Doug Stamm's blog

This week we did something that has only happened five times since the doors of the Meyer Memorial Trust opened 31 years ago. We selected a new trustee.

We are thrilled to announce that Charles Wilhoite is joining

This week is a momentous time here at the Trust. Gerry Pratt – the last remaining trustee who was named in Fred G. Meyer's will establishing a charitable trust from his personal estate – is stepping down from his role as trustee.

Since the Great Recession began in 2007, we've been hearing that we are in a 'New Normal' or are experiencing a 'Great Reset.'

Indeed, it feels like there is a fundamental shift underway in our culture, even after the economy has shown signs of improvement and recovery. Institutions we have relied on for decades and decades are being disrupted. There is a sense that life will never go back to the way it was and we must blaze trails on a new frontier.

When Meyer Memorial Trust invited Oregonians to give us their advice on how best to spend a million dollars for Oregon, we heard a wide range of ideas that address one big issue: economic development.

Given Oregon's higher than average unemployment and food insecurity rates, rising poverty rate and falling median household income, this was not surprising.

I had the honor of speaking at the Willamette Valley Development Officer’s conference last week, which gave me an opportunity to reflect on the next five to 10 years in the independent sector. I thought I would share an abbreviated version with you here, in hopes of encouraging dialogue that will help better position us all for the future. The full version, with illustrations, is available here.
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It might not feel like the beginning of a new year to most of you, but here at Meyer Memorial Trust we celebrate the beginning of our fiscal year on April 1. And for some reason, it always feels a bit like an opportunity to start over. Not as in Groundhog Day, more like another chance to get it right, be the best we can be.

Today we join others in disseminating a report from Multnomah County’s Coalition of Communities of Color that addresses the relationships among foundations and communities of color in Oregon.

You may be wondering what’s going on with MMT’s continuing response to our ideas4oregon project in which we asked for your ideas about how we should spend the first million dollars of the second $500 million we award.

Quite a lot, as it turns out.

I’m excited to announce today the launch of our first project rising from ideas4oregon. (We’ve given short updates on our other two ideas4oregon projects in this week’s news alert.) READ MORE

Here at Meyer Memorial Trust, we celebrate more than one new year each year, and try to use those occasions as opportunities for reflection and forecasting. We did that at the end of the calendar year and now we want to use our transition from one fiscal year to the next on April 1st to look back and ahead in a more formal, organized way.

There's no getting around it, 2010 has been a harsh year for Oregon and Clark County, Washington. We continue to suffer effects of The Great Recession with an unemployment rate stuck higher than the national average... Despite these and other sobering realities, I remain very optimistic about our state's future. And it's not just holiday cheer leading me down that yellow brick road. Nor is it merely