Oregon Community Foundation Invests $32 million in Arts & Education in Oregon

Investment is from Fred W. Fields Estate Gift, now valued at more than $156 million

 

The Oregon Community Foundation is pleased to announce a $32 million five-year investment in key strategies to support education and the arts for all Oregonians. These investments are some of the first made from the Fred W. Fields estate, a gift OCF received in late 2011 and currently valued at more than $156 million.

The Fields gift was the largest single gift OCF has ever received and one of the largest single gifts made to any community foundation throughout the nation. As steward of the gift and to determine how best to use the new endowment, OCF embarked on more than a year of research and consideration of needs in the areas of arts and education in Oregon. During the past year, OCF held gatherings with arts groups and community members around the state, conducted a survey of more than 750 people representing nearly every county in Oregon and met with education policy leaders and partner organizations representing the full education continuum.

This initial investment will allow OCF to explore new strategies and make deeper commitments in areas that have already been working successfully. The $32 million five-year investment will go towards funding the following strategies and initiatives:

·         A $15.5 million signature education initiative will focus on four strategies to ensure that more children come to school ready to learn and continue on a path to academic success:

o   Parents are their children’s earliest foundation for success, so OCF is making a deeper investment in parenting education to ensure that more parenting education classes and other critical resources are available to all families.

 

o   The implementation of a prenatal through 3^rd grade alignment pilot program serving at least eight communities to strengthen connections between early childhood services and the K-12 system.

 

o   Funding for community-based programs that offer high quality after-school, mentoring and parent engagement programs to increase student attendance and academic achievement.

 

o   Because post-secondary education remains unattainable for so many, an annual Fred W. Fields scholarship will be awarded to one student in every Oregon community college who is working toward a technical certificate or associate degree.

 

·         The $13 million arts and culture initiative is aimed at creating more vibrant and accessible arts communities of all sizes across Oregon. Programs will:

 

o   Increase access to arts education for schoolchildren through multi-year partnerships between arts organizations and schools;

 

o   Support the creation and dissemination of innovative works through multi-year grants to arts and culture organizations;

 

o   Support the state’s small arts and culture organizations through a program that will distribute grants to arts organizations in every region of the state.

 

·         During the next five years, up to $10 million in other funds from the Fields gift will increase support for responsive arts and education grants throughout Oregon.

 

OCF will roll out these new programs over the course of the next year. More information about the Fields gift and how it will support arts and education in Oregon can be found at www.oregoncf.org.