For Immediate Release
February 23, 2005

Contact:
Contact: Christine D'Arcy, (503) 986-0087, christine.t.darcy@state.or.us

Cultural Trust Announces May 16 Deadline For Cultural Development Grant Requests
Increased Gifts from Oregonians in 2004 Result in Increased Competitive Grant Funds for Oregon Cultural Organizations

The Oregon Cultural Trust has announced a May 16, 2005, application deadline for its competitive Cultural Development Grants. The guidelines and application materials for the new round of cultural development grants are available on the Trust's website, http://www.culturaltrust.org/programs/grant_opportunities.php

"Oregonians contributed $2 million to the Oregon Cultural Trust during 2004 so the Trust has increased funds to grant to Oregon cultural nonprofits this summer," said Christine D'Arcy, Executive Director of the Trust. "Over half the contributed dollars go directly to a permanent endowment to support the arts, heritage and the humanities, with the balance available for granting each year. In 2006, cultural groups have more options for funding. They can approach the Trust for direct competitive grants or apply to one of the new cultural coalitions that will make local funding decisions. This is a significant development for culture across Oregon."

The Trust's Cultural Development Grants provide state recognition and support to significant cultural programs and projects, preserving and enhancing Oregon's diverse arts, heritage and humanities efforts. The Cultural Trust has identified four broad areas within which it will accept funding proposals:

• Access: Making culture broadly available to Oregonians.
• Preservation: Investing in Oregon's cultural heritage by recovering and preserving historic assets and achievements.
• Creativity: Making and/or presenting artistic or scholarly work, and the development of artists, cultural experts and scholars.
• Capacity: Strengthening cultural organizations to build stability and generate public confidence.

In considering funding requests, the Cultural Trust seeks proposals that intend to expand the public benefit of Oregon's culture through one or more of the following:

• The promise of positive impact on or improvement of cultural resources and activities and the expansion of both public and private support for culture;
• The preservation of the past or an investment in the future, in commissioning new work that continues Oregon's strong artistic, literary and humanistic presence;
• The enhancement of cultural opportunity and understanding for Oregonians, creating or sustaining model programs that can be replicated elsewhere;
• The creation of opportunity for every community to invest further in its culture, stimulating new ventures that could not be tried without Trust help.

Cultural development grants will generally range from $2,000 - $50,000 in fiscal year 2006 (July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006). All grants require some matching funds from other sources.

Applications may be requested from the Oregon Cultural Trust, 775 Summer Street NE, Suite 200, Salem, Oregon 97301-1284, (503) 986-0088, or downloaded from the Trust's website: www.culturaltrust.org.

About the Oregon Cultural Trust

The Cultural Trust is a statewide program that is raising significant new funds to invest into Oregon's arts, humanities and heritage assets. In addition to the creation of a long-term, protected endowment, funds will be distributed each year to partner organizations, county and tribal cultural coalitions and competitive grant applicants. Donations to the Cultural Trust are eligible for an innovative tax credit.

Donors to the Cultural Trust are eligible for a 100% tax credit for contributions of up to $500 for individuals ($1,000 for couples filing jointly) and $2,500 for corporations. Because one of the Cultural Trust's goals is to motivate Oregonians to increase direct giving to cultural groups, in order to qualify for the credit, a donor must have also made matching gifts to one or more cultural nonprofits in Oregon during the same tax year. For additional information or to donate online, visit www.culturaltrust.org.