MEDIA RELEASE – For Immediate release
Date: February 12, 2013
Contact: Eva Calcagno, Director
Washington County Cooperative
Library Services
503-846-3233

Washington County Community Cultural Participation Grant Cycle Opens

Washington County, Oregon – The Cultural Coalition of Washington County (CCWC) opens its 2013 grant cycle on February 19, 2013. Washington County based not-for-profit arts, heritage and humanities organizations may apply for $1000 or $2000 grants for activities, events or communication that will: build awareness of the role and value of arts, heritage or humanities and increase public participation; promote youth access to arts, heritage or humanities to enhance learning and healthy human development; support existing Washington County cultural organizations; or integrate cultural development with economic development policies. To apply for a $2000 grant, an organization must be a 501c3 non-profit.

The Washington County Cultural Plan, detailed 2013 Grant Guidelines, and application instructions for the Community Cultural Participation grant program are available online on the CCWC website: www.culturalcoalitionofwashingtoncounty.org. Application are submitted online through the Regional Arts & Culture Council’s grant application site, www.racc.org/grants/countyapps.

The grant application period ends April 1st at 5pm. Funds are to be used for projects taking place between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of the grant orientation sessions scheduled for:
• Wednesday, February 27th from 2:30pm to 4:00pm at Beaverton City Hall, First Floor Conference Room, 4755 SW Griffith Dr., Beaverton
• Thursday, February 28th from 3pm to 4:30pm,. Hillsboro Shute Park Library, Conference Room,775 SE Tenth Ave., Hillsboro.

The Coalition (formerly the Washington County Arts, Heritage and Humanities Coalition) was established in 2005 to distribute funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust to promote the cultural identity, quality of life and economic vitality of Washington County and its arts, heritage and humanities organizations. The Coalition has distributed over $263,000 in grants to Washington County based organizations over the last eight years.

The Oregon Cultural Trust was established by the Oregon Legislature to strengthen Oregon’s culture through the establishment of a permanent endowment. The Trust primarily receives funding from the sale of Cultural license plates and from gifts from individuals and businesses through an Oregon State tax credit program. The Trust invests a portion of proceeds from the endowment in annual grants to Oregon counties and tribal groups, funding for statewide cultural agencies, and competitive grants to cultural non-profits. To learn more about the Trust or to make a donation please visit the website www.culturaltrust.org.

###

Outgoing Coalition members, Beth Self and Barbara Mason, have both served two three year-terms. Their enthusiasm and perspective will be greatly missed by other coalition members.

Outgoing Coalition members, Beth Self and Barbara Mason are joined by the Coalition’s much-appreciated County liaison and administrator, Eva Colcagno (middle), at the November meeting.

KATU Communities Staff

Friday, June 29th, 2012, 9:41am

ALOHA, Ore. — The community of Aloha, nestled between Beaverton and Hillsboro, has a population of 49,000. But up until June, 2012, this area of unincorporated Washington County did not have a library.

Now, thanks to the hard work and determination of a volunteer Board and team, the newly established Aloha Community Library Association will open a space in the Bales Thriftway Center on June 27 for twice-weekly summer storytelling (Wednesdays and Saturdays 10:30-11:30 a.m.). The library opens with a budget of under $20,000, including a $2,000 grant from the Cultural Coalition of Washington County (CCWC).

The Washington County coalition, which announced its annual grant awards in mid-June, put particular emphasis on programs that bolster education for children and youth.

“There is more need than ever for a community library in Aloha,” said Barbara Mason, a library volunteer and CCWC Board member. Aloha High School, a Title 1 school, has 2,000 students, 140 of whom are homeless. Thirty-five languages are spoken in Aloha. Nearby Beaverton School District recently cut 39 library positions.

The Aloha Community Library’s summer reading program will focus on children aged one to six, many of whom have little exposure to books in their homes. “If children don’t get reading from age one to six, they do not have the vocabulary to communicate or succeed in school,” said Mason. “We can’t fix the world, but we can make a big difference for a few.”

