Blog - Papé Family Foundation

New Web Site!

January 22, 2016 by director Leave a Comment

Happy New Year!

I am very excited about the launch of our renovated web site today! We are hopeful that it will help streamline our grant application process and enable us to better serve the organizations in our communities. I’m especially pleased with our new online grant application form and our Grants in Action page, featuring many of the organizations we partner with and the projects we’ve helped to support.

Our new layout was designed by Denise Limón at lemontwistwebdesign.com . Credit for our updated logo goes to Katy Krupp at element-graphics.com . Our beautiful home page photo was taken by trustee Michael Tooke. And finally, a HUGE thanks to our board president, Sarah Pittman, who oversaw the development of our updated web site while also moving her family back home to Texas!

2016 Grant Cycle

October 28, 2015 by director Leave a Comment

After an overwhelming response to our 2015 call for grant applications (thanks all!), we’re adapting the process for 2016. We welcome your feedback as we try something new and consider how we can improve the experience for all involved.

This cycle we’re starting with Letters of Inquiry. In order to accommodate holidays and our grant committee members commitments in their daily lives outside the foundation, we’ve set the first deadline in this next cycle for November 1. We’ll review these requests and invite a select number of organizations to submit a full application in January/February. Currently our board of trustees meets once a year in the summer and we traditionally vote on grants when we’re all together. Admittedly, this makes for a pretty long grant cycle. We hope this won’t put off potential partners in our communities and we welcome feedback for the future. And remember to submit your LOI this week! Visit our grant page for more details. I’m looking forward to reading your proposals!

Rules of Engagement

August 18, 2015 by director Leave a Comment

I cleaned out our files this past spring and found a few gems in the piles of founding documents for our foundation. One was “Rules of Engagement” to guide family meetings. I shared it over the summer at our annual meeting and we all got a good laugh. But seriously, these aren’t bad ideas for group interaction!

1. Come to the table ready to participate.

2. Listen! Have the courtesy to listen to whoever has the floor.

3. Leave your organizational 2×4 at the door.

4. State your opinion. No opinion means agreement.

5. Include entire group in discussion and comments. No splinter conversations.

6. State your case clearly and briefly.

7. There are no dumb ideas.

8. All participants are equal.

9. No war stories.

10. Pick solutions, not fights.

11. No cheap shots – attach ideas not individuals.

12. Turn off all cellular devices.

13. Have FUN! Enjoy the meeting and those around you.

2015 Grant Decisions

August 6, 2015 by director Leave a Comment

Summer is always a little bittersweet for me here at the foundation. We traditionally hold our annual meeting early to mid summer and I always look forward to reconnecting with extended family. The trustees gather to share committee reports, debate how best to manage foundation assets, make funding decisions, and hear updates on previous grants. And after the whirlwind weekend I return to to my desk and get to write big checks to help support amazing programs throughout the communities our family call home. This is the best part of my job.

But I also have to send emails, quite a lot this year, that let organizations know we aren’t able to fund their equally important projects. Those emails always break my heart just a little. Sometimes I hear back with questions about how they can better their chances next time around. I often don’t have a good answer. We simply have to make impossible choices. We are a small foundation with relatively little to give away each year (we’re required by law to give a certain amount, and of course we could exceed that, but we have to balance our grant-making with the future financial health and growth of the foundation so we can give more and more each year). In 2015 we are giving $78,000, bringing our total gifts since 1997 to just shy of $750,000. To put this in perspective, we started in 1996 with assets of just under $1 million. At some point in the near future we’ll hopefully have granted more than the funds we started with.

We received 50 eligible and worthy applications this year, a record for us by far. The grant committee worked hard to bring a proposal to the full board that attempted to honor the amounts requested, spread our funding among a variety of cities, and find balance between honoring previously established relationships and starting new ones. They selected nine organizations from California, Oregon, Idaho, Washington and Texas. I’m delighted we’re partnering with the following organizations over the next 9-10 months and look forward to sharing their stories:

New Door Ventures, San Francisco

FC Nova, Boise

Buena Vista Parent Organization, Eugene

Serenity Lane Health Services, Eugene

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, Dallas

Bike Works, Seattle

Solid Ground , Seattle

Ranch Hand Rescue, Argyle (Dallas)

Papé Pediatric Research Institute, Portland

I can’t say thank you enough to all the organizations who applied and especially to those individuals who put time and energy into gathering the necessary information and working through our first-ever online application. I say this often, because it’s true. We could not exist without our grant-making and we are so grateful to everyone who participates. Even when we have to say “no, not this year,” we thoroughly enjoy reading about all of the projects taking place in the cities where we live. You all inspire us.

