation Project, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Bridging Oregon, Public Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine—Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that change lives and transform communities. More information at oregonhumanities.org.
Salem, Ore. – The public is invited to help welcome newly appointed Oregon Poet Laureate Kim Stafford and thank outgoing Poet Laureate Elizabeth Woody at the Oregon Poets Laureate Celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 17, at the Rockwood Boys & Girls Club in East Portland (454 SE 165th Ave). The reception will celebrate Oregon’s Poet Laureate program, which is funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and administered by Oregon Humanities. The event is free but registration is required.
The Oregon Poet Laureate fosters the art of poetry, encourages literacy and learning, addresses central issues relating to humanities and heritage, and reflects on public life in Oregon. The Poet Laureate provides at least six and up to 20 public readings per year in settings across the state to educate community, business and state leaders about the value and importance of poetry and creative expression.
Stafford began a two-year term as Poet Laureate in May, succeeding Woody, who had served as Poet Laureate since April 2016. Both are committed to connecting communities through poetry. Each will read from their personal collections at the event and invite youth from the center to share their original works of spoken word. Students from Oregon’s Poetry Out Loud program also may be featured.
“There are many ways to serve this state and among them is clarity of language and passion of purpose, which may travel from one soul to another through poetry,” said Governor Kate Brown, who appoints the Poet Laureate. “Kim Stafford is one of our state’s most generous literary teachers and I am proud to appoint him as our next Poet Laureate.”
Stafford was born and grew up in Oregon. He is the author of a dozen books of poetry and prose, and edited half a dozen others. His book, “Having Everything Right: Essays of Place,” won a citation for excellence from the Western States Book Awards in 1986. Stafford has received creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Governor’s Arts Award, and the Steward Holbrook Award from Literary Arts for his contributions to Oregon’s literary culture. His work also has been featured on National Public Radio.
“Elizabeth Woody's words bring to life the landscapes, creatures and people who make Oregon special," Governor Brown added. "As Poet Laureate, the energy of her vivid storytelling helped us understand who we are as a larger community."
Woody was born on the Navajo Nation reservation in Ganado, Arizona, but has made her home in Oregon for most of her life. An enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, she has published poetry, short fiction and essays, and also is a visual artist. “Hand Into Stone,” her first book of poetry, received a 1990 American Book Award. In 1994 she published “Luminaries of the Humble (University of Arizona Press)” and “Seven Hands, Seven Hearts (The Eighth Mountain Press).”
Past Oregon Poets Laureate were Edwin Charles Markham (1921–1940), Ben Hur Lampman (1951–1954), Ethel Romig Fuller (1957–1965), William Stafford (1974–1989), Lawson Inada (2006–2010), Paulann Petersen (2010-2014) and Peter Sears (2014-2016).
To learn more about the Oregon Poet Laureate program, or to schedule an event with Kim Stafford, visit the Poet Laureate website.
Register here by Friday, July 13, to attend the Oregon Poets Laureate Celebration.
The Cultural Trust extends its gratitude to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metro and the City of Gresham for their generous support of this event.
_________________
About the Oregon Cultural Trust
The Oregon Cultural Trust is an innovative, statewide private-public program raising significant new funds to support and protect Oregon’s arts, humanities and heritage. In addition to the creation of a permanent endowment, funds are distributed annually through three multifaceted, wide-ranging grant programs. No other state in the nation has a program like the Oregon Cultural Trust, which has been ranked with the bottle bill and the vote-by-mail bill as among Oregon’s most forward-thinking public policy measures. More information at culturaltrust.org.
About Oregon Humanities
Oregon Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a statewide partner of the Oregon Cultural Trust. Each year through programs and publications—the Conversation Project, Think & Drink, Humanity in Perspective, Bridging Oregon, Public Program Grants, and Oregon Humanities magazine—Oregon Humanities connects Oregonians to ideas that change lives and transform communities. More information at oregonhumanities.org.