5 Decades: Our Journey Together
We celebrate the remarkable history of Oregonians working together for this beautiful place we call home: Oregon.
2020s: Responding, Recovering and Rebuilding: Addressing Oregon’s Most Pressing Challenges
Great challenges can inspire great opportunities, and Oregonians met the 2020s with the tenacity and resilience, care and spirit that were needed most. Impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and wildfires compounded existing inequities, particularly for many Black, Indigenous, people of color, low-income Oregonians and rural communities. Record-setting giving and community-informed response are addressing the complex challenges confronting Oregon.
2022
Nationally recognized community development finance leader Lisa Mensah joins OCF as President and CEO, bringing a background in rural development and economic justice.
2022
The first multi-year Black Student Success capacity building grants are awarded to Black-led, Black-serving organizations to address educational challenges facing marginalized Black children in Oregon.
2022
OCF’s cumulative grantmaking surpassed $2 billion.
2021
Project Turnkey kicks off: Entrusted by the state legislature with $75 million, OCF led a public-private partnership that, in under eight months, increased the state’s supply of year-round emergency shelter beds by almost 20%.
2021
After two school years disrupted by Covid-19, OCF administered $41.2 million in state-funded grants to community-based organizations for children’s summer programs, lowering cost barriers for thousands of students from low-income families, communities of color and rural areas.
2021
When business owners, battered by the pandemic, asked for help, OCF donors responded with a new Thriving Entrepreneurs Fund to provide training, mentorship and assistance to access capital. Priority for $580,000 in grants went to nonprofits that offer business bolstering services to people of color, women and rural entrepreneurs.
2020
In response to the unprecedented impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and wildfires, OCF creates or facilitates nine emergency response funds in eight months and deploys more than $220 million in grants, addressing social, economic, health and wildfire emergencies. Thousands of individuals, businesses, fellow foundations and donors opened their hearts to neighbors in need with an outpouring of philanthropic support.
2010s: Expanding partnerships for exponential impact
OCF hit new strides, powered by donor support and engaged collaboration. The decade marked important new programs, gatherings and partnerships and the establishment of the groundbreaking OCF research department.
2019
The Pacific Northwest Resilient Landscapes initiative is launched with the goal to unite and empower people from across the region to protect lands and waters so their many benefits can be enjoyed by all people for generations to come.
2018
OCF engages in a major brand refresh, resulting in a new logo, collateral and positioning statement.
2018
Black Student Success initiative is launched to support an improved culture of learning for the state’s Black children and youth.
2018
The now $30 million Oregon Impact Fund is launched, providing catalytic growth capital to Oregon-based nonprofit and for-profit ventures, funds and intermediaries.
2017
The Latino Partnership Program hosts the first Conexiones event in Salem, attended by nearly 200 community members.
2017
Oregon residents experience a total solar eclipse on August 21.
2017
OCF welcomes the first year of Emerging Leaders interns, a tradition that’s continued into 2022.
2016
OCF publishes the Tracking Oregon’s Progress (TOP) report, “Latinos in Oregon,” highlighting the important contributions as well as the continuing disparities the community faces.
2012
Greg Chaillé retires after leading OCF for 25 years. Max Williams joins OCF as President and CEO.
2012
A gift from the estate of Fred W. Fields transforms OCF into the largest charitable funder of the arts and culture in Oregon, leading to Studio to Schools, Creative Heights and other arts and culture education initiatives.
2012
The Gray Family Foundation, a supporting organization of OCF, is founded on the belief that fostering an understanding and appreciation of our natural world is a crucial part of a child’s education.
2012
Informed by the work of the Regional Action Initiative on the South Coast, the statewide Children’s Dental Health Initiative is launched. Through this initiative, OCF and partners work together to address the systemic problems that prevent Oregon children from accessing timely, age-appropriate dental services.
2000s: Communities Helping Communities
In a time when common ground felt increasingly out of reach, OCF brought people together around essential values. OCF’s Regional Action Initiative united citizens to address local needs. The Latino Partnership Program brought Latino leaders together. Community 101 gave students opportunities to become involved in their neighborhoods. And OCF donors stepped up to support mentoring and education, arts and culture and countless other causes. By decade’s end, assets reached $1 billion, with 50 staff members across the regions.
2009
Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative (OPEC) is created as a partnership among OCF, The Ford Family and Collins Foundations, Meyer Memorial Trust and Oregon State University. OPEC supports parents in their critical role as their children’s first and most important teachers by helping communities expand access to proven programs and build stronger, more coordinated parenting education services.
2009
The Regional Action Initiative leads to the Ready to Smile Initiative and other statewide dental alliances, including the Oral Health Funders Collaborative.
2008
The five-year $7 million Regional Action Initiative is launched as an innovative grassroots approach to grantmaking – local committees identified needs in their communities.
2008
Community 101, a statewide, classroom-based youth philanthropy program arrives at OCF.
