Paul G. Allen Family Foundation supports libraries in latest $6.9 million grant cycle

Foundation’s founders pay tribute to parents’ passion for libraries and reading in new round of giving

SEATTLE— The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced today it will be supporting local libraries in Washington and Oregon with $1.35 million in funding this year as part of its newest grant cycle. Libraries are significant to the Foundation’s founders, Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen, whose father worked for the University of Washington library system and whose mother promoted reading throughout her life.

The library grants, which will help improve library services and technological capabilities, are part of a $6.95 million grant cycle that funds a broad array of non-profit groups that work to strengthen communities and foster economic resilience. A full list of grant recipients follows this release.

“The Foundation believes in the mission and impact of local libraries, and the contribution they make to vibrant communities,” said Susan M. Coliton, vice president of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. “We want to help libraries maintain relevance and financial stability by building lasting and meaningful connections with their patrons, especially young people.”

A sample of Foundation library grants from this cycle includes:

 • a $200,000 grant to support Washington State Libraries’ development of a smartphone app to bring basic library services to rural patrons;
• a $200,000 grant to fund teen library programming projects through the Kitsap Regional Library Foundation;
• a $136,000 grant to support a technology lab at the Walla Walla Public Library; and
• a $190,000 grant to Multnomah County, Ore., to develop a technology-based, advisory service that pairs patrons with a personal librarian.

    Since 1990, the Foundation has invested more than $26 million in libraries. An infographic exploring its latest library giving is available at http://bit.ly/PGAFFlibraries.

In addition to the library grants, more than two dozen arts and culture groups from rural and urban areas across the Northwest will also receive funding. Oregon Public Broadcasting will use a $120,000 grant to develop a new program covering the local arts community. The Wrangell Cooperative Association in Wrangell, Alaska will use part of its $100,000 grant to build a carving facility.

The Foundation continues its efforts to help people with low incomes achieve economic security. For example, United Indians of All Tribes in Seattle will use a $100,000 grant to develop and implement intensive financial education for Native Americans, both homeless youth and parents of children enrolled in Head Start programs. Bienestar, located in Hillsboro, Ore., will create a new food service training curriculum for rural, low-income Latinos, while Seattle Tilth will expand its microenterprise program for immigrant and refugee farmers.

Additional grants will fund brain research exhibits at the Pacific Science Center, sustainable land use in Botswana and Zambia and other projects in the Pacific Northwest.

The projects supported in this cycle are expected to impact nearly 2.7 million individuals.

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About The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation
Launched by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Jo Lynn Allen in 1988, the Allen family’s philanthropy is dedicated to transforming lives and strengthening communities by fostering innovation, creating knowledge and promoting social progress. Since inception, the Foundation has awarded over $454 million to more than 1,400 nonprofit groups to support and advance their critical charitable endeavors in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. The Foundation’s funding programs nurture the arts, engage children in learning, address the needs of vulnerable populations, advance scientific and technological discoveries, and provide financial relief amid the economic downturn. For more information, go to www.pgafamilyfoundation.org.

Contact:
Chris Nelson, Pyramid Communications
cnelson@pyramidcommunications.com
206.940.1605 (mobile)

