Inside Philanthropy posted a quick story following Meyer's latest batch of awards. Interestingly, the focus was on how Meyer fits in the mold of national funders who have taken on inequities, most notably the Ford Foundation.
Here's their take:
Now, the Meyer Memorial Trust, one of the largest private foundations in Oregon, is rolling out a new strategy to create a more "equitable Oregon."
This change comes after a two-year journey of rethinking how it gave grants. Meyer went about this in the same way that other funders around the country have been: embarking on listening tours and talking with nearly 2,000 nonprofit leaders. After all that input, Meyer emerged with four new priorities: solving inequities in community building, the environment, affordable housing, and education. (The best way to understand Meyer’s new approach is by reading the latest blog by Candy Solovjov, its director of programs.)
As with the shift by Ford and other foundations that have zeroed in on equity, Meyer's new strategy hardly amounts to a dramatic dethroning of its past approach—since this progressive funder has long worried about equity issues in Oregon.
You can read the whole story here.