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Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announces $6.6 million in grants
Published: Wednesday, February 01, 2012, 6:00 AM
 By D.K. Row, The Oregonian
The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced $6.6 million in grants to Northwest nonprofit organizations, including six awards to Oregon nonprofits totaling $510,000.
Oregon recipients include the Northwest Film Center, Oregon Native American Business and Entrepreneurial Network, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Peter Britt Gardens Music and Arts Festival Association, Portland Center Stage and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. The grants ranged from $45,000 to the film center to $165,000 for the Native American business network.
Jim McDonald, a senior program officer at the foundation, said the grant to the Native American business network was part of a larger commitment by the foundation to fund Native American communities. The foundation operates on a biannual grant cycle, giving awards in the spring and fall. About $1 million in grants in this cycle were given to Native American nonprofits.
"Giving to Native American communities is not a program category for us, but it's certainly an interest," McDonald said. (The foundation has given close to $10 million to Native American nonprofits since its inception in 1988.) "Several strong projects came to us in this cycle. The grants will hopefully have a high impact."
Grants from the foundation are generally project-based and should be used to support programs or help institutions improve anything from technical skills to management infrastructure and resource development. Portland Center Stage, for example, will use its $60,000 grant to support its 2012-13 performance season, while the Pacific Northwest College of Art will use $50,000 for a forthcoming renovation of its newest addition to its campus, the historic building at 511 N.W. Broadway. PICA received $65,000, which it will use to fund the 2012 Time-Based Art Festival.
All of the Oregon nonprofits have previously received grants from the foundation except the Britt festival association in Medford. The foundation gave the once financially beleaguered association $125,000 for marketing and technology enhancements and facility upgrades.
The foundation, founded by Microsoft co-founder and Trail Blazers owner Paul G. Allen and his family, serves nonprofits in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. Because Allen lives in Washington, most recipients are in Washington. In this latest cycle, the foundation awarded $3.33 million in grants to Washington-based institutions.
Included in that amount is $165,000 to a program that Mercy Corps Northwest runs in Washington; Mercy Corps Northwest as a whole is headquartered in Portland, but since the money will be used to fund a program it runs in Washington, the grant fell into that state's category, not Oregon's.
This latest cycle covers fall of 2011. Spring 2012 cycle grants will be announced in August. Foundation officials estimate about $15 million in grants on average are disbursed every year. More than $438 million in grants across the country -- with most in the Northwest -- have been awarded since 1988.
Like many foundations, the Allen foundation cultivates relationships with nonprofits before a nonprofit inquires about applying for money.
McDonald said that was the case with the Britt festival association. The foundation talked to the association about its needs and financial stability for about 18 to 24 months before the foundation felt the association was ready to apply for a grant.
-- D.K. Row
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEMedia Contact: Selena YokoyamaJanuary 6, 2012(503) 968-1500Fax (503) 968-1548
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ONABEN Welcomes New Staff Member
Portland, OR - The Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network (ONABEN) is pleased to announce a new addition to its business development team. Veronica Hix, former Entrepreneur Development Manager for the Cherokee Nation, will work as ONABEN’s Entrepreneurial Services and Marketing Manager.
ONABEN provides curriculum, training and organizational consulting focused on developing entrepreneurship in Indian communities. Founded in 1991 by four Oregon Indian Tribes, ONABEN serves Indian business development organizations and entrepreneurs in Oregon, the Pacific Northwest and now nationally. The group is driven by a mission to assist Native Americans build assets by realizing the dream of owning their own business. The organization believes that the experience that Hix brings to the group will help ONABEN realize its expansion plans.
“Veronica brings an incredible array of skills and experiences to ONABEN. Her background as an entrepreneur, teacher, lender, and manager of Native community development organizations makes her a perfect fit. We have had the pleasure of working with Veronica as a colleague in teaching our Indianpreneurship curriculum. Now she will be a crucial part of our services and marketing team,” said Tom Hampson, ONABEN Executive Director.
Hix understands and embraces the same ideals as the Portland based organization and believes her experience in entrepreneurial development and program management will be a benefit to her new employer.
