The Oregon Cultural Trust marks its 20th anniversary by announcing a record-setting $3,254,441 in grant awards to 140 cultural organizations across the state.
Made possible by generous Oregonians who invested a record $5.2 million in the cultural tax credit in 2020, this year’s awards bring the cumulative total of Cultural Trust grants to more than $36 million since its founding in 2001.
The FY2022 awards include a total of $813,610 to the Cultural Trust’s five statewide partners (Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Heritage Commission, Oregon Humanities, Oregon Historical Society and the State Historic Preservation Office); $813,610 to 45 County and Tribal Cultural Coalitions – who award an average of 450 additional awards annually in their communities; and $1,627,220 in competitive Cultural Development Program awards to 90 cultural organizations serving most geographic regions of the state.
“In its first 20 years the Cultural Trust has proven itself as a stable source of funding for Oregon’s arts, heritage and humanities community,” said Niki Price, chair of the Cultural Trust board. “Thanks to the Oregonians who participate in the cultural tax credit we have raised more than $74 million in support of culture statewide. It is gratifying to announce our largest pool of grants ever as we celebrate this important milestone.”
The 90 Cultural Development grant awards range from $5,000 to $33,728 with an average grant award of $18,087. Fifty-eight percent of the 155 eligible applications were funded.
Cultural Development Program awards fund projects that address access, capacity, creativity and preservation. Applications were reviewed and scored by four peer panels; final award amounts were determined and approved by the Cultural Trust Board of Directors at its Sept. 29 meeting. Overall more than 60 percent of Cultural Trust funding (including awards to County and Tribal Coalitions) is awarded outside of the Portland Metro area.
Central Region
Cascade School of Music, Bend: $5,000
To support access for Latino community students, via free tuition, to the Cascade School of Music’s Awesome After School Orchestra, a beginners strings class held at Title 1, bilingual, Bear Creek Elementary.
Sisters Folk Festival, Inc., Sisters: $15,688
To support the 2021 Sisters Folk Festival, a community-wide event that takes place Oct. 1-3 in multiple venues in the rural community of Sisters.
The High Desert Museum, Bend: $12,385
To support the Utopias exhibition, which will create access to meaningful cultural experiences that explore utopian ideas through diverse perspectives, including Afro and Indigenous futurisms, to enhance understanding of Oregon’s cultural heritage.
Women’s Civic Improvement League, Bend: $6,179
To support and ensure KPOV’s signal stability by replacing mission critical equipment called an STL that sends the audio signal from the station to the transmission tower.
