Got a million to give away? It's not so easy

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June 08, 2010

By Sanne Specht

Mail Tribune

Giving away money to good causes isn't as easy as it sounds.

In 2008, the Oregon Community Foundation set aside $1 million for Southern Oregon, with specific directions to use the money to improve communities "in a significant and lasting way." Nearly two years later, representatives from Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake counties came up with an answer for how the grant would be spent — the group decided children's mentoring programs would be the best use of the money.

A regional OCF committee from the four counties struggled to decide how best to fund long-term change, said Medford attorney Doug Schmor, a committee co-chairman.

"We initially decided to focus on education," Schmor said, "but $1 million is not much to divide up over four counties when each district has multi-million dollar budgets."

Several ideas were discussed during the initial stages of the selection process, but the focus kept returning to children and education, said Chip Massie, committee co-chairman and executive director of the Klamath County Chamber of Commerce.

"We really wanted to focus on something with a long-term effect, and we wanted to help kids with their education," Massie said. "One-on-one, youth-to-adult mentoring really helps children, and it continues to give back to the community for many, many years."

The 17-member committee researched community needs, developed a consensus and funded their selected organizations. Supporting mentoring programs will also improve educational outcomes for area students, said Rachelle Schaaf, coordinator for OCF's Regional Action Initiative.

The committee looked at proposals for health care, early childhood education, helping recession victims and other endeavors before making their decision, Schaaf said.

The grants "could have gone to feeding people," she said, "but the group was determined to address poverty, and one of the best ways is to educate people."

The funds will be distributed over three years. More than $700,000 will go to the mentoring programs, and the balance of the $1 million will be held back to build a communication network among the four counties, she said.

The counties will be sharing information, and OCF will be tracking the programs' successes and challenges. The group plans to team with other organizations such as United Way to increase involvement and participation, Schaaf said.

"The counties will be leveraging this money and inspiring people to become mentors and create a positive connection between a caring adult and a kid," she said.

Leaders of scouting groups, 4-H leaders, teachers and others can benefit from the information that will be gleaned from the project, she said.

Schmor said mentoring has a proven track record of success and "provides a long-term sense of value and increases feelings of self-worth in the child."

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 541-776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.

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