“I am very excited to be a member of the ONABEN team. I have been an avid fan of the Indianpreneurship curriculum and am pleased to promote a product, service and organization that I believe in.”
In Hix’s previous role for the Cherokee Nation, she developed the communication methods used to market the tribe’s Commerce Department and developed training and technical assistance programs for aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners. Under Hix’s management of the tribe’s Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), Veronica assisted in providing more than $1 million dollars annually to Native Americans interested in realizing the dream of owning their own business in the 14-county jurisdictional area of the Cherokee Nation, a success that celebrated in creating or retaining more than 100 jobs throughout Indian Country on an annual basis. An advocate for the growth of Native American business, Hix also planned and implemented events to help spur the growth of small businesses for the tribe.
Hix says that the transition into her new role with ONABEN will be an easy one.
“My current responsibilities for ONABEN are so similar to the work I did for my own tribe that it will be like slipping into an old pair of shoes. Both organizations are dedicated to assisting Indian-owned businesses create a greater presence in the business community and both are committed to meeting the needs of the communities they represent. The only real difference is, and perhaps the most exciting to me, that is that ONABEN performs these initiatives on a larger, national scale,” includes Hix.
The Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network is pleased to welcome Veronica aboard and invites all to Trading at the River, from April 19-20, in Portland, Oregon. For event information, or to register, contact Francene Ambrose by email at francene @onaben.org, or by phone at (800) 854-8289.
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Press Release for Immediate Release
ONABEN Selects Artwork for 2012 "Trading at the River"
Portland, Oregon – January 10, 2012
Capturing a moment in time, the Oregon Native American Business & Entrepreneurial Network (ONABEN) is pleased to announce that Justin Finkbonner’s photograph, “Grandfather’s Grand Entry,” will be used as the artwork that will represent this year’s “Trading at the River…Gather, Exchange, Grow.”
Each year, ONABEN sends out a call to artists to enter the organization’s poster contest. Out of the many artistic creations submitted, Finkbonner’s work was selected. Born of the Coast Salish People of the Great Lummi Nation, Justin Finkbonner's photography focuses on the dynamism of human relationships and, specifically, the human's relationship to the natural world. His works are a candid exploration of the relationship between himself as an indigenous photographer, his varied subjects and his viewers. For more information about the artist, please visit Justin’s website at http://www.flickr.com/people/jfinkbonner/.
Finkbonner’s photograph, “Grandfathers Grand Entry,” was taken at the Yakama Legends Powwow in 2009, and according to the artist was a moment that had to be captured. “As the sunset, elderly men, traditional dancers were lined up outside the tent ready to enter the sacred floor. It was obvious that all had been in this line before. Nervous and anxious, excitement filled the air before their bodies were taken over by their spirits.... they have been here before. Teepees in the sunset reminded me of the elderly men, but they have been in this line for thousands of years watching new generations perform under the spirit, anticipating the song, the drum beat, the pulse under their feet.... the Teepees have also been here before,” Finkbonner described.
“Trading at the River” is the PREMIER event in the Pacific Northwest for Native entrepreneurs and Tribal business development leaders. The conference is a place where connections are made, business-to-business, native to native, tribe-to-tribe, past to present.
2012 marks the 10th year of “Trading at the River,” and this year’s event is sure to be a memorable occasion. The conference theme is “ Transforming our Communities through Entrepreneurship: Catch the Dream, Follow the Spirit, Make it Happen. “Trading at the River” will be held on Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20, at the Embassy Suites (Portland Airport), in Portland, Oregon.
Please join ONABEN as we continue to celebrate over 20 years of serving Native businesses and 10 years of hosting “Trading at the River”. For more information, please go to our website at www.onaben.org, or contact Veronica Hix, Entrepreneurial and Enterprise Services Manager, at veronica @ onaben.org.
EARLY REGISTRATION ENDS FEBRUARY 29, 2012
Join us for the 10th Annual
TRADING AT THE RIVER CONFERENCE AND TRADESHOW
A Gathering of Native American Businesses and Tribal Enterprises
April 19 - 20, 2012
Embassy Suites Hotel - Portland Airport, Portland, Oregon
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