Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation

The nonprofit sponsored the left-of-center Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle which screens movies and documentaries designed to promote left-of-center to far-left political and cultural views. ²

In 2022, the nonprofit, along with other members of the Lamfrom family, made a large donation to Oregon Public Broadcasting, which established a new studio named after Gert Boyle, Marie Lamform’s daughter, ³ and donated to a fund sponsored by the left-of-center Tides Foundation. ⁴

Background

Marie Lamfrom’s granddaughter Sally Bany and her husband Dave founded the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation in 1998. ¹

Marie Lamfrom founded Columbia Sportswear company in 1938 after she and her husband emigrated from Germany. Her daughter, Gert Boyle, took over Columbia Sportswear after Marie Lamfrom retired from the business. Boyle died in 2019 and left a portion of her fortune to the nonprofit. ¹

2022 Donations

Tides Foundation Contribution

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation gave $50,000 to the left-of-center funder Tides Foundation for the Oregon Futures Lab Education Fund. ⁴

Largest Donations

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation’s largest donation was $250,000 to Generations With Pride for a LGBT senior community center. ⁴

The nonprofit’s two second-largest donations were $200,000 each to Street Roots, a weekly Portland, Oregon newspaper, ⁵ and Vanessa Behan, a crisis parenting facility in Spokane, Washington, which helps parents who are unable to provide safe shelter and care for their children. ^{6 4}

Ukraine-Related Contributions

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation donated $100,000 to Baker School District 5J in Baker City, Oregon, to support Ukrainian exchange students. ⁴

The nonprofit also made a $25,000 donation to Doctors Without Borders and a $25,000 donation to World Central Kitchen for their Russo-Ukrainian War response. ⁴

Donations To Support DEI

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation donated $15,000 to Portland, Oregon-based Advance Gender Equity In The Arts; $15,000 to Amina Mundi Productions for a program featuring only non-white composers and performing artists; $25,000 to the Black United Fund of Oregon, $35,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Salem, Marion, and Polk Counties to improve educational outcomes for non-white youth; $65,000 to Chicktech to increase the numbers of women in technology; $10,000 to Coho Productions Ltd. which focuses on “the works of marginalized people”; ⁷ $35,000 to Columbia River Mental Health Services to increase “Latinx” navigators; $40,000 to the Community Center for the Performing Arts to “cultivate more community diversity;” $50,000 to Creative Justice for expanded QT/non-white and restorative justice programming; $100,000 to Crisis Connections for a senior level diversity officer; $20,000 to Cymaspace for disability-led arts; $75,000 to Daisy Chain for doula and lactation programs based on the far-left principle of equity; $25,000 to Dignity For Divas for their “food equity program”; $35,000 to Familias En Accion for expansion of community councils in numerous equity programs; $30,000 to FEEST (Food Empowerment Education and Sustainability Team) for non-white youth leaders; $173,500 to the Girl Scouts of Oregon & SW Washington for “accessibility and inclusivity programming”; $100,000 to Harper’s Playground for “inclusive play”; $180,000 to Latino Network; $25,000 to Neighborhood House for “equity and community well-being”; $10,000 to North Clackamas Education Foundation for the Native Parents Group; $50,000 to Open Arms Perinatal Services to “increase birth equity”; $25,000 to Open Signal for the “black mircoeconomy”; $50,000 to Our Children Oregon for “equity-centered policy”; $50,000 to Period, Inc. to “expand & promote menstrual equity and health”; $25,000 to Salem Free Clinics for free access to healthcare for Latinos; $45,000 for The Marie Equi Institute for LGBT “data justice”; $50,000 to Together We Are Greater Than for “racially just learning environments”; and $35,000 to Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington for “equitable access to arts integration.” ⁴

Environmental Causes

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation gave $50,000 to Adopt One Block, $50,000 to Columbia Land Trust, $41,000 to Columbia Springs Environmental Education, $30,000 to EarthGen, $20,000 to Ecology In Classrooms & Outdoors, $25,000 to OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, $30,000 to the Trust For Public Land, and $35,000 to the Wind & Oar Boat School. ⁴

Immigration

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation gave $30,000 to the Afghan Support Network, $50,000 to the Immigration Counseling Service, $25,000 to Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon for immigrant food programs, $25,000 to the Portland Refugee Support Group, $25,000 to Sanctuary One, $40,000 to Tacoma Refugee Choir, and $10,000 to The Immigrant Story. ⁴

Education

The nonprofit also donated $50,000 to the left-of-center Stand For Children Leadership Center and $50,000 to Stand For Children Oregon. ⁴

Oregon Public Broadcasting

In 2022, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, along with groups and people affiliated with the family, made a large donation to Oregon Public Broadcasting. As a result, OPB named a studio after Gert Boyle. ³

Social Justice Film Festival

Beginning in 2023, the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation supported the Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle, Washington. The festival presented films from a left-of-center to far-left cultural and political viewpoint. ²

According to the festival, it featured films on topics such as “incarceration, Indigenous futures, immigrant rights, the environment and sustainability, oppression, race and racism, gender equality, the arts and rights of expression and speech, animal rights, alternative lifestyles and economies, disenfranchisement, water and food insecurity, economic disparity, homelessness, exploitation, corruption, and more.” ⁸

Leadership

The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation’s president is Tyler Hobbs. Hobbs has been at the foundation since 2020. ⁹

The nonprofit’s chair is its founder, Sally Bany. ⁴

Finances

According to the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation’s 2022 tax return, the nonprofit reported $12,256,261 in revenue, $18,470,990 in expenses, and $330,866,009 in assets. ⁴