Who We Are

At Foundations for a Better Oregon (FBO), we are fervent believers in Oregon’s children, families, and communities. We are conveners, researchers, advocates, and storytellers. And we are systems thinkers and bridge builders, reimagining how Oregon supports every child to learn, grow, and thrive.

Kids play on the Oregon coast as education is virtual.

Our Vision

We envision a better Oregon that hears, values, and cares for every child. Communities, policymakers, system leaders, and philanthropy forge networks of trust, honor Oregon’s complexity and move as one to remedy the historical and emerging injustices facing children. Public systems authentically engage families and communities in design and decision-making to uphold our collective commitment to children. Together, Oregonians nurture children’s learning, aspirations, and humanity, and every child knows that they belong.

OUR MISSION

FBO advances Oregon’s commitment to support every child to learn, grow, and thrive. We bridge community, policymakers, and philanthropy to collaborate toward realizing a shared long-term vision for our children and young people.

We Envision an Oregon That Values Every Child

Our People

Our Board of Directors

FBO is a nonprofit organization and a project of Oregon philanthropy. As a collaborative effort, our Board upholds a commitment to bridging vantage points, leveling access to power, and looking beyond the horizon for Oregon’s children and families.

Our Team

At FBO, our multidisciplinary staff leads with a deep love and commitment to all of Oregon’s children—they are the “why” of our work. But make no mistake: the true “team” in our work includes our many partners in community and across sectors.

Our Story

Our story begins in 2004 when a coalition of Oregon philanthropic foundations came together to explore how they might collaboratively address some of Oregon’s most complex challenges. These founders created Foundations for a Better Oregon and set out to learn what mattered most to Oregonians.

A child rides horses in Central Oregon.

FORGE NETWORKS OF TRUST, MOVE AS ONE

Our Story

Our story begins in 2004 when a coalition of Oregon philanthropic foundations came together to explore how they might collaboratively address some of Oregon’s most complex challenges. These founders created Foundations for a Better Oregon and set out to learn what mattered most to Oregonians.

Children and their learning quickly rose to the forefront, prompting FBO to launch the Chalkboard Project—a statewide effort to improve public schools and education outcomes. Oregonians expressed a need to better understand how children and schools were doing; a desire to increase investment in public schools while also better understanding how school districts spent public funds; and a call for classroom teachers to be better supported in their work.

To amplify its impact, much of Chalkboard’s work was adopted into state policy. For example, the TeachOregon program led to new state legislation that strengthened mentorship for student teachers and supported national accreditation for teacher preparation programs. After piloting the CLASS Project and providing technical assistance to the School District Collaboration Fund, Chalkboard worked closely with Governor Kate Brown and the Oregon Legislature to create the Educator Advancement Council (EAC), an innovative state entity dedicated to helping Oregon achieve high-quality, well-supported, and culturally-responsive public educators in every classroom.

A boardwalk winds through Oregon's Painted Hills.

And yet, Chalkboard Project’s approach and impact would not overcome the centuries of injustice and enduring systemic inequities that harm far too many children and families. FBO committed to embarking on a new phase of work, anchored in past learnings but oriented toward a new vision for the future.

Over the last two years, our work has shifted in critical ways to radically accelerate progress for children. We are moving to address the root causes of inequity, which are interconnected and compounding, and dismantle the structural inequities that exist inside and around Oregon’s public education systems. This work demands a theory of change that levels access to power, holds systems accountable to historically underserved communities, and centers community voice in the movement to drive transformative change.

Today, with a revitalized vision and mission, we have retired the Chalkboard Project name and returned to our roots as Foundations for a Better Oregon. With our experience in advocacy, research, convening, and storytelling, we are collaborating with partners to advance a shared, long-term, and community-centered vision for Oregon’s children while strategically responding to real-time opportunities and challenges.