Communications and Learning Blog

Two years ago, Meyer Memorial Trust asked Oregonians to suggest how we should spend the first $1 million of our second $500 million in grants to organizations in Oregon. Many thoughtful people responded to our ideas4oregon campaign, submitting nearly 550 great ideas for the public good.

One of the suggestions MMT chose to pursue was to develop a permanent structure Oregonians can use to connect with one another to collaborate across space and time – something we discovered our state lacked – for the good of Oregon.

Oregon Unlimited (coming on Oregon's next birthday!)

Today I'm bringing you up to speed on this project to create an online platform and community that enables Oregonians to connect and take real world action to make our communities, neighborhoods and state better. In our last report on the project, we shared the plan put together by a network of volunteers. Last December, we hired two local firms: Context Partners to build the network and FMYI (for my innovation) to engineer the platform that is becoming Oregon Unlimited. They began their work in December 2011 and have accomplished an awful lot over the past nine months, including:

• four phases of user research and analysis
• launched a beta platform, and added new features and interface improvements every quarter
• recruited and trained 200 users and 10 beta projects
• recruited nearly 300 Oregonians to champion the network

Over the next couple of months we'll be interviewing our beta testers and make additional refinements in a redesigned user interface that we hope will serve as Oregon's 21st century frontier. The official Public Launch will take place on February 14th, 2013 (Happy 153rd Birthday, Oregon!)

We plan to hold launch events in six communities representing all regions around Oregon. We'd like these community events to be more than a mere announcement, but also to celebrate and recognize local folks who are already contributing to their communities through a nomination campaign to identify and celebrate everyday Oregonians who go out of their way to make a difference in our wonderful state.

"I am Oregon" nomination campaign

Nominations will be open from Oct. 3 until Nov. 14, and can be made online (www.iamoregon.org), via telephone (503.451.0705) or by filling out a paper form at an event. Community members will be asked to nominate people doing good in their circles/communities, especially those whose deeds may be going unnoticed and unsung.

Nominators and nominees will be invited to attend the regional launch events, to celebrate the platform and all the good deeds people are doing across Oregon and be eligible for prizes. Each region will choose representatives from among their ranks to represent the region at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, making greater and greater connections with other networks, bringing back learning and experiences to their own region.

What you can do.

I'll bet you know some wonderful people to nominate. Maybe it’s a volunteer fire fighter who helped save a life or a home, a neighbor who collects winter coats for those in need, a local librarian who helps children fall in love with learning or someone who always greets everyone with an optimistic smile. You can nominate as many people as you like.

It would also be awesome if you could help spread the message far and wide and urge folks in your networks to participate. Please freely use the attached poster, flyer and web banner and two sizes of badges (240x400 gif and 300x250 gif) to make sure your community knows about this opportunity. We want to reach every corner of Oregon. An Oregon without limits. Oregon Unlimited.

I wonder if once we start really paying attention to who makes our lives better, it will be hard to stop.

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