September 4th – Lisa Mensah, CEO of Oregon Community Foundation
Born and raised in Oregon, Lisa Mensah joined Oregon Community Foundation in 2022 after an illustrious career working on rural poverty and later serving as Under Secretary for Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She will speak about her journey from banker to grant maker. At OCF, Lisa leads a foundation with $3.6 billion under management and a statewide mission to improve the lives of all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy.
Program Chair: Jenn Columbus
Meeting Location: Willamette Heritage Center – Dye House
Update on Alternative Meeting Site Research
I wanted to take this opportunity to bring you up to date on our alternative meeting location research. As I mentioned in a previous column, our weekly rent for the Dye House will increase almost 90% effective September 1. With the addition of new storage fees monthly, our annual rental expenses will increase by $10,000 if we choose to remain at the Willamette Heritage Center.
As a result, a committee has looked at 10 possible sites. Most of the sites were either not available weekly or were too expensive. Two sites have been identified that are available weekly, have enough parking and the rental cost would be $125 or less per meeting.
At the Board meeting on September 10, we will review the options and vote to determine if we will select a new site or if we need more time to look at other options.
Your board of directors will continue to keep you updated on our progress.
I’m looking forward to seeing you on September 4 as we kick off Salem Rotary Foundation month.
President Cathy Grimes
Rotary Club of Salem
2024-2025