The new non-profit has received in-kind donations of books, bookshelves, furniture and computers. The facility will have internet and digital access, and it intends to open a checkout service in late September. Still, Board Chair Doug Hoy admits the organization is “at least four years away from joining the Washington County Cooperative Library System,” which would allow interlibrary loans between the fledgling facility and neighboring libraries.

In addition to literacy work and her profession as a print artist, Barbara Mason volunteers for the Washington County Museum, which also received an education-based CCWC grant. The $2,000 grant will enable the organization’s Mobile Museum, a trunk show of local history, to be brought into schools. “This grant allows us to bring the show to seven (Title 1) schools for free,” she said.

Not all the CCWC grants are devoted to serving the underprivileged, however. One program aimed at future professionals is the Young Artists’ Competition at the Beaverton Symphony. Now in its third year, the competition provides an avenue for aspiring classical musicians to achieve recognition. Musicians from all over Washington County, aged 13 to 20, compete for three winner slots over a spring season, culminating in a public performance each May. Though most of the applicants attend public schools, where music programs have been diminished or cut, Beaverton Symphony Music Director Travis Hatton said, “the students all seem to have family support – at very least their parents have made private lessons a priority.” Contest winners have gone on to attend California Institute for the Arts and University of Washington’s Music Department. This year, said Hatton, one of the winners, a violinist, was in seventh grade. “A remarkable student – she had never done anything like that before,” Hatton said.

Hatton admits that his organization cannot do enough to counteract diminished arts programming in public schools. “It is a giant hole,” he said, “and we’re throwing in a few pebbles. But our program is growing.”

Oregon’s 36 county cultural coalitions and six tribal cultural coalitions make up an infrastructure created by the Oregon Cultural Trust in 2003. The CCWC is among the largest and most active of the coalitions. The Oregon Cultural Trust provides annual funding, which the coalition’s then grant to local cultural non-profits by a competitive process, thusly supporting the arts, heritage and humanities in all Oregon communities.

Eva Calcagno, Director of the Washington County Cooperative Library Services and county liaison to the CCWC, stressed the importance of education-related grant-giving. “Knowledge and innovation are keys to the thriving economic environment of Washington County,” said Calcagno. “The Cultural Coalition believes that (the) grants … support the education of our next generation of innovators.”

 Reception to Honor 23 Grant Recipients Takes Place July 11^th at Jenkins Estate

 The Cultural Coalition of Washington County (CCWC) recently awarded grants totaling $38,479 to 23 county organizations for cultural projects to be conducted between July 2012 and June 2013.  Grants were distributed through a competitive process to address goals of the Washington County Cultural Plan in amounts ranging from $906 to $2000.

 The total amount distributed was less than the previous year by about $4500, due to a reduced distribution from the Oregon Cultural Trust.  Funding for this grant program comes from the Oregon Cultural Trust, which distributes money to Oregon counties and tribes annually for re-distribution to support local community cultural programs.  This year’s awards bring the total benefit to the county over the past eight years to $263,076.

 To celebrate their achievements and the importance of cultural programming to the economic, civic, and educational vibrancy of the county, Community Newspapers, in partnership with the Westside Economic Alliance and Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, is hosting a reception to honor the work of the 2012-13 grant recipients and the Coalition.  The reception, which includes presentations and performances by grant recipients, takes place

Wednesday, July 11th, 5:30 – 7 PM, at Aloha’s beautiful, tree-shaded Jenkins Estate.

 “The Coalition has made extra effort to reach out to the community over the last year, and we were very pleased that seven grants went to first time recipients,” noted Georgia Harker, Coalition chair.  Harker added, “With fewer funds to distribute the decision process was difficult.  There were many worthy grant applications.”  A total of 32 applications were received from a variety of large and small arts, heritage and humanities organizations from across the county.  Grants will support projects including music, theater, dance, children’s programs, community cultural events, heritage, and art experiences in communities from Beaverton to North Plains,Hillsboro to Sherwood.

