Who We Are

The Oregon Natural Resources Education Fund (ONREF) is a community field of interest fund administered through the Oregon Community Foundation. The fund was established in early 2001 to provide funds to establish, expand, improve, and maintain forest-related natural resources education opportunities in Oregon high schools. Specifically, the fund provides charitable distributions to Oregon public or private high schools that commit to provide educational opportunities in the field of forestry, which will integrate wood products, silviculture, harvesting, fisheries, wildlife, water, soils, recreation and the management of other forest-related natural resources of Oregon and related career and leadership development.

How You can Help Promote Natural Resources Education?

The Oregon Natural Resources Education Fund at The Oregon Community Foundation offers a number of opportunities to make an important contribution that will promote natural resources education within Oregon's high schools. You may make a gift or bequest of any size to the ONREF endowment, which will provide a perpetual resource to benefit this program.  Gifts of appreciated assets, such as securities, timberland, or other real estate can be especially advantageous to donors.

If you would like more information on starting a new school or region-specific sub-fund please contact one of the ONREF advisory committee members listed in the contacts section.  Contributions may be made payable to the ONREF Fund of OCF, or to an ONREF Sub-fund (specify which sub-fund) at the Oregon Community Fund address listed below.  All contributors will receive a gift acknowledgement letter from OCF for their tax records.  Download, print-out and mail a contribution using the downloaded form here.

Please contact David Westcott at the OCF Eugene office to find out more about how your contribution can benefit the Oregon Natural Resources Education Fund.

The Oregon Community Foundation
440 East Broadway
Suite 160
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone 541.431.7099
Contact OCF by website  or Email

Community Field of Interest Fund

The Oregon Community Foundation seeks the advice and counsel of an advisory committee on making distributions from this fund.  The Oregon Natural Resources Education Fund Association was established for this particular purpose.  The membership of the advisory committee is comprised of individuals with a demonstrated commitment to high quality, responsible forest-related natural resource education.  Contributions in any amount may be made to the state-wide fund.

Subfunds

In order to provide support for more local or regional high school forestry/natural resource  education programs, ONREF was set up to allow any number of sub-funds (with a minimum of $10,000) to be established under the charter of the main fund.  This allows the opportunity for a donor to contribute to a natural resources education program at a particular school or to programs within a particular county or region.  The sub-funds are also set up to allow local representation on the advisory committee.