© 2025 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Tribal casino revenues fund grants for non-profits; call for applications runs through December

Local kids play foosball at the Boys & Girls Club of Emerald Valley, which has received past grant money from the Three Rivers Foundation.
Photo provided by Richardson Media Relations.
Local kids play foosball at the Boys & Girls Club of Emerald Valley, which has received past grant money from the Three Rivers Foundation.

The charitable arm of the Three Rivers Casino has made an open call for non-profits in several Oregon counties to apply for over a million dollars in grant money.

Patrons at the Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence, Oregon.
Photo provided by Richardson Media Relations.
Patrons at the Three Rivers Casino Resort in Florence, Oregon.

The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians established the Three Rivers Foundation 11 years ago. It distributes casino profits to other groups in need.

Coordinators are encouraging non-profits in Lane, Curry, Coos, Lincoln, and Douglas Counties to apply. Some government agencies and federally recognized tribes in Oregon are also eligible.

Shelby Erickson is the foundation’s grant administrator.

“We typically look at different priorities when we receive applications such as education, health, public safety, problem gambling, the arts, the environment, cultural activities, and even historic preservations.”

Erickson told KLCC that food shares and Boys & Girls Clubs have been recurring applicants. Last year’s total grant distribution was $1.4 million and she expects this year’s amount to be similar.

Grant applications are due December 31.

©2022, KLCC.

Brian Bull is a contributing freelance reporter with the KLCC News department, who first began working with the station in 2016. He's a senior reporter with the Native American media organization Buffalo's Fire, and was recently a journalism professor at the University of Oregon.

In his nearly 30 years working as a public media journalist, Bull has worked at NPR, Twin Cities Public Television, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ideastream in Cleveland. His reporting has netted dozens of accolades, including four national Edward R. Murrow Awards (22 regional),  the Ohio Associated Press' Best Reporter Award, Best Radio Reporter from  the Native American Journalists Association, and the PRNDI/NEFE Award for Excellence in Consumer Finance Reporting.