We’re very pleased to announce the results of the fifth cycle of the Northwest History Network’s microfunding program. We received a total of six proposals this year, which were reviewed by a committee of six professionals. The NHN Board has approved funding for the following four proposals that earned enthusiastic support from our reviewers:

Project: “Funding for Two Digital Recorders”

Organization: Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education

Project Director: Anne LeVant Prahl, Curator of Collections

The $250 award will help fund the purchase of two new digital recorders. The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education has an active oral history program, and the purchase of new recorders will provide the equipment that will be needed to collect more interviews for the program.

Project: “Tribal Stories of the Willamette Valley, by David G. Lewis”

Project Director: David G. Lewis, Program Director, Ethnohistory Research, LLC

The $250 award will help to cover the costs of travel for David G. Lewis to various historical societies in the Willamette Valley to conduct research for his forthcoming book, “Tribal Stories of the Willamette Valley.”

Project: “Renton History Live!”

Organization: Renton History Museum

Project Director: Elizabeth P. Stewart, Museum Director

The $250 award will help to offset the costs of supplies for “Renton History Live!,” a program in which historical interpreters will bring to life two historical figures: early 20th-century teacher Florence Guitteau and WWII vet Charles Custer. “Renton History Live!” is the Museum’s first foray into live historical interpretation.

Project: “Free Postcard Outreach Project”

Organization: Aloha Oregon Historical Society

Project Director: Eric Squires, Volunteer-President

The $205.20 award will fund a postcard that helps to celebrate local history by showing historical points of interest on a map, and will also suitable for a walking tour. This postcard will be made available to community members, distributed through businesses, schools, churches, libraries, and the Washington County Museum.

The NHN Board hopes to continue the microfunding program in the future, and please email nhn-board@googlegroups.com if you have suggestions about the program or would like to help out.