Oregon Cultural Trust

The Oregon Cultural Trust raises 80% of its annual donations in the last six weeks of the year. And 2013 was no exception.

After the rush of last-minute gifts, online, by phone and by mail, the tallying began January 2, with 2013-postmarked mail still arriving from across the state. Though we won’t have a final number until the end of February, we already have good news to report.

The Trust’s ongoing partnership with Willamette Week Give!Guide showed a 25% increase in 2013 over 2012, for a total of $243,720 (2012 donations came in at $195,058). A new Give!Guide feature prompted contributors to Cultural Trust partner nonprofits to match with a Trust gift on the same website and qualify for the state cultural tax credit. Thank you Willamette Week Give!Guide, for all your support!

Media partners were generous, publishing positive opinion pieces written by community leaders. In at least two cases (The Daily Astorian, Eugene Register Guard) followed guest pieces with year-end reminders and editorials. December 31 donations came to $364,000, which is $100,000 more than the last day of 2012.

As usual, contributions flooded in on the last week of the year, many from new donors who saw our ads featuring Holly Andres photos commissioned for the Trust, and a billboard using Holly Andres’ image of Cheryl Strayed, which spent six weeks at two locations in downtown Portland. This winter the Trust was also able to augment its online, print, TV and radio advertising and its social media presence, with almost 1,000 new Facebook likes since November.

Thank you to Sheepscot Creative, Peterson Media, Thomas Osborne, In-House Printing, and CGI Printing, for a great 2013 ad campaign. The upshot: more people than ever now understand the important work of the Cultural Trust, its partner nonprofits and grantees, and the exceptional state tax credit that makes it all possible.