Community Fund closes in on $62 million in giving

Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, inched closer to the $62 million mark in giving when it awarded 29 grants worth $727,391 during its quarterly check presentation held Wednesday, March 19, in the Tribal Governance Center.
The most recent awards bring the Tribe's total charitable giving through the fund up to $61.8 million distributed through 2,040 grants since its inception in 1997.
The Community Fund receives 6 percent of Spirit Mountain Casino profits and uses the money to award grants to non-profit organizations in 11 western Oregon counties. Grants are awarded in the categories of arts and culture, education, health, historic preservation, public safety, environmental preservation and problem gaming.
Spirit Mountain Community Fund Executive Director Kathleen George welcomed grant recipients and thanked them for creating solutions that make western Oregon a healthier, more resilient place to live.
Tribal members Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, Brian Krehbiel, Jon A. George and Reina Nelson performed the welcoming drum and song, and George provided the blessing before the event.
George, who is also a Tribal Council member, was joined by fellow Tribal Council members Reyn Leno, Toby McClary and June Sherer at the event. The latter three also serve on the Board of Trustees of Spirit Mountain Community Fund.
Leno, who also is Tribal Council chairman, welcomed the grant recipients to Grand Ronde and talked about being on Tribal Council when the fund was formed 17 years ago.
"We like to have you come to the Governance Center so you can find out what we're all about," Leno said, adding that the Tribe likes to dispel the myth that it is only its casino.
"We appreciate all your efforts," said Ron Reibach, who works at Spirit Mountain Casino and also sits on the fund's Board of Trustees. "I see where the money comes from and it is a pleasure to see the money filter down to you folks."
Kathleen George added that the Community Fund continues the Native tradition of potlatch.
In a new format, the Community Fund had McClary and Reibach hand out checks to the representatives. The Community Fund also raffled off three gift baskets that went to the Salvation Army, Stand Up for Children Leadership Center and Northwest Family Services.
The fund also provided an opportunity for one representative to talk about what their organization does.
Laurie Gift Harris, director of Marketing and Development at the Tucker-Maxon Oral School in Portland, said that the school offers collaborative classrooms in which children with typical hearing and children with hearing loss learn together.
Grant recipients during the March 19 presentation were:
• Black Parent Initiative in Portland for its Family Impact project, $15,000;
• Cascade Pacific RC&D Area Inc. in Tangent for its Lower North Santiam Floodplain Restoration Alternatives Analysis, $5,000;
• Clackamas Heritage Partners in Oregon City for its Oregon City and Grand Ronde Parallel History Project, $5,000;
• Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon in Portland for its Breast and Cervical Health Education and Support efforts, $15,000;
• Family Promise of Lincoln City for a transportation van from congregation sites to a day center, $5,000;
• Friends of Saturday Academy in Portland for its STEM Academy, $25,000;
• Native Fish Society Inc. of Oregon City for its Regional Coordinator Expansion and Enhancement Project, $26,000;
• Neighborhood House Inc. of Portland for its capital campaign to build a Neighborhood House Children's Center at Stephen's Creek Crossing, $52,000;
• Northwest Family Services of Portland for its Four Cities Peer Court, $10,000;
• Oregon Children's Foundation in Portland for its SMART Pre-K expansion, $50,000;
• Parrott Creek Child & Family Services in Oregon City for its Family Engagement Services, $15,000;
• Pathfinders of Oregon in Portland for its Rockwood Youth Violence Prevention Initiative, $20,000;
• Polk County Sheriff's Office in Dallas for Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Enhanced Law Enforcement, $225,000;
• Portland Homeless Family Solutions for capacity building to support Portland's homeless families, $30,000;
• Randall Children's Hospital Foundation in Portland for its Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program, $20,000;
• Returning Veterans Project of Portland for its Service Expansion Project, $20,000;
• River Network of Portland for its habitat restoration on the Willamette River, $25,000;
• Sauvie Island Center of Portland for farm field trips for elementary school children, $4,976;
• Schoolhouse Supplies Inc. of Portland for Tools for Schools, $10,000;
• Siuslaw Outreach Services of Florence for a new roof and building renovation, $20,000;
• Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Portland for its Food Recovery Network, $10,000;
• Special Advocates for Vulnerable Oregonians of Portland for its Multnomah County Guardianship Monitoring and Assistance Project, $10,000;
• Stand Up for Children Leadership Center of Portland for its Stand University for Parents, $25,000;
• Salvation Army of Happy Valley for its SAFES housing assistance fund, $10,000;
• Tucker-Maxon Oral School of Portland for its early intervention for children with hearing loss, $15,000;
• Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of Springfield for its Diabetes Education and Management Program, $9,415;
• Wellmama Inc. of Eugene for perinatal mental health support, $5,000;
• Womenspace Inc. of Eugene for preventing intimate partner violence through community outreach and education, $40,000;
• And Yamhill County Treatment Courts Foundation of McMinnville for clean and sober housing for treatment court participants, $5,000.