United Way Receives $100,000 Grant From The Oregon Community Foundation

Portland, Oregon – March 4, 2010 –  The Oregon Community Foundation has given United Way a $100,000 grant to support the Community Relief Fund.  The grant included funds from:

Evelyn L. Jones Fund ($46,653)
Milton Smith Fund ($13,363)
William H. Hunt Fund for the homeless, Hungry and Poor ($21,218)
Martha Cake Fund ($10,774)
Vivian S. Abbott Fund ($3,375)
Amabel E. Hayward Fund ($4,617)

United Way, Oregon Food Bank, and Community Action Programs in all four metro-area counties formed the Community Relief Fund (CRF) in spring 2009 to shore up an already strained community safety net. Donations to the CRF support families who have been hardest hit in the economic crisis with basic needs like food, rent, and utilities. As of January 2010, $1.1 million distributed to community action programs has helped 39,243 people in the four-county area (11,856 households).

“We are eager to support the Community Relief Fund to assist people struggling through these uncertain and challenging times. We commend the coalition for responding to increasing demand for critical human services,” says Greg Chaillé, president of The Oregon Community Foundation. The Foundation was one of the lead supporters when the CRF was established last year and also provided a $100,000 grant in 2009. 

“Families and individuals are facing very difficult times across the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. The Oregon Community Foundation support of the Community Relief Fund illustrates the willingness of organizations to work together to help people in need in these extraordinary times,” says Marc Levy, CEO and President, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette.

To learn more about the Community Relief Fund, visit www.give10tell10.org/needs.html

About the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette
United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is working to advance the common good in the four-county Portland/Vancouver area by focusing on the basics we all need for success:  education, income, and health. We all win when children succeed in school, families are financially stable and independent, and people have good health. Our goal is to create long-lasting changes that prevent problems from happening in the first place. By working together we can create opportunities for a better life and create a stronger community.  That’s what it means to LIVE UNITED. Visit www.unitedway-pdx.org

About The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
OCF’s mission is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy.  OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about.  OCF's endowment come from thousands of Oregonians who have invested with us to help our state. OCF manages more than 1,600 individual funds of various sizes. From these funds, grants are distributed to support the critical work that nonprofit organizations are doing around Oregon.  Visit www.oregoncf.org