Our Impact
Cycle Oregon doesn’t just expose riders to richly diverse Oregon communities. It also provides much-needed financial support to those communities. Proceeds from the rides have been placed in the Cycle Oregon Fund at the Oregon Community Foundation since January 1996, when Cycle Oregon created its fund at the Oregon Community Foundation. We have now awarded 382 grants totaling $2.9 million through our community and signature grants.
Cycle Oregon also provides approximately $150,000 each year to community groups for the services they provide on our events. They assist greatly in planning our events and provide hundreds of volunteers whose passion and dedication make our rides a success.
Apply for a Community Grant
Grants awarded through the Cycle Oregon Fund support projects and programs throughout Oregon in three key areas: Environmental Conservation and Historic Preservation, Bicycle Safety & Tourism and Community Projects.
Community Grants
Cycle Oregon’s community grants program helps provide important support for communities. Projects fit into one of three categories: Environmental Conservation and Historic Preservation, Bicycle Safety & Tourism and Community Projects.
2022 grantees include:
- The first bike racks installed in Toledo
- Construction of a play yard in St. Helens
- Funding for Shift Community Cycles R.A.C.E program
- Building an outdoor community space in Fossil
- Funds for the Upper McKenzie Community Center’s ADA accessible remodel
- Multilingual information boards in Halsey
- and more! See our recent blog post for a complete list of 2022 grant recipients
Signature Grants
Cycle Oregon’s signature grants are determined by Cycle Oregon’s board of directors. Signature grants have provided important funding to catalyze or conclude important projects that have statewide impact.
Grants Awarded
- Signature Grants
- Community Grants
Stories
When Cycle Oregon rolls through town with a couple thousands riders, tents, and bikes and everything that goes with it, the casual observer may see organized chaos. But look a little closer and you’ll see prosperity and community riding into these rural Oregon towns as well. These cyclists aren’t just passing through – they are connecting with the locals, spending in local establishments, and hopefully making plans to come back real soon. And that is what Cycle Oregon is all about. Since the very beginning, Cycle Oregon has been giving back to the Oregon communities that have given so much to us. Over the last 31 years, grants from the Cycle Oregon Fund have gone to preserve historic buildings, to protect natural resources, to create programs for low income families, and have helped make Oregon even more bike friendly than it already is.
To highlight some of the ways in which Cycle Oregon and its riders have helped make it possible for important work to be done in the state, we created a series of videos.
Wallowa Lake Moraines
Cycle Oregon loves the Wallowas. How can you not? The beautiful lake, the gorgeous mountains, the friendly people. That’s why we were very excited to be able to provide funding through the Cycle Oregon Fund to help in the formation of the Wallowa Lakes Moraines Partnership 11 years ago.
The big news is that just last week the WLMP reached an agreement to purchase 1,800 acres of the east moraine from a private family to make that land county-owned by 2020! This means 60% of the east moraine will be conserved, converted into responsibly managed forest, and handed over to the community. This exciting new purchase perfectly aligns with the Partnership’s goals of maintaining sustainable working landscapes to contribute to the local economy and rural ways of life, providing public access respectful of the landscape and its scenic beauty, and protecting open space for wildlife, recreation and natural resources. The uniquely unspoiled nature of this area will live on and we are thrilled to have been part of it.
Pine Valley Fairgrounds
Last year’s Classic traveled through Pine Valley and got a taste of their warm hospitality and amazing surroundings. This video focuses on the Pine Valley Fairgrounds and how a grant from Cycle Oregon has helped the community weather a tough storm and continue with their way of life.
Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland
The Nez Perce people have a deep connection with the land surrounding Joseph and Wallowa that goes back thousands of years. They lived in reciprocity with the land here until 1877 when, under pressure from the US Government, Chief Joseph and the walwáama band of Nez Perce were forcibly removed. What followed was a violent and months-long military pursuit of fleeing families. The people of Wallowa were eventually captured and punished for their desire to be free when they were exiled to the Colville Reservation in northern Washington. Today, dispersed tribal members again steward this land, as Board Members for the Nez Perce Wallowa Homeland. Recently grants from Cycle Oregon helped the tribal-led nonprofit acquire 320 acres of their homeland, establishing a place for descendants to gather, celebrate their customs, and to sustain their culture.
Elgin Opera House
In September 2019, when Cycle Oregon was in Elgin, we were treated to a sneak peek performance of Mary Poppins by a cast made up of local performers of all ages. These talented actors blew the roof off the 108 year old theatre/city hall/ onetime jail and won the hearts of everyone in attendance that night. Grants from Cycle Oregon have helped in the restoration of the Opera House and continue to support the programs that bring musical theatre, and a greater sense of community, to this part of rural Oregon.