Yarg Foundation

About Yarg Foundation

Yarg Foundation’s most distinctive recent pattern is its long-running, multi-year support for civic engagement and leadership in Oregon. A $300,000 third-year grant to Gray Family Foundation sits alongside other recurring commitments that show a preference for sustained funding rather than isolated awards. The foundation also backs local infrastructure that affects daily life, including a $300,000 capital project for the South Lane health clinic in Lane County. Across its recent grants, Yarg Foundation funds community health, youth development, justice reform, reproductive health, and civic capacity. Its grant sizes are often substantial, with several six-figure awards and repeated three-year or year-specific commitments. The pattern suggests a funder that works through targeted partnerships with Oregon organizations rather than broad, open-ended giving. The grant list also shows an emphasis on organizations that build local systems and serve defined communities. In civic work, the foundation has supported Oregon Values and Beliefs Center and Partnership for Safety and Justice. In health-related work, it has backed Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon and OHSU Foundation. The overall picture is of a foundation investing in practical, place-based efforts that strengthen Oregon communities over time.

What Yarg Foundation Funds

In civic engagement and leadership, Yarg Foundation gave $300,000 to Gray Family Foundation for civic engagement leadership in the third year of a three-year commitment, and later awarded $100,000 to Oregon Values and Beliefs Center for civic engagement. That same civic-oriented thread also appears in limited funding for voter education, youth leadership, rural media support, and youth media literacy. Health and family support is another clear area. The foundation gave $110,000 to Planned Parenthood of Southwestern Oregon for the Healthy Families Initiative and $100,000 to OHSU Foundation for the Healthy Families Initiative. A separate $75,097 grant to Oregon Mind Body Institute also fell under Healthy Families. Justice reform and youth intervention show up through support for programs at Partnership for Safety and Justice, Oregon Justice Resource Center, and Youth Rights & Justice. The foundation has also funded youth empowerment, juvenile diversion, and trauma-informed services for youth affected by the criminal legal system.

How Yarg Foundation Gives