Oregon nonprofits receive Umpqua Bank grants, including Warm Springs Community Action Team
LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Umpqua Bank and parent company Columbia Banking System announced Thursday the nonprofit recipients of $1 million in local grants to mark their respective 70th and 30th anniversaries, including $700K to organizations in honor of their longstanding presence in the historic communities of South Puget Sound, Portland Metro and Douglas County, Oregon.
According to David Moore Devine, Umpqua’s Chief Marketing Officer, this year’s anniversaries are especially meaningful given the merger of Umpqua Bank and Columbia Bank earlier this year.
“Umpqua Bank and Columbia Bank were formed with the vision of creating financial institutions deeply committed to the prosperity of local communities and providing a strong, relationship model of banking for families and businesses,” said Moore Devine. “These grants reflect our ongoing appreciation for the nonprofit organizations that are committed to making a difference in our local communities.”
Umpqua Bank and Columbia Bank merged in March 2023, combining the two premier Northwest banks to form a leading western bank and a top 30 bank in the U.S. Currently based Lake Oswego, Oregon, Umpqua Bank was formed in 1953 to support the southern Oregon community of Canyonville in Douglas County, Oregon. In 1993, Columbia Bank, under the banner of Columbia Banking System Inc., was established in Tacoma, Washington, and quickly grew to become the leading community bank headquartered in the state.
Grant recipients were selected for their strong community leadership, their commitment to improving access to economic opportunity, and their support for a variety of under-resourced communities in the areas of affordable housing and homeownership, education, career readiness, entrepreneurship, and health and wellness.
To support the expansion and continued success of the recipients’ strategic work, grants in the amounts of $100,000 and $50,000 were awarded by the Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation to the following Oregon-based organizations:
$100,000 Grant Recipients
- Portland Workforce Alliance (Portland, OR)
Portland Workforce Alliance builds enduring partnerships that improve Oregon’s graduation rate, supports career readiness, creates a strong and inclusive workforce, and helps regional employers develop and diversify their pipelines of talent.
$50,000 Grant Recipients
- Community Partners for Affordable Housing (Tigard, OR)
Community Partners for Affordable Housing advances equitable communities and housing justice by developing sustainable and long-lasting housing, providing residents with services for stabilization and growth, and connecting people who are unhoused with a place to call home.
- Hacienda Community Development Corporation (Portland, OR)
As a Latino-led Community Development Corporation, Hacienda strengthens families by providing affordable housing, homeownership support, economic advancement, and educational opportunities.
- Oregon Native American Chamber (Portland, OR)
Known as the Northwest Native Chamber, this indigenous-led organization is dedicated to working with all members of the community to advance the educational and economic opportunities for Native Americans in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
- Umpqua Community Development Corporation (Roseburg, OR)
Known as NeighborWorks Umpqua, the nonprofit empowers its neighbors in need to pursue opportunities in housing, finance and community. Programs and services include building resilience through financial education, financial coaching and the new Resilience Matched Savings Accounts sponsored by Business Oregon.
- Riddle Roots Community Projects (Riddle, OR)
The mission of this organization is to improve the quality of life and instill a sense of belonging in rural, low-income Southern Douglas County communities by providing local, equitable access to essential gathering spaces, services, programs, resources and activities.
- Warm Springs Community Action Team (Warm Springs, OR)
Warm Springs Community Action Team was founded to address issues of equity and access to resources that provide civic and economic opportunity for aspiring Native American business leaders, homeowners, tradespeople and youth in a geographically isolated, asset-poor, poverty-stricken community.
In addition to the $1 million in strategic local grants awarded by Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation in honor of the bank’s anniversary celebration, Umpqua Bank provided a special grant to Cake4Kids, a nonprofit that delivers free homemade cakes to at-risk and underserved youths across the country. Umpqua Bank awarded a $35,000 grant to the fourteen chapters that serve communities across the bank’s footprint in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
To learn more about Umpqua Bank and its commitment to supporting local communities across the markets it serves please visit www.umpquabank.com/our-impact/partnerships/.