2008
The Latino Partnership Program expands to Central and Southern Oregon and hires a statewide coordinator.
2007
Salem office opens.
2004
OCF Joseph E. Weston Foundation, a supporting organization of OCF that has since awarded more than $170 million in grants, is established.
2003
Foundations for a Better Oregon, a statewide nonprofit organization, is founded by OCF and four other regional foundations to advance a shared, long-term vision for Oregon’s children and young people.
2003
Supporting programs for people in poverty, especially children, in Jackson County, the Reed and Carolee Walker Fund is established through a generous bequest from the Walkers.
2002
OCF launches the Latino Partnership Program (LPP), a statewide program that addresses the challenges facing the Latino/x community. The LPP collaborates with Latino leaders and organizations around the state to develop broad-based leadership capability, improve educational outcomes and provide more job opportunities to communities that may face barriers to economic growth.
2001
The Doris J. Wipper Fund is established.
2001
Bend office opens.
2000
The Ready to Learn program launches to build the capacity of parents, caregivers, early education providers and teachers to support young children’s development.
1990s: Building Statewide Connections
OCF expanded and strengthened its regional presence through the formation of regional offices and leadership councils, continued building partnerships and paved the way for sustained growth and impact. By the close of the decade, OCF had cumulatively awarded more than $324 million in grants to communities across the state.
1998
OCF celebrates its first 25 years of impact.
1998
OCF partners with Office of Student Access and Completion (OSAC) to launch ASPIRE, a program that helps educate Oregon students to become career and college ready.
1998
The Tamástslikt Cultural Institute, a museum and research institute located on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, opens with support from Oregon Community Foundation and Meyer Memorial Trust.
1997
Eugene office opens.
1997
Medford office opens.
1997
OCF awards a significant capacity building grant to the Black United Fund.
1997
The first Leaders Gathering is held at the University of Oregon with the first three leadership councils in attendance for Southern Oregon, Southern Willamette Valley and Central Oregon.
1994
The Giving in Oregon Council is created and the first Giving In Oregon report is published, providing an annual look at the state’s charitable giving and to providing leadership for increasing philanthropy.
1994
Sally McCracken is the first woman named OCF’s board chair.
1993
Total assets hit $100 million.
1993
Oregon implements the first statewide vote-by-mail election, a national first.
1990
The Southern Oregon Advisor Group meets in Medford, leading to the first regional Leadership Council.
1980s: Seeds of Steady Stewardship Begin
OCF gained momentum, forged partnerships, stretched further into the state’s regions, and charted a path toward greater growth and impact.
1989
Northeast Oregon Heritage Fund created to support Union, Baker and Wallowa counties.
1989
OCF launches Oregon Child Care Initiative, which provided the first funding in Oregon for training of home-based child care providers.
1987
Greg Chaillé becomes executive director.
1987
The Neighborhood Partnership Fund (NPF) is established.
1985
The film “Goonies" is filmed in Astoria, Oregon.
1984
Oregon voters ratify the first lottery.
1983
The first Endowment Partner fund is established for Albertina Kerr.
1983
OCF receives a $2 million gift from the Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, the parent company of The Oregonian newspaper. This gift creates the Oregonian Publishing Company Scholarship Fund. During its lifespan, the scholarship fund awards nearly $4 million in scholarships.
1981
Greg Chaillé joins OCF as a program officer.
1970s: A vision for Community Philanthropy
The state was buzzing with civic activity. This was the era of several important public and private initiatives: the bottle bill, public ownership of beaches, the urban growth boundary, and cleanup of the Willamette River. Oregon had a cornucopia of natural riches, with forest products leading the way. Logging trucks loaded with mature timber headed to the mills and, from there, to locations all across the globe. It was in this environment that OCF came into existence.
1979
The decade closes with assets of $10 million and grants totaling $1.8 million.
1977
Ned Look becomes first hired Executive Director. Ned serves in this role until 1987, overseeing tremendous growth in the Foundation’s endowment and impact.
1977
Portland Trailblazers win their first NBA title against the Philadelphia 76ers.
1976
OCF’s first scholarship fund, the Leora Frances Brunk McDaniel Memorial Scholarship Fund, transferred to OCF from the Bank of California.
1975
OCF becomes a statewide foundation, making grants throughout the state of Oregon. First grant award recipients include Mid-Willamette Valley YMCA, Lebanon Community Hospital, Chamber Music NW, among others.
1974
OCF endowment funded via a $63,000 gift from William Swindells Sr., launching what was to be a multigenerational legacy of giving via the Swindells family.
1974
Congress creates John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Wheeler and Grant counties.
1973
Oregon ratifies the U.S. Equal Rights Amendment, a proposed amendment U.S. Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex.
1973
OCF is established by Bill Swindells Sr., co-founder of Willamette Industries, once the state's largest wood products company, to “...assure a continuous source of income for philanthropic purposes in perpetuity.”