Grant Applications Under Review

March 13, 2015 by director Leave a Comment

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 2015 application process! We received over twice as many applications as last year – 50! – setting a new record for our foundation. Thanks for your willingness to try out our new online format, give feedback, and help us refine our grant making process. I am now reviewing these applications and as always it is such a pleasure to read about all the amazing work being done in family members’ communities. The grant committee will then have the very difficult task of considering each project and making a final recommendation to our board.

We appreciate your patience as we move forward with the next phase of our grant cycle and prepare for our annual meeting in July. All applicants will be notified of the board’s decision by August.

Again, thank you for your overwhelming response! We are indebted to everyone who applied – we could not exist without organizations who partner with us for the benefit of our communities.

Now Accepting 2015 Grant Applications

January 16, 2015 by director Leave a Comment

We’re gearing up for our 2015 Grant Cycle and look forward to once again partnering with organizations in our communities! Speaking of which, we’re exciting to add Oconomowoc, WI and Hendersonville, NC to that list.

Our deadline to apply is March 1. We hope you’ll take a moment to head over to our Grants Page to read over our funding guidelines and consider submitting your proposal via our new online application. We’ve streamlined our application process in hopes of creating a better experience for all involved and welcome any feedback you have about our new online forms.

As you consider a project that would benefit from a PFF grant, you might scroll through previous blog posts to get a sense of our past involvement with a wide variety of organizations.

Any questions you might have can be sent to info@papefamilyfoundation.org. We look forward to hearing from you!

An update from Seattle Tilth

October 17, 2014 by director Leave a Comment

The best emails that come through my inbox are updates from organizations we’ve partnered with through our grant making process. Seattle Tilth just sent me a link to a recent feature on KPLU (our local NPR station in Seattle).

https://soundcloud.com/kplunews/seattle-gardening-program-pairs-east-african-seniors-with-at-risk-youths

Seattle Tilth’s Youth Garden Works program caught the attention of our foundation’s trustees this past year and in June we decided to support their ongoing training for youth with a grant. SYGW operates two gardens in the Seattle – at Rainier Beach and the University of Washington – and the produce from these gardens is sold at three area farmers markets.

I got to visit the Wallingford Farmers Market at the end of September and was quite impressed with the SYGW stand. The spinach, kale and arugula I bought were beautiful, tasty and fairly priced. Next week I have the opportunity to attend lunch at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm Wetlands. East African elders will cook traditional food from the garden and share with the entire farm community. I’ll also get to meet some of the youth from the SYGW program. Can’t wait!

2014 Grants!

July 10, 2014 by director Leave a Comment

In mid-June, the Papé family got together for our annual meeting. It’s a chance for us to catch up with each other and make decisions about the foundation. Spirited debates have become something of a tradition, as we each have different ways of approaching finances, grant-making, and the future of the foundation. Meals together throughout the weekend are a way to enjoy each other in a more relaxed setting. All in all, it was another great weekend together!

Following the annual meeting, I get to do my favorite and least favorite parts of the job. I am responsible for notifying all the grant applicants of the board’s decision. We always have more worthy applicants than we have money to give, and so I have to tell at least a few organizations that their project won’t be funded this year. Least favorite part of my job. This year we were able to fund half of our applicants, so I got to let 10 organizations know the good news! Favorite part of my job. Our grant committee had tough decisions to make – I don’t envy them. Ultimately, I think they came up with an excellent recommendation to our full board, one that represents a variety of family member’s communities and interests. I hope to share stories over the next year about the projects these organizations will undertake with the help of our foundation. For now, I am pleased to announce our 2014 grants totally $61,000:

Bishop Kelly High School, Boise ID

ABC House, Albany OR

ShelterCare, Eugene OR

Wellspring Friends School, Eugene OR

Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute at OHSU, Portland OR

Portland YouthBuilders, Portland OR

Rise School, Dallas TX

Ranch Hand Rescue, Argyle TX

FEEST, Seattle WA

Seattle Youth Garden Works at Seattle Tilth, Seattle WA

Thank you to all who applied! Our 2015 grant forms will be available in early January, right here on our web site. Deadline to apply is March 1, 2015.

