Work for Art raised $776,007 in its eighth annual campaign according to honorary chair Jeff Harvey, president and CEO of Burgerville. A total of 1,965 donors participated in the 2013-14 campaign, helping Work for Art surpass last year’s total by 2%. Harvey announced the results on Wednesday evening at a special reception at Portland Center Stage with 140 arts and business leaders in attendance.

“The money raised through Work for Art over the past 12 months will directly contribute to the quality, richness and fulfillment in our daily lives,” Harvey said. “More and more we measure our impact as companies and individuals in these broader terms. Work for Art and the RACC are important partners in this work, and we are grateful to everyone who supported the arts through this year’s campaign.”

The majority of Work for Art revenues (53%) come from workplace giving campaigns, including employee donations and corporate matching gifts. Portland General Electric raised the most money for the third year in a row, up 3% over last year for a total of $85,794; President and CEO Jim Piro accepted an award on the company’s behalf. For the fifth year in a row, Burgerville won an award for the highest employee participation, accepted by chief cultural officer Jack Graves.

Cambia Health Solutions received special recognition as the Best New Company, including a $50,000 contribution from the Regence Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation; Regence’s market president Angela Dowling accepted Cambia’s award. Portland Opera was acknowledged as the RACC-funded organization that raised the most money for the Work for Art Community Fund and the Arts Education Fund. A full 100% of the proceeds to these two funds are passed on to arts organizations in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties through RACC’s existing competitive grant programs.

All of the top 15 campaigns were recognized on Wednesday evening. They include:

1. Portland General Electric
2. The Standard
3. Cambia Health Solutions
4. NW Natural
5. Burgerville
6. OHSU
7. State of Oregon employees
8. ZGF Architects
9. KeyBank
10. City of Portland employees
11. Stoel Rives
12. Multnomah County employees
13. Metro employees
14. Umpqua Bank
15. Portland Timbers

Carole Morse, former president of the PGE Foundation, received special recognition (and a standing ovation) for role as a leading champion of Work for Art over the last eight years. Since 2006, Work for Art has raised a total of $5.4 million for the local arts community.

Although Work for Art is primarily a workplace giving program, anyone can participate by making a donation online at workforart.org. Donors who pledge $60 or more receive an Arts Card, which provides a full year of two-for-one tickets at hundreds of local arts events. All donations up to $5,000 are matched dollar-for-dollar by a matching challenge fund that last year included contributions from The City of Portland, Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties, The Regence Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, the Portland Timbers, and KeyBank. 

Participants are already gearing up for another big campaign in 2014-15, with a goal of raising $790,000 by June 30, 2015. Mike Golub, president of business operations for the Portland Timbers, will serve as Honorary Chair, with David Lofland, market president for KeyBank Oregon & Southwest Washington serving as Co-Chair. Company leaders who would like to conduct an employee giving campaign for the arts, or help contribute to the campaign in other ways, are invited to contact Kathryn Jackson, Work for Art Manager at 503-823-5424 or kjackson@racc.org.

PORTLAND, ORE. — Work for Art, an annual campaign to raise money for arts and culture organizations in the Portland tri-county area, has received a $50,000 grant from Cambia Health Solutions. This is the largest corporate contribution in Work for Art’s eight-year history.
 
Angela Hult, the director of corporate philanthropy for Cambia Health Solutions, announced the contribution as a way to support the intersection between arts and health, including the documented effects that art and arts-related services have on wellness, therapy, grief and bereavement, cognitive function, and pain management.  

“Arts and culture play an important role in sustaining healthy individuals, families and communities,” said Hult. “Local arts organizations are doing exceptional work in this area, particularly through art therapy programs that help alleviate grief and bereavement. That is why Cambia Health Solutions is pleased to support Work for Art through employee giving and this corporate gift.” 

 

A full 100% of all donations to Work for Art, including the Cambia contribution, will be distributed to more than 100 local arts and culture organizations, including many who are actively involved in health and wellness programs. For example:

• The Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) brings the healing power of art to children in crisis through a mobile team of teaching artists working in a partnership with hospitals, community organizations and schools. Nearly half of the nation’s health care centers provide arts programming for patients, families, and even staff. 78% of the directors of these centers report that arts programs provide healing benefits to patients: shorter hospital stays, better pain management, and reduced need for medication.  
• Some say laughter is the best medicine – and the Stand Up for Mental Health Program in Clackamas County helps participants write and share their story of what it is like to live with a mental health challenge – using humor as a communication tool. For those with mental health challenges, these classes provide opportunities to gain confidence, speak in front of groups, and take risks – which in turn help them to lead more independent, productive lives. 
• Oregon Repertory Singers share the power and inspiration of music through outreach to retirement homes in Multnomah and Washington Counties. Studies show that music can help boost mood, reduce stress and depression, and help with treatment for chronic health issues for seniors, including Alzheimer’s disease.

 “The arts add measurable value to our communities in so many ways, and this partnership with Cambia Health Solutions helps us draw special attention to important health and wellness benefits that some people might not be aware of,” said Eloise Damrosch, executive director of the Regional Arts & Culture Council. “We are tremendously grateful for the support, and we look forward to sharing Cambia’s generosity with arts organizations that are doing important work in this field.”
 
