Our History
The Legacy of John & Betty Gray
Our founders, John and Betty Gray, believed that time spent outdoors could improve lives and communities. Through their legacy of lifting up organizations whose work makes nature more accessible to more people, Gray Family Foundation has supported Oregon’s outdoor educators, stewards, and allies for over two decades.
Over 20 Years
“What my family and their successors will choose to support I do not know - they should not look over their shoulders to think about what the founders might want. They will use good common sense in making grants pertinent to the needs of the times to help our Oregon communities and people. These are not large funds - but if wise choices are made, those new programs and grants will have a positive impact on Oregon life.”
John Gray
Our Current Strategies
- Champion and invest in safe, accessible, and engaging experiential learning opportunities for youth that center and reflect the perspectives, traditions, and knowledge of diverse populations across Oregon and supports youth stewardship of communities and natural systems.
- Champion and invest in educators, programs, and networks that provide place-based, experiential, and geography education opportunities for youth that foster understanding and appreciation of place and our connection to land and our local and global communities.
- Ensure youth across Oregon have access to safe, accessible, and inclusive places to learn about and connect with the outdoors through investments in camp facilities.
- Invest in relationships with youth, educators, and community leaders to identify, support, and advocate for community-led and driven solutions which align with our mission and hold the greatest potential to uplift community and environmental stewards.
- Identify, explore, and pursue research, coalition-building, narratives, and policies which help ensure youth across Oregon, regardless of background, have opportunities to learn in, work in, and advocate for healthy environments and communities.
Our Tactics
- Engage in policy advocacy, and narrative change as tools to resource, build, and support youth as active stewards of our communities and environment.
- Convene grantees, funders, and other stakeholders to increase collaboration and shared resources, disseminate effective practices, network and build movements, and catalyze new ideas.
- Work to ensure grantmaking processes and investments build trust, share decision-making power, and center projects and organizations that reflect and amplify diverse perspectives, traditions, knowledge, and relationships of the people across Oregon.
- Examine, challenge, and activate to dismantle the systems, practices, and policies related to our mission that reinforce disparities amongst Oregon communities.
- Examine, challenge, and evaluate our own internal assumptions, practices, and policies as they relate to our history, mission, goals, and definition of impact.