The Roundhouse Foundation awards 95 Fall Open Call grants across Oregon, topping $1.7 million

SISTERS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Roundhouse Foundation has announced its final selections for the Fall Open Call Proposal cycle. The foundation supports programs and projects that focus on four main areas: arts and culture, environmental stewardship, social services, and education.

A total of just over $1.7 million was awarded to 95 organizations working across Oregon to support rural and Tribal communities.

"We are honored to support the great work happening in several rural Oregon communities and the crucial work individuals and groups have accomplished and will accomplish,” said Erin Borla, Executive Director and Trustee of The Roundhouse Foundation. “The programs, which support the intersections of our four main focus areas, display the importance of community and inclusivity and The Roundhouse Foundation is thrilled to see how these groups will impact rural communities.”

Supported activities fall into four major focus areas. A few examples of the programs in each area include:

Arts and Culture

• Tower Theatre Foundation: to support related educational programming and the general operations of the theater, as well as 5,000 students in eight school matinee performances, three “Page to Screen” events and the Bend A Cappella Festival. (Central Oregon)

• Athena’s Gem: to achieve facility occupancy of the Gem Theatre and Star Saloon, specifically toward auditorium flooring via the completion of remaining electrical, alarm, plumbing, flooring and general finishing work. (NE Oregon)

• City of Roseburg, Roseburg Public Library: to support the Summer Reading Program with a temporary staff member and the purchase of craft supplies, free books, and incentive prizes to encourage youth literacy skills and a lifelong love of reading and learning. (Southwestern Oregon)

Education

• National Inventors Hall of Fame: to assist in the fees for Camp Invention campers and Leaders-in-Training for up to 130 underserved children in rural Oregon communities.  (Southwestern Oregon)
  
• Neighbors For Kids: to support the needs of children and families in rural Lincoln County, by funding year-round, out-of-school-time programs and services, serving up to 300 youth ages 3-18. (Central Coast)
  
• Northwest Noggin: to support interdisciplinary outreach in rural Oregon surrounding the group’s efforts to engage people creatively in neuroscience and brain research, and to help bring 30 volunteers to over 1,000 rural K-12 students across the state. (Statewide)

Environmental Stewardship

• Blue Mountain Land Trust: to expand staff who will coordinate the regional restoration plan and activities of a large coalition of organizations, the work of contractors and volunteers, and the hosting of community nature education classes. (Northeastern Oregon)

• Long Tom Watershed Council: to support Tribal youth in ongoing academic and community engagement by fostering intergenerational connections with the land through the exploration of Indigenous ecological science. (Central Valley)

• Necanicum Chinook Climate Collaborative: to help build a collaborative approach to land conservation and stewardship that includes the participation of the Chinook Indian Nation (CIN), the aboriginal title holders and Indigenous peoples, as well as promoting youth education. (North Coast)

Social Services

• Friends of The Mentor: to provide services to approximately 210 students through four programs, connecting at-promise youth with engaged, encouraging adults in mentoring relationships to address the isolation and lack of services felt by youth living in a remote, rural community. (Southeast Oregon)

• Brookings CORE Response: to assist vulnerable populations such as people without housing or people at risk of losing their housing, provide aid for financial barriers to self sufficiency, such as clothing, birth certificates, bus fare, or other needs. (South Coast)

• Four Rivers Welcome Center: to continue to offer three culturally specific, legally accurate Citizenship Preparation classes per year and to provide scholarships for two community members to become Certified Medical Interpreters through OHA approved certification classes. (Eastern Oregon)

For a complete list of programs and projects supported in this grant cycle, visit the foundation’s website here. The Roundhouse Foundation’s next grant cycle will open on January 15, 2023 and close on March 15, 2023.