The 2013-14 Work for Art campaign began on July 1, 2013, and dozens of workplace giving campaigns have already taken place over the last several months – including a campaign at Cambia (although those figures are not yet available). This grant from Cambia Health Solutions will be applied to Work for Art’s matching challenge fund, and will be used to help encourage and match contributions from other donors at other companies over the next six months. With this gift, Work for Art is on track to raise a total of $775,000 by June 30, 2014.
 
For more information on Work for Art, including a complete list of participating companies and funded organizations, visit workforart.org.
 
Cambia Health Solutions is a nonprofit total health solutions company based in the Pacific Northwest/Intermountain region, serving consumers and communities for nearly 100 years.  Cambia companies provide a wide range of products and services, including healthcare information technology and software development, retail healthcare, health insurance plans that carry the Blue Cross and Blue Shield brand, life insurance, pharmacy benefit management, consumer engagement and wellness. For more information, please visit cambiahealthsolutions.com. 
 
Work for Art distributes 100% of all donations to more than 100 arts and culture organizations based in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties through a competitive grant application process. Now in its eighth year, the program has raised more than $4.7 million for services that arts and culture groups provide, including community outreach, arts education programs, and hundreds of performances and events. Donations are matched dollar-for-dollar by a Matching Challenge Fund, made possible by public and private partners, including Burgerville, Sunshine Dairy Foods, The Portland Timbers, The City of Portland, Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties, and now, Cambia Health Solutions. Donors who pledge $60 or more receive an Arts Card, which provides 2-for-1 tickets to performances for a full year. Read more at workforart.org.
 
The Regional Arts & Culture Council is the local arts agency for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties. In addition to administering Work for Art and other advocacy programs, RACC provides grants for artists, schools and nonprofit organizations; presents workshops and other forms of technical assistance; provides printed and web-based resources for artists; and integrates art into public spaces. Read more at racc.org.

The Regional Arts & Culture Council announced on Thursday evening that the seventh annual Work for Art campaign raised $761,359, bringing its seven-year total to $4,686,681 raised for local arts organizations. More than 1,900 donors participated in the campaign that began on July 1, 2012 and ended on June 30, 2013, mostly through payroll deduction and other gifts in the workplace.

The campaign results were delivered by Jeff Harvey, president and CEO of Burgerville, at a special reception Thursday evening in the KeyBank Club at Jeld-Wen Field. Harvey was the honorary chair of the 2012-13 campaign, and will lead the 2013-14 campaign as well, with co-chair Mike Golub, COO of the Portland Timbers.

“It is a great thing to celebrate arts and culture in our communities,” said Harvey in thanking all those who participated in the campaign. “In today’s business world… there’s no such thing as too much creativity or too much innovation. Investing in a vital arts community is the same as committing to deep and long-term investment in the vitality and innovation of business.”

More than 75 participating companies were acknowledged on Thursday evening, including the top ten Work for Art campaigns in 2012-13:

1. Portland General Electric
2. NW Natural
3. Burgerville
4. The Standard
5. OHSU
6. State of Oregon
7. City of Portland
8. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects
9. Multnomah County
10. Stoel Rives

Portland General Electric was the top campaign for the second year in a row, increasing their campaign by 6% for a total of $83,530; President and CEO Jim Piro accepted the company’s award and said that PGE employees were enjoying more arts activities thanks to the Arts Card, a benefit of giving to Work for Art. Jack Graves, Chief Cultural Officer at Burgerville, accepted the “top participation” award for the sustainable restaurant chain, which had the most employee donors (410) of any company. Portland Center Stage was acknowledged for raising the most money among nonprofit organizations ($2,442); the award was accepted by development director Charlie Frasier.

The results reported on Thursday night are down 7.7% from the 2011-12 campaign total (and all-time high) of $824,648. A variety of factors contributed to the downturn, including general anxieties about the economy last fall, and typical fierce competition for contributions during a presidential election cycle. Work for Art leaders remain confident that the campaign will rebound in 2013-14; already several new companies have signed up to participate this year, including Cambia Health Solutions, Gerding Edlen, and Tri-Met. Other company leaders who would like to learn about conducting an employee giving campaign for the arts and culture sector are invited to contact Kathryn Jackson, Work for Art Manager at 503-823-5424 or kjackson@racc.org.

Work for Art is a program of The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC), which distributes 100% of all proceeds to more than 100 arts and culture organizations based in Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties through a competitive grant application process. Although Work for Art is primarily a workplace giving program, anyone can participate by making a donation online at workforart.org. The strength of the campaign has been in its ability to accumulate a high volume of smaller gifts; most donations are $150 or less, and $60 is the amount most commonly donated. Donors who pledge $60 or more receive an Arts Card. Most donations are matched dollar-for-dollar by a matching challenge fund that includes contributions from The City of Portland, Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties, the Firstenburg Family Foundation, Sunshine Dairy Foods, and other private donors.

The 2013-14 campaign is now underway; the goal is to raise $775,000 by June 30, 2014.