Oregon Folklife Network

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News Release

Oregon Folklife Network Turns To Community Support (Photo) - 12/01/25

EUGENE, Ore. – December 01, 2025

 

Oregon Folklife Network faces a $56,000 gap in funding that needs bridging by January 31st, 2026.  Oregon Folklife Network serves over 280 culture bearers in all 36 counties, bringing huge impact to local communities across Oregon, with two full-time staff and an annual budget of $300,000 per year. As the only state-wide folk & traditional arts program, Oregon Folklife Network provides essential support and programming to culture bearers, a subset of artists who are often overlooked and underserved in the broader arts & culture landscape. 

 

Given the economic turbulence of the past year, even reliable funders like the National Endowment for the Arts and the University of Oregon have been forced to reduce support for Oregon Folklife Network. Through responsive fundraising efforts, Oregon Folklife Network has recouped some of these losses, but more support is needed. To bridge the remainder of the $56,000 funding gap, Oregon Folklife Network is turning to community.  

 

“We’re so grateful for the generous donors who step up in this precarious moment,” says Oregon Folklife Network director, Emily Hartlerode. “Their dollars support not only individual culture bearers, but also the vitality of entire cultural communities who are at heightened risk right now.”

 

This giving season, Oregon Folklife Network invites the public to support Oregon’s traditional artists. “Celebrating cultural heritage is not only a way of preserving traditions, it is also a pathway to building empathy, unity, and a more compassionate society,” says one artist. Culture bearers can be found all over Oregon, and some earn prestigious recognition like Fields Artist Fellow Eddie Melendrez (Chicano Painting), National Heritage Fellow Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim (Palestinian Embroidery), and Taproot Fellow Inna Kovtun (Ukrainian Singing).

 

Visit our secure giving portal to make a one-time or recurring donation and help Oregon Folklife Network bridge this short-term funding gap.

Attached Media Files: EddieMelendrezImagebyDesireaStottRodgers.jpg, FeryalAbbasiGhnaimImagebyJenDougherty.png, InnaKovtunImageprovidedbyInnaKovtun.png,

Oregon Folklife Network Turns To Community Support (Photo) - 12/01/25

EUGENE, Ore. – December 01, 2025

 

Oregon Folklife Network faces a $56,000 gap in funding that needs bridging by January 31st, 2026.  Oregon Folklife Network serves over 280 culture bearers in all 36 counties, bringing huge impact to local communities across Oregon, with two full-time staff and an annual budget of $300,000 per year. As the only state-wide folk & traditional arts program, Oregon Folklife Network provides essential support and programming to culture bearers, a subset of artists who are often overlooked and underserved in the broader arts & culture landscape. 

 

Given the economic turbulence of the past year, even reliable funders like the National Endowment for the Arts and the University of Oregon have been forced to reduce support for Oregon Folklife Network. Through responsive fundraising efforts, Oregon Folklife Network has recouped some of these losses, but more support is needed. To bridge the remainder of the $56,000 funding gap, Oregon Folklife Network is turning to community.  

 

“We’re so grateful for the generous donors who step up in this precarious moment,” says Oregon Folklife Network director, Emily Hartlerode. “Their dollars support not only individual culture bearers, but also the vitality of entire cultural communities who are at heightened risk right now.”

 

This giving season, Oregon Folklife Network invites the public to support Oregon’s traditional artists. “Celebrating cultural heritage is not only a way of preserving traditions, it is also a pathway to building empathy, unity, and a more compassionate society,” says one artist. Culture bearers can be found all over Oregon, and some earn prestigious recognition like Fields Artist Fellow Eddie Melendrez (Chicano Painting), National Heritage Fellow Feryal Abbasi-Ghnaim (Palestinian Embroidery), and Taproot Fellow Inna Kovtun (Ukrainian Singing).

 

Visit our secure giving portal to make a one-time or recurring donation and help Oregon Folklife Network bridge this short-term funding gap.

Attached Media Files: EddieMelendrezImagebyDesireaStottRodgers.jpg, FeryalAbbasiGhnaimImagebyJenDougherty.png, InnaKovtunImageprovidedbyInnaKovtun.png,