This grant fund honors the memory of Jill Heiman, the Fair’s founding attorney. It supports tax-exempt organizations in Lane County involved in an annually selected focus area such as environmental protection or basic human needs. Donations are provided by Fair volunteers, artists, staff, performers and guests.
Four nonprofit groups with proposals related to the environment and sustainability have received grants from the donations made to the Jill Heiman Vision Fund at this year’s Oregon Country Fair.
Centro Latino Americano will offer programs and workshops such as seed-saving and basket-making through its LÃderes (Leaders) program in the Organic Community Garden. The program helps participants develop leadership skills and build a support network as families learn to grow, harvest, and process organic food.
Community Supported Shelters will install greywater filtration systems to provide an environmental approach to wastewater in their Safe Spot Communities. CSS is working with the University of Oregon’s Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies to build the four-planter filtration systems.
Looking Glass will purchase tools and gear for the Lane-Metro Youth Corps for projects that will restore natural resources around Lane County.
Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) will boost awareness of communities impacted by pesticide use through a media campaign and radio show outreach.
The OCF Board triples the power of each gift by matching $2 for every $1 donated, up to a total of $20,000. Donations to the Jill Heiman Vision Fund can be mailed to the Oregon Country Fair, 442 Lawrence St., Eugene, OR 97401. Donation boxes also will be located at Information Booths at the Fair. Checks and cash donations are tax-deductible; include address for mailed receipt.
The fund honors Jill Heiman, the attorney who helped facilitate the Fair’s incorporation as a nonprofit and its original land purchase. Since it began 27 year ago, the Jill Heiman Vision Fund has granted more than $588,000 to nonprofit agencies.
2022 Jill Heiman Vision Fund Recipients
Four nonprofit organizations that help meet people’s basic needs have been selected to receive the donations to the Jill Heiman Vision Fund from the 2022 Oregon Country Fair.
Mid Lane Cares will put the donations into the Emergency Assistance program serving vulnerable residents in the Fern Ridge area. The Emergency Fund provides help with rent and utility bills to prevent homelessness, bus passes for access to services, and other emergency needs.
Looking Glass will finance some renovations of a new home in the Rural Program in Cottage Grove. The rural program currently operates out of a small, rented facility. The new home will allow Looking Glass to expand their services to at-risk youth between the ages of 11 and 21 throughout Southeast Lane County, including Saginaw, Dorena, Culp Creek, Creswell, and Cottage Grove.
Hope & Safety Alliance (formerly WomenSpace) will install a new roof on Jamie’s House, a new emergency shelter that can house up to 22 individuals.
Community Supported Shelters will purchase basic essentials to help clients get through the winter, including warm clothing, cough drops, tissues, prescriptions, warm food, and sleeping bags.
The OCF Board triples the power of each gift by matching $2 for every $1 donated, up to a total of $25,000. Donations to the Jill Heiman Vision Fund can be mailed to the Oregon Country Fair, 442 Lawrence St., Eugene, OR 97401. Donation boxes also will be located at Information Booths at the Fair. Checks and cash donations are tax-deductible; include address for mailed receipt.
Thanks to our generous donors, in 2019 the fund raised a record $59,353. Since it began 26 years ago, the Jill Heiman Vision Fund has donated more than $561,000 to nonprofit agencies.
2019 Jill Heiman Vision Fund Recipients
For 2019, donations amounted to a record $59,353! We met our goal to reach $50,000 for our 50th Anniversary—and more! Thanks to generous donors, to date this fund has given more than $525,000 over the years. One dollar or food voucher at a time, our donations are making a difference. This year, your generosity benefited the following organizations:
Assistance League used its grant to purchase healthy, nutritious foods — including fresh produce — for the Weekend Food Pantry and Backpack Programs. The two programs coordinate with 4J and Bethel school districts to reduce child hunger by improving access to healthy foods for families in need.
Carry It Forward will applied the funds to constructing a laundry and cleaning station facility to serve homeless campers. The grant will purchase shelving tables, storage cubbies, and supplies, plus training on cleanup safety. Carry It Forward offers humane camp cleanup by bagging items at abandoned campsites that can be cleaned and reused — such as warm clothing, tents, blankets and sleeping bags — while safely disposing garbage. The group launders the retrieved items and cycles them back, either to the original owner or to someone else in need.
Catholic Community Services will put the grant toward basic needs support for Lane County participants in the Refugees and Asylum-Seekers Assistance program. Advocates are matched with asylum-seekers and refugees to help them find housing, access health care, learn language skills, get transportation, and search for a job.
Planned Parenthood purchased a new auto-clave, which sterilizes medical instruments used in the clinic.
St. Vincent de Paul used its grant to help buy a 15-passenger van that will transport families enrolled in the First Place Night Shelter program and the St. Vincent de Paul Youth House for homeless teens. The van will transport up to 20 families a day, and shuttle youths to school and extra-curricular activities.
Donations to the Jill Heiman Vision Fund can be mailed to the Oregon Country Fair, 442 Lawrence St., Eugene, OR 97401. Donation boxes also will be located at Information Booths at the Fair. Food vouchers, cash or checks may be donated. Checks and cash donations are tax-deductible; include address for mailed receipt. The OCF Board will match donation with $2 to every $1 given, up to a total of $25,000, tripling the power of the gift.
Philanthropy was the catalyst that began the Oregon Country Fair, has been essential to developing its long-lived success, and will provide opportunities that further its mission into the future.
