Oregonians Donate Record $4.56 Million to Culture

Oregonians donated a record $4.56 million to the Oregon Cultural Trust in 2015. This is a 5.4 percent increase from the $4.331 million raised in 2014 and the largest annual increase in giving since the Great Recession. “This is a powerful vote of support for culture,” Brian Rogers, the trust’s executive director, said. “Every donation we receive is an Oregonian saying ‘Culture is important.’” The trust will distribute up to 60 percent of the donations by way of grants to more than 1,400 of Oregon’s cultural nonprofits. The remaining 40 percent will be placed in a fund currently valued at just more than $26 million. Before the passage of Senate Bill 441 in 2015, the trust could only distribute up to 42 percent of the funds raised.