Sisters-based Roundhouse Foundation awards over $2 million to rural support organizations
The Roundhouse Foundation has announced grants for 134 organizations that work in rural and Indigenous communities in Oregon, with $2,026,500 in total support. These organizations were selected as part of the Fall 2024 Open Call grants cycle, which closed in September.
The grant partners receiving the awards are nonprofits or community governments working on varied projects which fall into these core focus areas: arts and culture, education, social services, and environmental stewardship. Examples of the projects supported by this grant cycle include community food banks, performing arts programs, wildfire education opportunities, and forest cleanup projects.
“Rural Oregonians are doing remarkable work for their communities,” said Erin Borla, Executive Director and Trustee of The Roundhouse Foundation. “We are honored to recognize and support many projects that are making a difference in communities across the state.”
The Roundhouse Foundation hosts two Open Call grant cycles per year, in spring and fall respectively, and interested organizations are encouraged to learn more about eligibility criteria at https://roundhousefoundation.org/eligibility-for-grants.
Some of the Fall 2024 supported programs:
Arts & Culture
Lane Arts Council - Willamette Valley - to improve access for students to participate in creative visual, literary, and performing arts experiences alongside professional teaching artists, and for educators to develop strategies for arts integrated learning and curricula in 20 rural schools in Lane County during the academic year and summer school.
Oregon Black Pioneers - Northeast Oregon - to highlight the unique stories of the Black men and women who homesteaded in Oregon's rural counties between the 1860s-1920s. The project will be made up of three components: in-person community conversations and photo gathering, a StoryMap digital exhibit, and an audio tour created with the Eastern Oregon Visitors Association.
Youth Empowerment Shelter - Columbia Gorge - to provide art supplies, space, transportation, field trips and staff capacity for the “Art Path Project,” which will provide personal and career empowerment through creativity to at-risk youth aged 10-23.
Education
High Desert Education Service District - Central Oregon - to offer stipends to Native American Elders, artists, and other Tribal members who assist the Native American Success Collective, which strives to connect Native students and families with the pre-K to post-secondary school system, while bringing cultural awareness into classrooms across Central Oregon.
Song for Charlie - North Coast - to bring a new digital resource hub, “New Drug Talk Oregon” to families of teens and young adults, keeping them safe in the face of the fentanyl epidemic. A free digital hub provides digestible information and actionable tools for the emerging drug landscape, educating caregivers on how to talk to their child most effectively about substance use and mental health.
Umatilla County Fire Department - Northeast Oregon - to retrofit a donated trailer as a fire prevention education and community awareness rig. The trailer will also be shared throughout the region by other counties and departments for use in raising awareness and educating the community on fire risks and prevention.
Environmental Stewardship
Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition - Oregon Coast - to provide the “CoastWatch in the Schools” program to rural K-12 schools in 7 coastal counties. The program includes plug & play curriculum packages that meet state standards, along with workshops & field trips. These curriculum enhancements increase outdoor, place-based learning, STEAM skills, ocean literacy, & environmental stewardship for thousands of students.
Rogue Valley Food Systems Network - Southern Oregon - to implement efforts outlined in the Rogue Valley Community Food Assessment and Action Plan, which focuses on reducing hunger, fostering a thriving food economy, promoting conservation, and reducing food waste.
Sisters Community Leadership Initiative (SCLI) - Central Oregon - to extract and dispose of abandoned vehicles and RVs on forest lands in collaboration with the USFS, Discover Your Northwest, local businesses, and volunteers. This project expands the reliable, year-round weekly garbage collection system for houseless persons in the Deschutes National Forest in Sisters.
Social Services
Family Building Blocks - Willamette Valley - to provide evidence-based child abuse prevention services in the Santiam Canyon. Funds will be used to support direct-service positions that are critical to providing intensive hands-on support for families to prevent child abuse and neglect.
L- APS, INC. - Northeast Oregon - to provide essential mobile outreach and support services to individuals in Umatilla and Morrow counties and meet the immediate needs of people facing housing instability, addiction recovery, and food insecurity.
REACH Inc - Southcentral Oregon - to create Klamath County's first dedicated space to support individuals with sensory sensitivities. The Sensory Room Project will provide a specialized environment that targets self-regulation and skill development and fosters inclusivity for people of all ages.
About the Roundhouse Foundation
The Roundhouse Foundation is a private family foundation based in Sisters, Oregon that supports creative solutions to the unique challenges associated with rural culture and the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. For more information call 541-904-0700, visit www.RoundhouseFoundation.org or View all Fall 2024 Grant Recipients. (https://roundhousefoundation.org/grant-history/)
