How we fund
The PGE Foundation’s grantmaking is organized around three themes — education, healthy families and arts and culture — with emphasis in 2012 on education programs and basic needs services.
Education
Education, a cornerstone for individual success and community vitality, has long been at the heart of our grantmaking. The PGE Foundation supports an educational delivery system that goes from cradle to career.
Whether it’s for scholarships, innovation in classroom instruction, transitional bridges between grade levels, career readiness or at-risk youth programs, we respect the wide range of services needed to instill learning and encourage educational advancement.
Each year we fund student scholarships through institutions of higher learning and support schools with unique methods for addressing student needs and interests. We do not fund public K-12 schools directly.
Arts and Culture
Arts and culture are essential to thriving communities and relevant to people of all ages. We focus grantmaking on arts education and outreach programs.
For our youth, the arts build critical problem-solving skills and enhance literacy and math aptitude. For adults, arts and culture challenges our assumptions, reveals our common threads and helps weave the fabric of society.
Healthy Families
Part of being ready for life lies in having a body and mind up to the challenges of everyday living. That’s why we support programs and organizations that promote access and services in all areas of health, including: hunger, support for seniors and the disabled, mental health, homelessness, domestic violence, parenting, foster care, substance abuse and health care. We do not provide direct funding to hospitals.
The PGE Foundation operates both independently and in collaboration with other funders in awarding grants to nonprofit organizations. While our board of directors considers every grant application on its own merits, they recognize the value and importance of collaboration to address the biggest challenges facing our state.
Our partnerships are characterized not only by joint financial contributions but also by advocacy on critical issues and convenings around topics of shared concern.
Our giving is separate from the corporate giving of Portland General Electric. We award grants for operating expenses and programs. Occasionally we award grants for new and existing capital construction if the facility meets standards for environmentally sustainable construction and the organization’s mission aligns with our focus areas. Please note: We are not accepting capital (buildings, equipment) grant requests in 2012.
Award determinations are always subject to budget availability within each of our three giving areas. Grant sizes vary, with the majority ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. We rarely make multi-year commitments.
Award recipients are located throughout Oregon, with a concentration in counties where PGE has customers and power-generation plants (PDF).
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