2012-13 Washington County Community Cultural Participation Grant recipients

The CCWC was appointed in February 2005 by the Washington County Board of Commissioners to administer and distribute funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust to support locally based arts, heritage and humanities projects.  The Oregon Cultural Trust receives its funding from donors who receive a generous state tax credit for giving as long as their contribution to the Trust is matched by equal or greater charitable gifts to any number of Oregon’s 1,300 cultural nonprofits.  WashingtonCountyis home to over 100 heritage, humanities and arts nonprofits.  The list and more information about the Cultural Trust can be found at www. culturaltrust.org.

###

Date: February 14, 2012
Contact: Eva Calcagno, Director
Washington County Cooperative
Library Services
503-846-3233

Washington County Community Cultural Participation Grant Cycle Opens

Washington County, Oregon – The Cultural Coalition of Washington County (CCWC) opens its 2012 grant cycle on February 21, 2012. Washington County based not-for-profit arts, heritage and humanities organizations may apply for $1000 or $2000 grants for activities, events or communication that will: build awareness of the role and value of arts, heritage or humanities and increase public participation; promote youth access to arts, heritage or humanities to enhance learning and healthy human development; support existing Washington County cultural organizations; or integrate cultural development with economic development policies. To apply for a $2000 grant, an organization must be a 501c3 non-profit.

The Washington County Cultural Plan, detailed 2012 Grant Guidelines, and application instructions for the Community Cultural Participation grant program are available online on the CCWC website: www.culturalcoalitionofwashingtoncounty.org. Application are submitted online through the Regional Arts & Culture Council’s grant application site, www.racc.org/gratns/countyapps.

The grant application period ends April 2nd at 5pm. Funds are to be used for projects taking place between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Potential applicants are strongly encouraged to attend one of the grant orientation sessions scheduled for:
• Tuesday, February 28th from 3pm to 4:30pm at Hillsboro Shute Park Library, Conference Room,775 SE Tenth Ave., Hillsboro.
• Thursday, March 1st from 3pm to 5pm,. Beaverton City Hall, First Floor Conference Room, 4755 SW Griffith Dr., Beaverton.

The Coalition (formerly the Washington County Arts, Heritage and Humanities Coalition) was established in 2005 to distribute funds from the Oregon Cultural Trust to promote the cultural identity, quality of life and economic vitality of Washington County and its arts, heritage and humanities organizations. The Coalition has distributed over $224,000 in grants to Washington County based organizations over the last seven years.

The Oregon Cultural Trust was established by the Oregon Legislature to strengthen Oregon’s culture through the establishment of a permanent endowment. The Trust primarily receives funding from the sale of Cultural license plates and from gifts from individuals and businesses through an Oregon State tax credit program. The Trust invests a portion of proceeds from the endowment in annual grants to Oregon counties and tribal planning groups, funding for statewide cultural agencies, and competitive grants to cultural non-profits. To learn more about the Trust or to make a donation please visit the website www.culturaltrust.org.

###

Non-profit organizations and associations, sports and event planners and organizations, tourism groups, government entities and business associations operating in Washington County are eligible to apply. Funds will be awarded to tourism projects and/or programs that will be completed during fiscal year July 1, 2012 – June 15, 2013.

Applications will be judged based on the degree in which they match the WCVA’s target markets:
• Athletic or competitive sporting events
• Wine tourism
• Nature-based tourism
• Agri-tourism
• Arts and culture

Deadline: March 15, 2012

All funded activities must take place between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013.

Grant opening : Feb 21, 2012

Grant closing deadline:  April 2, 2012

Grants are accepted between these dates but it is recommended you do not wait until the last day as RACC servers can sometimes be slow if too much comes in on one day.