Fall 2012 Grant Cycle Recipients

Arts and Culture

A Contemporary Theatre
Seattle
www.acttheatre.org

Anchorage Museum
Anchorage, Alaska
www.anchoragemuseum.org

Archie Bray Foundation
Helena, Mont.
www.archiebray.org

Artspace Projects
Seattle
www.artspace.org

Bellevue Arts Museum
Bellevue, Wash.
www.bellevuearts.org

Boise Art Museum
Boise, Idaho
www.boiseartmuseum.org

Broadway Center for the Performing Arts
Tacoma, Wash.
www.broadwaycenter.org

Bunnell Street Arts Center
Homer, Alaska
www.bunnellstreetgallery.org

Centrum Foundation
Port Townsend, Wash.
www.centrum.org

Chamber Music Northwest
Portland, Ore.
www.cmnw.org

Coos Historical & Maritime Museum
North Bend, Ore.
www.cooshistory.org

High Desert Museum
Bend, Ore.
www.highdesertmuseum.org

Hockaday Museum of Art
Kalispell, Mont.
www.hockadaymuseum.org

Idaho Falls Arts Council
Idaho Falls, Idaho
www.idahofallsarts.org

Jack Straw Foundation
Seattle
www.jackstraw.org

KBCS/Bellevue Community College
Bellevue, Wash.
www.kbcs.fm

Koahnic Broadcast Corporation
Anchorage, Alaska
www.knba.org

Northwest Film Center
Porland, Ore.
www.nwfilm.org

Northwest Film Forum
Seattle
www.nwfilmforum.org

Oregon Public Broadcasting
Portland, Ore.
www.opb.org

Portland Center Stage
Portland, Ore.
www.pcs.org

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
Portland, Ore
www.pica.org

Seattle Art Museum
Seattle
www.seattleartmuseum.org

SIFF
Seattle
www.siff.net

Theatre Puget Sound
Seattle
www.tpsonline.org

Town Hall Association
Seattle
www.townhallseattle.org

Trey McIntyre Project
Boise, Idaho
www.treymcintyre.com

Washington State University Museum of Art
Pullman, Wash.
museum.wsu.edu

Wrangell Cooperative Association
Wrangell, Alaska
www.shakesisland.com

Asset Building

Adelante Mujeres
Forest Grove, Ore.
www.adelantemujeres.org

Bienestar
Hillsboro, Ore.
www.bienestar-or.org

Corporation for Enterprise Development
Washington, DC
www.cfed.org

Express Advantage
Seattle
www.expresscu.org

Hacienda Community Development Corporation
Portland, Ore.
www.haciendacdc.org

Home Forward
Portland, Ore.
www.homeforward.org

Innovative Changes
Portland, Ore.
www.innovativechanges.org

InterIm Community Development Association
Seattle
www.interimicda.org

Multi-Service Center
Federal Way, Wash.
www.multi-servicecenter.com

OneAmerica
Seattle
www.weareoneamerica.org

Seattle Tilth
Seattle
www.seattletilth.org

United Indians of All Tribes Foundation
Seattle
www.unitedindians.org

Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho
Spokane, Wash.
www.voaspokane.org

Washington Community Alliance for Self-Help
Seattle
www.washingtoncash.org

Education

Seattle Public Schools
Seattle
www.akikuroseacademy.org
www.dennyms.seattleschools.org

Springfield Public Schools
Springfield, Ore.
www.springfield.k12.or.us

Wenatchee School District
Wenatchee, Wash.
home.wsd.wednet.edu

Library

Burlington Library Foundation
Burlington, Wash.
www.burlington.lib.wa.us

King County Library System Foundation
Issaquah, Wash.
www.kclsfoundation.org

Kitsap Regional Library Foundation
Bremerton, Wash.
www.krl.org

Library Foundation
Portland, Ore.
www.libraryfoundation.org

Online Computer Library Center
Seattle
www.webjunction.org

Pierce County Library Foundation
Tacoma, Wash.
www.piercecountylibrary.org

Port Townsend Public Library Foundation
Port Townsend, Wash.
www.ptpubliclibrary.org

Seattle Public Library Foundation
Seattle
https://foundation.spl.org

Walla Walla Public Library
Walla Walla, Wash.
www.wallawallapubliclibrary.org

Washington State Library
Olympia, Wash.
www.sos.wa.gov/library/

Science and International

Charity Begins At Home
Mfuwe, Zambia
www.bushcampcompany.com

Conservation Science Africa
Maun, Botswana
www.conservationscienceafrica.org

Pacific Science Center Foundation
Seattle
www.pacificsciencecenter.org

Sector Support

Indian Nonprofit Alliance
Bozeman, Mont.
www.indiannonprofitalliance.org

Potlatch Fund
Seattle
www.potlatchfund.org