Beaverton, April 15th, 2015. NIKE, Inc. has announced that grants totaling $250,000 are being distributed to 24 local nonprofits and schools through the Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation’s latest funding cycle. The Nike Employee Grant Fund supports projects that encourage physical activity in meaningful ways, especially those that get kids active and enjoying physical education, sports and play. One of the grants went to Human Solutions. Each year, Human Solutions provides shelter and/or housing to over 1000 families, including over 400 homeless children.
This marks the Fund’s fifth year of supporting organizations that contribute to making Oregon and Southwest Washington great places to live and work. Since its launch in 2010, the Fund has provided nearly 250 grants toareaorganizations and schools, totaling over $2.7 million and serving almost 570,000 community members.
Special Olympics Oregon athletes and volunteers smile at the winter games.
“There are so many innovative organizations doing exemplary and courageous things here in our own backyard, and we’re proud to have partnered with many of them over the past five years through the Nike Employee Grant Fund,” said Kathy Webb, Nike’s Community Impact Manager. “This cycle’s award recipients represent 24 more shining examples of local organizations that are improving the health and vitality of our kids and communities.”
This cycle’s award recipients feature a wide variety of organizations in the greater Portland area, including Tualatin Riverkeepers, for a program that engages Native American youth in culturally relevant outdoor exercise, and Victory Academy, to build an innovative outdoor exercise and fitness space specifically designed for children affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
“We are truly grateful to the Nike Employee Grant Fund for supporting the addition of an outdoor exercise and fitness space at the new Victory Academy campus, and helping us promote health, sport, play and wellness with our students, ” said Tricia Hasbrook, Founder and Director of Victory Academy. “Because of the generosity of NEGF, Victory will be the first school in Oregon with an outdoor area created especially for this population of learners and athletes.”
Nike Employees Involved from Start to Finish
Nike employees are directly involved with the Nike Employee Grant Fund, both in the grant-making process and the resulting projects. With Oregon Community Foundation oversight, a committee of 12 Nike employees — all of whom care deeply about helping these communities thrive — review the applications and develop grant recommendations. Employees at Nike World Headquarters continue their involvement by volunteering their time and professional experience to help the selected nonprofits achieve their objectives.
“Each time I read through the applications, I feel a strong sense of commitment to these organizations and their communities. There is so much great work being done in Nike’s backyard,” said Shyla Spicer, 2014/2015 Nike Employee Grant Fund committee member and Portfolio & Program Manager in Nike’s Sustainable Business and Innovation group.
Next Funding Cycle Now Open
Applications are due June 1, 2015, for the next round of Nike awards, with $300,000 in cash grants being offered to nonprofits and schools in the greater Portland area (Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, and Columbia counties in Oregon and Clark county in southwest Washington).
Grants are one-year awards totaling between $5,000 and $20,000 each. Seventy-five percent of grant awards support organizations and projects that are creating a world where physical activity, play and sports are highly valued, and twenty-five percent support organizations and projects that address community challenges through innovative community-based solutions.
The online grant application process is streamlined and straightforward. A preview of the required information is available here.
Applications should be submitted online by June 1 at www.oregoncf.org/nike.
Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Awardees
The following 24 organizations received grants with the 2014/-2015 funding cycle:
| Organization | Project Description |
| Adelante Mujeres (Forest Grove) | Help Latina girls in grades 3-12 learn ways to improve their fitness, self-esteem and overall health, and build leadership skills while working together as a team. |
| Beaverton Arts & Culture Foundation (Beaverton) | Foster community connections with Beaverton’s homeless youth population through photography and storytelling opportunities. |
| Bethel Neighborhood Youth Drop-In Center (Portland) | Remove barriers to physical activity by offering swimming lessons to neighborhood kids during the summer. |
| Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) (Portland) | Work with community partners by expanding access to bicycling to low-income youth and families through positive, on-street riding experiences. |
| Chelsea Hicks Foundation (Tualatin) | Bring hope and healing through active therapeutic play to seriously ill children and their families at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. |
| Chess for Success (Portland) | Help economically disadvantaged and minority youth develop skills to improve behavior and academic performance. |
| City of Clatskanie | Develop and expand fitness trails to improve access to safe and active modes of transportation for students, families and the larger Clatskanie community. |
| Community Cycling Center (Portland) | Offer Bike Camp scholarships to address inequities in access to physical activity for disadvantaged children from low-income families. |
| Five Oaks Middle School (Beaverton) | Develop a fitness lab in the PE Department for the entire student body of both Five Oaks and Rachel Carson Environmental Middle Schools. |
| FosterClub, Inc. (Seaside) | Capture the stories and perspectives of foster youth and communicate their insights to inspire other youth and inform the future of foster care. |
| Human Solutions (Portland) | Nurture the intellectual and emotional wellbeing of low-income youth to help them break the cycle of generational poverty and reach their full potential. |
| Impact Northwest (Portland) | Enhance student access to physical activity and positive experiences by developing running clubs at three Beaverton elementary schools. |
| Lot Whitcomb Elementary School PALs Group (Milwaukie) | Create a surfaced track where students and community members can continue to develop a love of running and movement during their school day and after-school activities. |
| Meals on Wheels People (Portland) | Support EnhanceFitness, an evidence-based exercise |
program for seniors that emphasizes strength, flexibility,
improving balance and fall prevention.Neurotherapeutic Pediatric Therapies (Oregon City)Install an adaptive traverse climbing wall to allow youth with special needs and disadvantaged youth to participate in physical activities.NW Kidney Kids, Inc. (Portland)Provide support, recreation and opportunities for teens and children with chronic kidney disease (living with transplant or on dialysis) and their immediate families.Oregon Child Development Coalition (Wilsonville)Improve a physical play space for approximately 400 preschoolers at OCDC’s Enterprise Circle center in Hillsboro, adding a shade canopy, tricycle path, plants and trees.Oregon Food Bank (Portland)Expand OFB’s Learning Gardens educational program and make additional fresh produce available to children and families throughout the Portland Metropolitan area.Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc. (Portland)Provide young women with work experience to learn the value of on-the-job training and trades careers within an all-female learning environment.Reading Results (Portland)To expand the innovative, proven tutoring program for low-income students in grades 1-3 in six Portland schools.Special Olympics Oregon (Portland)Expand SOOR’s Unified Sports program, which partners athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.Tender Loving Care Think-N-Try (Portland)Support an active day camp for kids living in Portland’s inner city, helping the campers learn how to have healthy bodies and gain self-esteem.Tualatin Riverkeepers (Tualatin)Engage Native American youth in culturally relevant outdoor exercise such as hiking, kayaking, tree planting and exotic plant removal on public lands.Victory Academy (Wilsonville)Build an innovative outdoor exercise and fitness space specifically designed for children affected by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned NIKE, Inc. subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, Nike’s earnings releases and other financial information are available at http://investors.nike.com. Individuals can also visit http://news.nike.com/ and follow @Nike.
The Oregon Community Foundation (OCF)
The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds OCF awards more than $70 million annually in grants and scholarships. For more information, please visit oregoncf.org
