skip to Main Content

Culture in Oregon

Culture in Oregon

The Oregon Cultural Trust

Here at the Center grants account for about 30% percent of our revenue, and we are so grateful to the foundations and organizations that support us and help us deliver on our mission. For two years in a row, we have been the lucky recipients of generous grants from the Oregon Cultural Trust. This year they helped to underwrite our three Center-wide cultural exhibitions in Latino, Native American, and Japanese Arts & Culture, and next year they are helping to support our new CCA Children’s Theatre program.

Artist: Carmen Sonnes

The Oregon Cultural Trust (OCT) is an exceptional entity here in Oregon. Based on its unique infrastructure and grant program, the Trust fuels the economy by supporting 1400 cultural groups that help brand Oregon globally, attract visitors to our state, and employ thousands of Oregonians. OCT increases philanthropy in Oregon, by requiring donors to give to nonprofits, and then to the Trust, and their grants require an equal match from other funding sources which adds additional investment in culture and art.

One of the best things about OCT is their outreach to small, rural, hard-to-reach areas of the state—helping to ensure that everyone gets a chance to participate in cultural activities and programs. No other state has such a network of cultural assets and advocacy.

CCA Children’s Theatre

In particular OCT supports programs that inspire the children of Oregon, with over 500,000 young Oregonians benefiting from the Trust’s support of cultural programming. They have granted more that $18 million since 2003, filling gaps in diminishing arts education funding through in- and after-school programs, summer camps, student internships, artist residences, writers’ conferences, and library programs.

Fortunately, the Oregon Legislature recently reauthorized the Trust tax credit until 2020; with that vote of confidence and the support of so many citizens who advocated for it, the Trust can continue charting Oregon’s cultural course for the next several years!

Thank you to the Oregon Cultural Trust and to those of you who support the Trust and Columbia Center for the Arts.

To learn more, visit the OCT website.

Sincerely,
Kerry Cobb, Executive Director