FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Elaine Swyt, President, Charbonneau Arts Association at info@charbonneauarts.org OR Eric Hoem, Board of Directors, Sponsors & Donors at erichoem@comcast.net

(Wilsonville, Oregon, November 29, 2022)

We are pleased to announce our “2022 Matching Donation Challenge”. Between now and the end of the year, you can double the impact of your tax-deductible donation. Thanks to several generous supporters, your donations of any size, made by December 31, 2022, will be matched dollar-for-dollar, up to $2,500. We will, of course, accept donations after that date, with gratitude.

Each year this Matching Donation Challenge is one of our major fund-raising activities. Last year’s appeal made it possible to donate and additional $5,000 to the art at Canby and Wilsonville High Schools. Help us continue. Success with this year’s Donation Challenge will make it possible to contribute–and hopefully increase–the amounts we can donate to local art education programs.

Our 2022 Charbonneau Festival of the Arts, June 3, 4 & 5, 2022, was our most successful event ever in our 38-year history. Due to an increase in available space, we exhibited more student art than ever. We added a “Jazz@Charbonneau” music event with the goal of expanding the reach of donations to include performing arts programs in our local high schools. Importantly, our contributions go directly to the art programs and in past years have been used to: buy needed equipment, expand student horizons by financially underwriting field trips to art shows and museums, pay entry fees for regional art competitions where school support was not available, and more.

Your Support is Appreciated by Our Local High Schools

Retired Wilsonville High art teacher Christopher Shotola-Hardt says this about the assistance his school’s art program has received over the years:

“The benefits of the Charbonneau Arts Festival are manifold, from providing an annual venue for appreciating and promoting the arts, to supporting art education budgets in the school. … The track record of this volunteer organization, and the heart behind it its mission, are truly moving. I encourage you to support their efforts.”

Jennifer Dorsey, Visual Arts Teacher at Canby High School, explains the impact of our donations this way:

“Our school district has suffered severe cuts over the years and unfortunately the elective programs are some of the first departments and supply budgets impacted. When our school district eliminated all field trip funding, the donation from Charbonneau Arts allowed the art teachers to bring students to exhibits at the Portland Art Museum and local galleries. For many of these students, this was their first experience at a museum.”

Donate Today to the Matching Donation Challenge

You can donate online at: http://charbonneauarts.org/donate/#match  using your credit card or mail your donation to:

Charbonneau Arts Association
PO Box 1313
Wilsonville, OR 97070

Please remember. Donations may be made directly from a personal IRA to the Charbonneau Arts Association without tax liability to you or to the association. Consult your financial consultant for details. Your contribution is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and makes you eligible to participate in the tax credit program of the Oregon Cultural Trust, as explained here: http://charbonneauarts.org/donate/#otc.

Go here to find out more about our donation programs: http://charbonneauarts.org/donate

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The Charbonneau Arts Association is an all-volunteer organization. Except for administrative and event costs, all donations and festival proceeds go directly to support public art education. Our mission is to provide a venue for the appreciation and promotion of visual arts and other fine arts, create opportunity for local public high school students to exhibit and demonstrate their art. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, all proceeds from our annual Charbonneau Arts Festival are donated to the art programs at Wilsonville and Canby High Schools. Donor information is not shared with or sold to any outside organization. Federal ID# 47-4653404