In honor of Give!Guide’s Big Garden Day today (more below), I want to share just how much ArtsWatch has been sprouting up in recent years. As our longtime friend Nyla McCarthy put it:

“It’s just so impressive how you guys have built this little engine that could into a full scale train for our community. Proud to have been a subscriber since the very beginning.”

We’re just a little amazed ourselves. How did we get here?

In late 2019 ArtsWatch was awarded a large grant that it was not expecting from the Oregon Community Foundation, for arts education coverage. It was a game-changer. That grant was a validation of ArtsWatch’s essential arts news. It made us believe in ourselves to stand up taller and dream bigger. It changed lives.

There was a before period and an after. The year 2020 has deservedly earned a bad rap for disasters, but it marked a new beginning for ArtsWatch and ushered in astonishing growth. In early 2020, I was the lone business manager of the organization, but since then it has added:

• Tech Manager
• Sponsorship Manager
• Marketing and Development Associate
• Bookkeeping consultant
• Marketing consultant
• Development consultant
• Graphic designer
• A larger, cohesive, working board of directors and several committees (strategy, finance, development, marketing & engagement, and board recruitment)

It’s not like that grant paid for all these things. Those funds were for one programming area, but they reverberated in everything that ArtsWatch does. They opened opportunities and multiplied many times over.

They seeded new coverage areas and more deeply reported stories that made a consequential impact. To name a few:

• Indigenous History & Resilience series reached 15,000 people, was selected as a reading assignment for 700 college students, and attracted interviews, speaking engagements, job opportunities, and republishing requests.
• Banned books series reached more than 7,000 readers, was picked up around the nation, reposted by the State Library Association, and won a Diversity and Inclusion Award from the Asian American Journalists Association.
• Libraries at Risk coverage explains how these vital community resources are in a bitter fight for intellectual freedom as funding has been threatened or suddenly stripped.

And what of stories about arts education, where every budding artist gets a chance to take root? ArtsWatch’s story about the Oregon Writing Festival, which has been nurturing young writers for 40 years, garnered this comment from Janet Giski Gillespie: 

“What great coverage of a very special event. I hope it will increase awareness among educators throughout the state to help make this opportunity available to more students next year.”

ArtsWatch is a walking poster child for the transformation and impact that philanthropy can have.

Support ArtsWatch today!

Stories have power. Your donation goes directly to pay writers to bring you stories about budding artists and so much more. 

As a statewide anchor institution, ArtsWatch strengthens the entire arts ecosystem, so every donation creates a big ripple effect to support many artists at once. 

Plant the seeds of change. Help ArtsWatch grow into the future.

Look at all the incentives!

🎟️ TIMELY GIVEAWAY: The first 6 donors of $50 will win a pair of tickets to The Enchanted Toyshop presented by The Portland Ballet. This crowd-pleasing, family-friendly ballet has 3 shows on Nov. 29. More information.

🎟️ GIVEAWAY: The first donation of $150 will receive a ticket voucher for Artists Repertory Theatre. Each voucher is valid for two tickets to any ART show.

🎟️ GIVEAWAY: The first donation of $200 will win a pair of tickets to a Live Wire Radio Speakeasy event. The intimate gatherings of 50-75 guests include food and drink, plus an interview or performance from a special guest. More information.

Give!Guide goes all out with TWO Big Give Days this week!

Big Garden Day on Nov. 11: Donate $10+ through Give!Guide for a chance to win a $500 gift card to Portland Nursery. If you are 35 and under, you have two chances to win – Portland Nursery is offering a second $500 gift card just for younger donors.

Big Beach Day on Nov. 13: Donate $10+ through Give!Guide for a chance to win a getaway to the coast, courtesy of Headlands Coastal Lodge in Pacific City. This package includes:

• A two-night stay at their property near the Cape Kiwanda State Natural Area.
• A $200 dining credit, redeemable on site at the Meridian, a restaurant that overlooks the Pacific Ocean.
• The Sunset Bonfire on the Beach guest experience package.

Consider also supporting our Give!Guide partners

Partner Spotlight: We are proud to be a member of the nonprofit media cohort with organizations that share our commitment to shining a light on essential information through journalism, media, and storytelling. We encourage our supporters to also check out Friends of Willamette Week, The Immigrant Story, The Lund Report, Oregon Humanities, Oregon Journalism Project, Street Roots, Underscore Native News, and XRAY.fm.