The majority of proceeds from Portland Creative Conference registration fees go to support K-12 arts education programs in Oregon through Keeping the Arts, an Oregon-based non-profit. We are excited to announce that in 2015 we raised $10,000 for the grant pool!
Funds raised at the 2015 Portland Creative Conference were used to provide support for the following arts education programs based in Oregon:
- $2,000 to Burns High School in Burns, OR to support band and choir programs
- $1,500 to Caldera Arts Center in Sisters, OR to support their arts programs for underserved youth.
- $1,000 to Children’s Repertory of Oregon Workshops in Florence, OR to support their production of Shrek, the Musical, JR., which will have a kids cast and crew of 50 and will be seen by 1,500+ kids in the community of Florence.
- $1,500 to Valley Catholic High School Theater Department in Beaverton, OR to purchase new microphones for their theater productions, to enable all performers to be heard clearly by the audience.
This brings the total grant distributions by Keeping the Arts to over $85,000 since 2003.
Grants from Keeping the Arts help Caldera artists and designers mentor youth from underserved communities. This is crucial. If young people have the opportunity to exercise their creative muscles within a supportive community, they go on to apply their creative learning in all areas of their lives. We love that the Portland Creative Conference sees the value of supporting the next generation of creative thinkers. I have no doubt that some of them will some day be on the stage at the Conference.
Tricia Snell, Executive Director, Caldera
Congratulations to all of our grant recipients. We appreciate the impact your arts programs have on the youth in your community!
Students and their instructor during a Caldera Arts Center session