Charitable Giving

The Irvington Community Association (ICA) is proud to be able to give back to our community. The Charitable Giving Program of the ICA has been in place since 1992 and is managed by a committee of the ICA Board. The Oregon Community Foundation advised the ICA Board on the setup of the program and the guidelines for giving.  The guidelines are oriented toward serving the needs of the young people and seniors in our neighborhood.

The program's success is completely dependent upon the success of the the annual Irvington Home Tour.  Thank you to all who organize, manage, and work on the Home Tour Committee. Thank you to all the homeowners who offer their homes for the tour and the volunteers who staff the tour.  None of these awards would be possible without the efforts of these dedicated individuals.

Selection Guidelines

The ICA follows five basic guidelines when selecting organizations to fund through its charitable giving program:

  1. To nurture our children and youth — Our priorities are to help parents build skills for successful child rearing, to improve the quality of child care, to provide positive experiences for youth that will stimulate curiosity and contribute to a sense of self-worth, and to make excellent, challenging education available to all our young people. 

  2. To promote a high quality of life for our elderly citizens — Our priorities are to give older residents opportunities to enrich their lives, to help elders and their families adapt to new life situations caused by aging and to improve the quality of long-term care available for the elderly. 

  3. To improve life for the disadvantaged — Our priorities are to assist the poor, the physically challenged, and those in crisis — to help them improve their lives and achieve long term self-sufficiency. 

  4. To enrich community life through cultural, artistic, athletic and educational awareness — Our priorities are to expand cultural and community education opportunities for our diverse population and to increase the self-sufficiency of enrichment organizations. 

  5. To foster an informed and involved citizenry — Our priorities are to help Irvington residents, including young people, to become effective leaders, to promote community problem solving through training, and to involve diverse groups of people in mutual problem solving.

2024 Award Recipients

The budget for this year’s Grant process was $11,000.

Grant High School All Night Party - $1,500

  • Yearly Senior Party for graduating seniors - provides a safe environment for them to celebrate.

Grant High School PTA - $500

  • One of two high schools for the Irvington catchment. This will make extra funding available to teachers to support further school centered learning such as guest speakers and classroom supplies like books and scientific calculators.

Store to Door - $1,000

  • A new organization from last year, this organization delivers groceries and medication, provides social connection, and free food box deliveries so that homebound seniors and adults with disabilities can live independently. The grant will fund volunteer recruitment and training of folks needed to support these services.

Kinship House - $1,000

  • This organization based in our neighborhood provides foster care youth with mental health therapy to work through trauma related to foster care and adoption, connect with safe adults, and thrive. The grant will provide access to children and their families without insurance or ability to pay out of pocket.

Hancock Preschool - $500

  • Neighborhood preschool. The grant provides financial aid to families who need tuition assistance. 

Meals on Wheels - $500

  • This organization also delivers meals to seniors and provides similar services. We maintained the previous level because they are a national organization and have access to more sources for funding.

Metropolitan Family Service - $1,000

  • Project Linkage is a service run by MFS that provides free transportation services to primarily low-income older adults and people with disabilities so that they may continue to live independently. The grant goes to supporting this program.

Jefferson High School PTSA - $750

  • One of two high school options for the Irvington catchment. The grant is to help with costs related to the annual Jefferson Senior Celebration and purchase a 2024 hoodie for students. 

Jefferson High School Cross Country - NEW - $1,250

  • This will enable the cross country team to host “Big Week” which consists of transporting the team to a different local trail (e.g. Forest Park) for 6 days so that the team can experience running on more varied terrain than city blocks. The afternoon consists of team building and cross-training. The ask will cover lunches, snacks, t-shirts, and team building activities. 

Irvington Elementary PTA - $500

  • The PTA offers scholarships for enrolled students qualifying for free / reduced lunch to take one free after school class per term. 

Harriet Tubman Middle School - $1,000

  • This is the primary middle school serving the majority of Irvington public school students. The grant is to help with family and community engagement initiatives.

Martin Luther King Jr Elementary School - $500

  • School that several Irvington families attend due to the Chinese Immersion program and lottery. Their request is to help fund a makerspace and press in the library so that all students can publish their books and stories. The grants also supports the commercial printing of at least one book to add to the library.  

Alameda School Foundation - NEW! - $500

  • This elementary school will use the fund to help raise funds to address staffing needs at Alameda and other PPS schools. 

Irvington Cooperative Preschool - $500

  • Neighborhood preschool. They requested help with ongoing operating expenses.

Grant Applications

The 2024 Application window is now closed.

The Grant application window opens during the month of March with award decisions occurring in April.

The program has defined criteria for eligibility:

  • a recipient must be either a public school or a 503© organization under federal IRS rules

  • a recipient must either operate within or be headquartered within the boundaries of the Irvington Neighborhood

  • the request must meet at least one of the selection guidelines (see above)

If your school or organization is eligible, please email charitablegiving@irvingtonpdx.com to be placed on the contact list for the next time it opens.

Contact

To learn more about our Charitable Giving program, or to apply for a grant, please email charitablegiving@irvingtonpdx.com