Metro Central Enhancement Grant program boundary map
A committee of northwest Portland community leaders has selected 10 organizations to receive $114,787 in grant funds to enhance their work in community support and neighborhood improvement.
With goals ranging from improved and increased educational and recreational programming to increased safety and environmental quality, the Metro Central Enhancement Grants program focuses on neighborhoods impacted by their proximity to the Metro Central Transfer Station.
On Thursday the Metro Central Enhancement Committee, chaired by Councilor Sam Chase, presented to the Metro Council the projects selected for the 2015 grant year.
The grant funds come from enhancement fees collected at Metro Central each year, which have increased 62% over the 2014 grant pot, thanks in part to Council work to reduce and cap administrative costs associated with the fund.
“It’s proving to be a really effective strategy,” Chase said. “It’s resources that are going directly back to the community. And it’s supporting the non-profits that are out in the community doing the work directly on the ground.”
Applicants from the area reaching from the Northwest Neighborhood Association to Linnton on the west side of the Willamette River, as well as Cathedral Park across the St. Johns Bridge, include a Portland school as well as an array of local and national nonprofits asking for $5,000 to $20,000 in support of their localized programming.
Reading Results at Chapman Elementary
For the 2014-15 school year, Chapman Elementary’s first to third grade classes include 45 students testing at one to two years below grade level in reading.
Come January, Chapman will be awarded a $20,000 grant to continue their work with Reading Results, a non-profit organization that will provide three 30-minute tutoring sessions to each child per week, and host two school-wide family literacy events during the year.
Reading Results has a proven track record at Chapman reporting students improved reading and spelling skills by more than one level during the 2013-2014 school year. The grant breaks down to less than $5 per tutoring session and helps support a 41 percent increase in participation in the program this year.
Scholarships at Friendly House
Friendly House, a nonprofit neighborhood center offering classes from fitness and nutrition to financial education, will use its $16,237 grant to offer scholarships for 40 memberships and 100 classes to low-income community members for whom their standard $250 per year price point is cost-prohibitive.
Cathedral Park Jazz Festival
The $9,050 grant being awarded to the Jazz Society of Oregon will support a partnership with the Friends of Cathedral Park Neighborhood Association in their efforts to boost the engagement of the Cathedral Park community as well as additional community programming at the festival, including a kids corner hosted by the Linnton Community Center.
Critical roof repair at Linnton Community Center
Three of the seven Linnton Community Center roof structures have deteriorated to compromising conditions impacting their ability to provide services including after school programs, emergency food distribution, and recreational programming. This $20,000 grant award will support the roof repair improving safety and preventing further building damage.
Learn more about the Metro Central Enhancement Grant program