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Marie Lamfrom Foundation Awards $1 Million to Women in STEM Initiative

Portland, OR. The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation has awarded more than $1,000,000 in grants to eight Oregon and Washington state nonprofits. Those selected, “are celebrating, promoting, advancing, and encouraging women’s participation and leadership in science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM)”. ChickTech (seen above at a pre-pandemic event) is one of the grant recipients. The nonprofit works to build a pipeline for girls and women in technology.

‘Oregon Robotics Building’ (seen above at a pre-pandemic event) will receive some of the funds to help build participation of Girls in FIRST STEM programs in Oregon.

The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation was founded by Dave and Sally Bany in 1998, “In honor of what would have been my grandmother’s 125th birthday, we are delighted to award eight $125,000 grants to nonprofits in the area working to promote women in STEM,” said Sally Bany, co-founder of the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation. “These nonprofits are truly inspiring, from serving underprivileged areas and creating bilingual STEM programing to serving minority populations and creating summer programs, every nonprofit is on a mission to better the field of technology for women and girls.”

In April of this year, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation announced it would receive additional funds after the passing of Marie’s daughter and Sally’s mother, Columbia Sportswear Company Chairman Gert Boyle. As of today, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation has over $360 million in assets to support its mission and is on track to donate more than $10 million this year.

The sciences have always been an important part of the Lamfrom legacy. “My aunt, Hildegard Lamfrom, daughter of Marie and Paul Lamfrom, would have also celebrated her 99th birthday on June 19th,” continued Bany. Hildegard is remembered for her extraordinary contributions to scientific research as a molecular biologist and biochemist. Her research paved the way for evidence that helped with the mRNA-based breakthroughs used to combat COVID-19.

On October 11th, the finalists were announced. Those receiving a Women in STEM grant from Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation are listed below.

Nonprofit	Initiative
Adelante Mujeres	Chicas STEM: Building Latinx STEM leaders.
ChickTech	Building the pipeline and retention of girls and women in technology.
ELSO, Inc	Expanding STEM opportunities for BIPOC & LGBTQ youth and young adults.
Girls Build	Girls Build full-year programming.
Girls Inc. of the PNW	Eureka! is a 5-year STEM program for 8th-12th grade girls and gender-nonbinary youth, the majority of whom are youth of color and youth from underserved families.
iUrban Teen	Serve underrepresented youth ages 13-18 to become the future’s next business and technology leaders.
Oregon Robotics	Building participation of Girls in FIRST STEM programs in Oregon.
STEM Paths Innovation Network	Support communities of color through high quality programming so every family has access to an opportunity for STEM.

For more information about the foundation’s grant process and to apply, please visit https://www.marielamfrom.org/grants.

About the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation:

The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation was established by Dave and Sally Bany in 1998 to support nonprofit organizations throughout the Pacific Northwest. The Foundation focuses on nonprofit programs that support education and mentorship, arts and creativity, and health and well-being. The Foundation was named for Sally’s grandmother, Marie Lamfrom. For more information, please visit marielamfrom.org.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.