Nike announced grants totaling $250,000 to 26 local nonprofits and schools through the Nike Employee Grant Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation. The fund, started in May 2010, has provided $500,000 in support, and will grant an additional $1 million over the next two years. The fund seeks to help local nonprofits or schools that wish to join Nike in creating positive social and environmental change, primarily through physical activity. A new grant cycle will run April 15-June 1 for funding in year two of the program.

“We continue to be excited by the creativity and innovation of the efforts we have been able to fund and the community impact that they have,” said Kathy Webb, Nike Employee Marketplace Manager, who chaired the Nike employee group overseeing the program's selection process. “In addition to financial support, we have been able to offer our employees a rewarding opportunity to volunteer with the same organizations we are helping fund.”

The Nike Employee Grant Fund awards are made to nonprofit organizations or schools in the greater Portland area (Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, and Columbia counties in Oregon and Clark County in Southwest Washington) twice a year. Eighty percent of the Nike Employee Grant Fund donations are targeted to organizations that seek to affect social and environmental change through the lens of sport, and 20 percent is to be given to nonprofits making strategic efforts to improve the lives of children and families.

The program's funding priorities are environment, education, inclusion, and health. The minimum grant is $5,000 and most do not exceed $20,000. Grant periods are one year or less and the largest grants are reserved for those with the greatest strategic impact. Complete guidelines, including which projects or organizations are not eligible for funding, are available at www.oregoncf.org/nike and Nikebiz.com.

The second round recipients and brief program descriptions are listed below:

Adelante Mujeres (Forest Grove, OR)
To provide an opportunity for young Latina girls to develop their leadership qualities and improve personal, family and community relationships through soccer.

lbertina Kerr Centers Foundation (Portland, OR)
To create a safe, healthy outdoor recreation space for adolescent boys in Albertina Kerr's Intensive Treatment Program.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Portland Metropolitan Area (Portland, OR)
To improve the graduation rate of youth through targeted reading and writing intervention, with an emphasis on increasing self-esteem that leads to promoting healthy habits.

Children's Justice Alliance (Portland, OR)
To engage families in physical activities in their communities, thereby helping families in which a parent has had criminal justice involvement to better parent their children.

Community Warehouse (Portland, OR)
To reduce waste and conserve resources by promoting reuse of furniture and household items through donations to families in need.

Concordia University (Portland, OR)
To create a structured environment in which children learn playground games, life skills, and conflict resolution.

De Paul Treatment Centers (Portland, OR)
To create a health and fitness program that will assist in providing recovering youth self esteem, a sense of community and a healthy life free from drugs and alcohol.

Gales Creek Camp Foundation (Gales)
To resurface the swimming pool and pool deck at summer camp for children with Type I diabetes.

Hillsboro School District (Hillsboro, OR)
To promote fitness in Lincoln Street students and families through Zumba fitness – an aerobic fitness routine that incorporates Latin music and multicultural dance forms.

KEX Kids Fund (Portland, OR)
To provide no cost vision and hearing care to needy children in the Portland metro area.

Liberty High School (Hillsboro School District)
For the Liberty Fit program, providing every Liberty student not involved in a spring sport a unique opportunity to improve their physical, mental, and social health by training for a half-marathon.

Medical Teams International (Portland, OR)
Provide free dental care to low-income, uninsured children through a network of local partners in order to increase the range and accessibility of health resources.

Mount St. Helens Institute (Amboy, WA)
To introduce underserved Clark County teenagers to healthful hiking and climbing opportunities in Southwest Washington and create lifelong love for outdoor recreation.

Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp (Portland, OR)
To provide an accessible, new challenge course that empowers individuals with disabilities, builds confidence through teamwork, and provides an exciting outdoor experience.

Native American Youth and Family Center (Portland, OR)
To create an innovative dance program offering Urban Hip Hop classes, while engaging youth in physical activity and ultimately the Native traditional dance program.

Parkrose School District
To provide swim lessons and mentorship for underserved youth in the Parkrose School District.

Portland Fruit Tree Project (Portland, OR)
To expand the community harvest program, making more healthy food available to low-income families, and engaging more families in fruit harvesting activities.

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (Portland, OR)
To develop and implement a sustainable fitness program in the Latino community that promotes health & wellness, while addressing physical, mental and social health issues.

Quest Center for Integrative Health (Portland, OR)
To fund groups, workshops, and supplies for women in treatment for breast cancer/survivors to heal physically, emotionally, and socially while developing self-advocacy skills.

Run Portland (Portland, OR)
To create school-based track and field programs at underprivileged middle schools in Portland.

SOLV (Hillsboro, OR)
To engage students in streamside restoration projects, a yearlong program through which the students learn about stream and wetland restoration and community leadership.

Street Yoga (Portland, OR)
To increase health and wellness in vulnerable and diverse communities through yoga and create opportunities for mentorship and leadership for individuals in these communities.

Tigard-Tualatin School District (Tigard, OR)
To increase school engagement and academic success among middle school students of color through participation in organized after-school sports.

VOZ (Portland, OR)
To engage immigrant workers and day laborers through a soccer program and a World Cup Tournament in order to improve community health and encourage cultural exchange.

Woape, Inc. (Brightwood, OR)
For ConnectBack program, creating access and support for youth through Mountain Bike and Hike to improve the health and well being of the youth and community.

Youth Guidance Association (Portland, OR)
To improve the recreational opportunities and physical health for residents at the Charis Ridge residential treatment program operated by Youth Guidance Association.