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Latest grants benefit 27 diverse nonprofit organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest

SEATTLE, Wash. – June 10, 2009 – The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation today announced grants to help fight the economic crisis in the Portland area, boost childhood reading proficiency on Montana tribal reservations, build a new emergency shelter and services facility for victims of family violence in rural Alaska and support an original musical at a regional theater in Portland.

These are among the $1.9 million in grants awarded by the Foundation to 27 nonprofit organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest (including 15 nonprofits in Washington, seven in Oregon, three in Alaska and two in Montana). These latest grants continue the Foundation’s longstanding commitment to the arts, help strengthen the safety net to meet increasing community needs during the economic crisis, and support the needs of vulnerable Native populations throughout the Northwest, among other initiatives.

“In these tough economic times, we continue to strengthen our collaborative efforts with other regional funders,” said Susan M. Coliton, vice president of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “We need to ensure that we leverage every dollar to have the greatest possible impact. Our latest grants continue our commitment to strengthening communities and transforming lives.”

Continuing a Longstanding Commitment to the Arts
Arts and culture grants in the latest round of giving include support for many of the Foundation’s longstanding partners. They include a grant of $45,000 to Mainstreet Uptown Butte (Butte, Mont.) for programming support to produce the National Folk Festival over the next two years featuring over 250 traditional folk music, dance, theater and visual arts performances; $10,000 to the Oregon Center for the Photographic Arts (Portland, Ore.) to support the exhibition, “Unfolding Time: Vietnamese Photography, Now and Then,” featuring the work of two noted contemporary photography artists; $45,000 to Portland Center Stage to produce the theater’s first original musical, “Crazy Enough,” directed by Chris Coleman; and $45,000 to the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art to support the 2009 Time-Based Art Festival held in Portland featuring acclaimed regional, national and international artists working in contemporary dance, music, theater, film and multi-media.

Strengthening Safety Net to Meet Increasing Community Needs
The Foundation continues its focus on helping non-profit organizations meet growing community needs among the region’s most vulnerable citizens during the current economic crisis. The latest grants include $150,000 to the Seattle Foundation towards a collaborative fund that will help increase the capacity of social service organizations to address the immediate and longer-term economic needs of families in King County, Wash.; and $100,000 to the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette (Portland, Ore.) for a community relief fund providing emergency relief services to families and individuals in economic crisis in Portland’s four-county area. Led by the United Way, the community relief fund is made up of regional philanthropies and a coalition of agencies, including the Oregon Food Bank, the four-county Community Action Agencies, housing providers and others.

“This collaboration demonstrates that no one organization can do it all alone, and that more can be accomplished when we come together and work together in a united way,” said Marc Levy, president and CEO of United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. “We appreciate the Foundation’s recognition of this important effort, and the funding will make a significant difference across the entire Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.”

Supporting Needs of Vulnerable Native Populations
The Foundation’s latest round of giving also includes several grants to nonprofits focused on providing effective social services, nurturing the arts and promoting greater childhood literacy for Native populations located throughout the Northwest.

The Foundation’s grants include $150,000 to the Hopa Mountain Foundation (Bozeman, Mont.) to support the expansion of its StoryMakers Initiative aimed at engaging parents, childcare professionals, librarians and public partners in increasing reading proficiency among children in low-income and tribal reservations; $200,000 to the Tundra Women’s Coalition (Bethel, Alaska) to support a new sustainable facility offering emergency shelter and expanded services for victims of family violence, sexual assault and child abuse in Bethel and 56 Native villages in Alaska; $45,000 to the Koahnic Broadcast Corporation (Anchorage, Alaska) to provide programming support for the 2009 season of Earthsongs, a Native public radio program showcasing contemporary Native American and Indigenous music; and $100,000 to the Makah Cultural and Research Center (Neah Bay, Wash.) to help expand the museum’s membership, enhance visitor services and update its site to further awareness of the organization’s mission to preserve the linguistic, cultural and archaeological resources of the Makah Indian Nation.

Launched by philanthropists Paul G. Allen and Jo Allen Patton in 1988, the Allen family’s philanthropy is dedicated to transforming lives and strengthening communities by fostering innovation, creating knowledge and promoting social progress. Named one of the top philanthropists in the U.S. by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Mr. Allen has donated more than $960 million via the Foundation, personal donations, venture philanthropy projects and other giving.

Mr. Allen has contributed $348 million to The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation since its inception, benefiting over 1,360 nonprofit groups to support and advance their critical charitable endeavors in the Northwest. This latest round of giving is part of a series of grants the Foundation will award in 2009. A list of the Foundation’s latest grants is found at www.pgafamilyfoundation.org/grantlist.

About The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Through the consolidation in 2004 of Allen’s six private foundations (first established in 1988), The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation supports nonprofit organizations focused on making positive and measurable change in the Pacific Northwest. The Foundation’s vision for building healthy communities and transforming lives guides its five priority program areas for funding, which include nurturing the arts, engaging children in learning, addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, advancing scientific and technological discoveries, and providing economic relief to strengthen the social safety net.