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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