Competitive Cultural Development Grants

The Trust's annual Cultural Development Grant program is one of three ways the Trust works to:

• protect and stabilize Oregon's cultural resources;
• expand public awareness of, quality of, access to and participation in culture in Oregon; and
• ensure that Oregon cultural resources are strong and dynamic contributors to Oregon's communities and quality of life.

By statute [ORS 359.431] Cultural Development Grant funds must be used to:

• address significant opportunities to advance, preserve or stabilize cultural resources;
• invest in the development of new resources;
• support proposals that have a broad cultural impact beyond the applicant itself; and
• support proposals from applicants with culture as a priority within the mission of the applicant.

Cultural Development Grants provide recognition and support to significant cultural programs and projects. The Cultural Trust has identified four broad areas within which it accepts 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: the making and/or presentation of artistic or scholarly work, and the development of artists, cultural experts and scholars
• Capacity: the strengthening of cultural organizations to build stability and generate public confidence

In considering funding requests, the Cultural Trust seeks proposals that will expand the public benefit of Oregon's culture through the:

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

Cultural Coalition Grants
The Oregon Cultural Trust provides funding to all 36 Oregon county and nine tribal Cultural Coalitions throught its cultural participation grant program. Interested applicants should approach their local county or tribal Cultural Coalition to learn more about grant guidelines. Please click here to view contact information for all 45 Cultural Coalitions.