Posted on May 29, 2004

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Tribal Casino Revenues Put to Good Use in Oregon

Once struggling to stay alive after the federal government had sold most of its reservation and terminated its tribal status, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde today operate one of the top ten charitable foundations in Oregon, Gambling Magazine reports.

The Spirit Mountain Community Fund, which distributed $4.6 million to charitable causes last year and has given away nearly $25 million since 1997, was created in 1997 when the tribes, seeking permission from the state to expand their Spirit Mountain casino, offered to donate 6 percent of net revenues to charity in an eleven-county region. The proposal, which was accepted, set the stage for Oregon to become the only state where tribal casinos formalize their charitable giving through a compact with state government. Today, Spirit Mountain reports profits of $75 million a year — money that is used to finance tribal housing, health care, and college scholarships as well as the tribes' charitable activities.

"It was a revolutionary step...in Indian Country," said former Democratic congressman Les AuCoin, who sponsored legislation restoring the group's tribal status in 1983. "It's an amazing thing to see what was a dirt-poor tribe now in a position not only to help its own young people and elders, but to make charitable contributions to the non-Indian community as well."

Portland, the primary source of the casino's customers, receives roughly 65 percent of the tribes' grant dollars. A $250,000 grant helped rescue the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry when it was facing bankruptcy in 1997, while other grants have helped local school districts avoid budget cuts. So when the Spirit Mountain fund put its monthly charitable contributions on hold last month while issues related to a conflict-of-interest investigation were being resolved, nonprofits around the state got nervous. "Oregon's had a tough economy. It's got a limited area of philanthropy," said Mitchell Jacover, executive director of Raphael House, a battered women's shelter in Portland that counts on the $50,000 it receives from the fund. "When you lose a major player, it's just huge."

With the issue apparently settled, the fund expects to resume its grantmaking, on a quarterly as opposed to monthly basis, when its board meets in July. "Now it's a role reversal, with folks coming to the tribe seeking money to fund nonprofits, feed homeless children, and provide food for food banks," commented Brent Merrill, editor of the tribal newspaper. "It fits into the tribes' traditions. The idea of giving back to the community has always been important."

“Oregon's Biggest Casino Is Major Philanthropist.” Gambling Magazine 5/23/04.

Primary Subject: Philanthropy and Voluntarism
Secondary Subject(s): Minorities, Native Americans
Location(s): Oregon

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