Donors and friends of The Portland Clinic have rallied to direct their philanthropic focus to The Portland Clinic Foundation, an independent 501(c)3, to support local non-profit organizations on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In its fourth year, The Portland Clinic Foundation announced that it has awarded $75,000 in unrestricted grants to 31 local nonprofit organizations in the Portland metropolitan area. Among them, Portland Street Medicine received an early grant to support their urgent mission of caring for unhoused Portlanders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Portland Clinic is proud to be aligned with this private foundation which receives donor gifts from our employees, providers, patients and friends, and to partner with its community board to provide grants to non-profits in the local area,” said Dick Clark, CEO of The Portland Clinic.
COVID-19 will have a long-term impact on some of the Portland area’s most essential local nonprofits. They have experienced cancelled fundraising events, furloughed staff, service demands that outstrip capacity, volunteers and employees falling ill, and bills mounting just as income streams dwindle. Combined, these factors make it difficult for nonprofits to keep core programs running.
“These are desperate times for many of our community’s most essential nonprofits: their income has plummeted just as demand is skyrocketing. We hope that by offering flexible funding, The Portland Clinic Foundation can provide added resilience, helping nonprofits to continue operating and eventually to rebound successfully.”
Kris Anderson, Executive Director, The Portland Clinic Foundation
The Portland Clinic Foundation’s partner nonprofits work across a remarkable range of sectors, including education, health and wellness, culture and community building, social and environmental justice, food and housing insecurity, and more. This year, many of The Portland Clinic Foundation’s grants responded to needs emerging from the COVID-19 crisis, supporting organizations that serve communities of color, domestic violence survivors, and other groups disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Grantees also include many organizations that provide low-income heath care and emergency food and meals, and that combat social isolation and enhance remote learning.
“Support from The Portland Clinic Foundation at this time is truly life saving,” says Debra Mason, executive director of Clackamas Service Center, which provides low-income and unhoused people with food, basic goods, and referral services. “We had to change all our programming to keep our community safe while continuing to serve. These funds provide so much stability for our most vulnerable. Thank you!”
For the 2020 grant initiative, the foundation received 69 applications totaling more than $312,000. The Portland Clinic Foundation awards “unrestricted grants” which allow recipients more flexibility in the way they use the funds. Unrestricted grants are a way of providing resources that can be used immediately.
To view the foundation’s 2020 grant recipients, click here >>
