Museum Funds

This fund supports OJMCHE’s Archives and Collections.

The Craig E Wollner Exhibition Fund supports the museum’s exhibition program which includes community-based and traveling exhibitions related to Jewish cultural heritage and fine art. Our exhibits are developed with the goal of engaging a diverse community, to provide opportunities for Jews and non-Jews alike to understand the Jewish experience as a paradigm for cultural survival and intercultural understanding.

OJMCHE has embarked on a new and exciting project, the Collecting Forward, created to broaden the museum collection by facilitating the purchase works on paper by Oregon Jewish artists.

The Education Fund provides support to OJMCHE’s on- and off-site education programs for students and adults. Our programs build awareness of basic historical information about the history of the Holocaust, address the universal mechanisms through which hatred and discrimination are built and accepted, as well as examine how the Holocaust and Oregon Jewish history relate to current events to teach methods of resistance and civil action. In addition, our programs bring the rich and vibrant culture, stories, and traditions of Jewish communities in Oregon to the region’s schoolchildren.

The Gail Schwartz and Irwin Joseph Family Fund for Holocaust Education in Memory of Ardine Spira and in Honor of Vicki and Charles Spira provides support for professional development for educators across the state.

This fund supports general museum operations.

The Herbert and Ella Ostroff Endowment Fund supports programming for International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The fund was established in memory of Herbert and Ella Ostroff. Ella was a Hungarian survivor of the Holocaust, who, along with her mother, two sisters, and her brother, were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. Ella’s mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers upon arrival. Ella and two of her sisters survived for nearly a year shuffling between Auschwitz, Birkenau, and Dachau. After liberation by American soldiers in 1945, they lived in a displaced person’s camp where they were reunited with their oldest sister. Two years later the sisters immigrated to the United States. Ella met Herbert in 1948 in upstate New York and they eventually married and settled in Portland, where they raised their three children. Herbert died in 2003 and Ella in 2020.

The Judy Margles Education and Culture Fund honors the immeasurable contributions Judy made during her 24-year tenure at OJMCHE. The fund supports educational and cultural initiatives, including programs and exhibitions, and the mission-driven activities of the museum’s executive director.

The Oregon Holocaust Memorial and Education Endowment Fund provides vital annual support for OJMCHE’s Holocaust education program and for the maintenance and repair of the Oregon Holocaust Memorial in Washington Park. Donations to the endowment are held at the Oregon Jewish Community Foundation.

The Nancy Green Memorial Teacher Training Fund in Honor of Regina & Sidney Atlas of OJCF was established in 2020 to support OJMCHE’s on-site and off-site endeavors to bring Holocaust education to all parts of Oregon.

OJMCHE’s Rabbi Joshua Stampfer Cultural Programs Fund provides funding for the films, concerts, lectures, and readings that the museum presents for the community. The programs are often tied into museum exhibits or events happening locally.

The Sarah Cohen-Doherty Human Rights Education Fund was established by Gerald and Ruth Cohen to honor their daughter’s legacy. To learn more about the fund and Sarah Cohen-Doherty, click here.

The Walter Pick Holocaust and Genocide Book Box Fund supports OJMCHE’s efforts to provide K-12 classrooms around Oregon with a curated selection of books to help educators teach students about the Holocaust as well as Jewish history, life, and culture. To learn more about the fund and Walter Pick, click here.