The South Benton Library Project continues to advance ever closer to
securing the funds needed to begin construction on the anticipated new
library facility in Monroe that will serve the residents of south Benton
County for many years to come. In recent weeks an additional $50,000 has
been added to the project’ s coffers as a result of a grant awarded by The
Collins Foundation. The Collins Foundation, created in 1947 by Truman W.
Collins and other members of the family of E.S. Collins, is an independent
private foundation. The Collins Foundation exists to improve, enrich, and
give greater expression to the religious, educational, cultural, and scienti c
endeavors in the state of Oregon and to assist in improving the quality of
life in the state. The Foundation works through existing agencies and have
supported proposals submitted by colleges and universities, organized
religious groups, arts, cultural and civic organizations, and agencies devoted
to health, welfare and youth. This award is contingent upon raising the
balance of the necessary funds to complete the project.
This grant, along with recent awards from the Ford Family Foundation,
The James and Marion Miller Foundation, and the Meyer Memorial Trust,
strengthens the position of the Library Project in its application for a
Community Development Block Grant. The application for this federally
sponsored award was submitted in June and awardees will be announced this
August.
The Library Project has raised more than $840,000 since starting its capital
campaign in 2008. Tax-deductible contributions from the public toward
construction of the Library are still being accepted. Send checks made
payable to “ The South Benton Library Project” to PO Box 591, Monroe OR
97456.