Garden Tour

June 21, 2014 by director Leave a Comment

Last week I had the opportunity to visit Seattle Youth Garden Works in preparation for the upcoming annual foundation meeting. SYGW has asked for our support for tools and supplies to maintain their current site at the University of Washington Center of Urban Horticulture and expand to Rainier Beach in South Seattle. SYGW offers homeless and underserved youth in Seattle the opportunity to gain urban farming, cooking, and small business skills in a unique environment. I have been a fan of this Seattle Tilth urban agriculture training program since I first heard about it a few years ago and was excited to finally make the time to go out to the farm for a foundation site-visit.

Fortunately, it was a beautiful sunny day in Seattle so I could leave my umbrella and mud boots at home. Kristen Roewer, Program Coordinator, showed me around the plot of land at the UW. The site feels far from city life, even though it’s within site of Husky Stadium. Rows of chard and lettuce greeted me, along with pea vines climbing a fence near one of two greenhouses. Kristen proudly showed off the arugula, a SYGW specialty. Apparently arugula is labor intensive to harvest, so many growers shy away. Labor is easy to come by on this farm though, so the youth grow and sell arugula, along with many other crops, at two local farmers markets. I got to try a delicacy new to me – arugula flowers! I had been pruning back my own shoots, but after learning about the flowers on the farm that day, I’m now letting them grow in my own garden.

Recently, the program has begun to also focus on nutrition and cooking. Once a week the youth gather at the shelter on site to prepare a meal together so they can learn to cook what they grow. Not only does this teach them skills for their own kitchens, but gives them another way to connect with customers at the weekly farmers markets they sell produce at (in Wallingford and the U-District). I was of course delighted, since I’ve just completed two years of graduate study in food systems and strongly believe in the connection between what and how we eat. I was invited back at the farm this summer to join Kristen and the youth for a meal – I can’t wait! And since my brother Bryan, our PFF President, lives just blocks from the Wallingford Farmers Market, I’ll join him sometime soon to buy produce I saw being grown on this special plot of land.

Site Visit to FEEST

May 31, 2014 by director Leave a Comment

Grant-making has always been my favorite part of our family foundation so when the grant committee needed someone in Seattle to make a site-visit to one of our applicants, I jumped at the chance. FEEST (Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team) is an awesome organization that I’ve written about before. They are doing work that I am deeply passionate about – building community through shared meal experiences.

I was invited to join students, FEEST staff and other community members at Evergreen High School to prepare and eat dinner together. Arriving mid-afternoon at the Home Economics room took me right back to middle school memories. I joined the circle around a table of ingredients as one of the students explained the FEEST community agreements and safety tips. We started with introductions – name, rate of your day from 1-10, and one food you can’t live without for the rest of life. I guessed my day was about a six and offered eggs as my food. Some people were having amazing days, some not so much. Favorite foods around the circle included chocolate and berries – I started to feel I was in the right place! Next we discussed the ingredients in front of us and options for preparing them. And then the meal planning began. Using a method I’m familiar with from grad school called “Yes, and…” we built a menu from the items on the table. One student got us started by naming chicken and pasta as our first dish. The next student built on that with “yes, and… spinach for the chicken and pasta.” The next person in the circle offered “yes, and…smoothies.” The collaboration was inspiring. A few times around the group with contributions from all, we had our dishes:

I got to be on a team with Mariam, to create the stir fry. Everyone got to work chopping, mixing and cooking to a groovy teenage playlist. The space was perfect – plenty of stoves, sinks and counterspace to go around. Staff worked with students to offer tips and creativity filled the room. In about an hour we had a lovely table and more than enough food. We sat down together and I learned about other traditions the FEEST community has developed. Before eating, we shared in several rituals: we each offered one thing we were thankful for, teams introduced their dish and the ingredients used, and finally we took turns serving each other before diving in. What a meal!

After enjoying the fruits of our labor, we all pitched in to clean up. Soon I was in my car on my way home, my day having climbed to a perfect 10. Funny how community and cooking can do that.