Over the course of nearly 45 years, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has supported more than 3,000 organizations to fulfill its mission of enriching the quality of life in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Recently, the Murdock Trust’s accomplished program director, Jan Kennedy Ferguson, retired after 20 meaningful years of service.A great asset to the Trust, Ms. Ferguson used her experience, dedication, and talents to help people across the Pacific Northwest. She served exclusively in one role for 20 years and succeeded in distributing $105,683,674 across 601 grants. This amount represents approximately 10 percent of the Murdock Trust’s total funding since it was founded.Ms. Ferguson guided various organizations through the grant application process and beyond so they could successfully execute their projects in the areas of arts, education, human services, and rural health. The organizations that benefited from Ms. Ferguson’s direction include the Portland Art Museum, Ruby Valley Hospital, and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.
For nearly 45 years, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has served individuals, families, and communities in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, by offering grant awards to enrichment programs. One of the Murdock Trust's grant recipients is Saint Martin’s University, which received $800,000.According to the 2017 STEM Education Report Card published by the Washington State STEM Education Innovation Alliance, the state is experiencing growth in STEM-related jobs, but has continuously ranked low in producing graduates with STEM degrees. As a result, employers are forced to hire from out-of-state talent. The construction of a new and well-equipped science building will be instrumental in Saint Martin’s University’s efforts of meeting the nation’s demands for STEM graduates and boosting Washington’s economy. With the Murdock Trust’s grant, the university aims to build a 30,000-square foot science classroom and laboratory building that will be used by students, researchers, and faculty members for conducting classes and STEM research. The new building will be located near the Panowicz Foundry for Innovation and the E.L. Wiegand Laboratories where the current lectures and research on engineering and computer science are held. The new science building is expected to open in the fall of 2019, and will be the main hub for student-faculty research and collaboration.
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded more than $975 million to support educational, cultural, and social initiatives that focus on enriching the lives of the people in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The people behind the Murdock Trust share the organization’s goals of helping others live a full and meaningful life.As the Murdock Trust draws close to its 44th anniversary, the organization also wishes to celebrate the outstanding dedication and leadership of Jan Kennedy Ferguson as she steps down from her role as program director. Ferguson has been a tremendous leader and a role model to her staff and colleagues. During her tenure, Ferguson spearheaded the allocation of $105,683,673 to over 600 grants in the region. For 20 years, Ferguson worked closely with other nonprofits, public and private organizations, health care agencies, and schools, such as the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Thrive, RiverStone Health Foundation, Portland Art Museum, Union Gospel Mission, World Forestry Center, and many more. Ferguson’s extensive knowledge and her genuine interest in helping people will be truly missed.
Established in 1975, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust focuses on enriching and expanding communities across Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. One of the entities that the Murdock Trust has supported through a grant is Young Life’s Malibu Club, which serves the needs of Princess Louisa Inlet, British Columbia, campers.Originally constructed as a 1940s resort that attracted elite Hollywood guests, the Malibu Club was acquired by Young Life in 1954 and converted into a camp facility. With the locale accessible only by float plane and boat, Malibu provides a caring and accepting environment for teens as they take part in activities such as sailing, cycling, and horseback riding.One of the buildings initially constructed at the Malibu Club, the Nootka dorm required extensive renovation to bring it up to code and make it suitable for campers. The Murdock Trust was proud to assist financially in improving the experience of youth as they explored the outdoors.
Since its establishment in 1975, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has significantly improved the lives of those living in the Pacific Northwest. The Murdock Trust is committed to the continuous support of community programs that promote idea-sharing and purposeful stewardship among the region’s inhabitants.One of the earliest recipients of the Murdock Trust’s grants in 1976, the Oregon Symphony used its first grant award to help its orchestra tour several schools in the Portland metropolitan area and perform in front of approximately 42,000 students. Since then, the Oregon Symphony’s popularity has increased, necessitating assistance with the modernization of its website and ticketing system.The Murdock Trust has answered this call with a more recent grant that will support the Oregon Symphony’s efforts to enhance its website and implement a digital ticketing system that will enable viewers to browse the schedule of events, plan their visits, and purchase tickets conveniently. This high-tech initiative will also help Symphony personnel to save time and focus their energy on practicing their repertoire and bringing their music and creativity to local schools and organizations.
For more than 40 years, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has supported projects of significance throughout the Pacific Northwest in areas, such as education, science research, and arts and culture. At its most recent quarterly meeting, Murdock Trust's program director, Jan Kennedy Ferguson, announced her retirement.Ferguson served as the trust's program director for 20 years, during which time she facilitated more than 600 grants worth a combined $105 million, which equates to roughly 10 percent of the trust's overall grantmaking since its creation in 1975. During her time with the trust, Ferguson championed programs benefiting women's health and rural communities. Also, according to executive director Steve Moore, Ferguson served as a role model and leader for everyone involved with the Washington-based trust.Among others, Ferguson's nonprofit expertise led to the distribution of grants to the Ruby Valley Hospital, Union Gospel Mission, Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the Riverstone Health Foundation. Kim Newman, who has been affiliated with the foundation for eight years through its Partners in Science program, has been hired to replace Ferguson as program director.
A nonprofit organization created to fund arts, culture, scientific research, health and human services and education projects throughout the Pacific Northwest, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust is led by trustees Jeff Grubb, John Castles, and Jeff Pinneo. In regard to education, Murdock Trust has supported numerous institutions, including Portland State University (PSU). With its grant funding, PSU purchased a high-performance computing cluster to further its computation-intensive research regarding the effects of transportation chokes and pollutants on regional and global atmosphere quality. Utilizing data obtained from their studies, researchers at the school's Center for Climate and Aerosol Research hope to create changes that will help reduce pollutants while, at the same time, allow for the continued efficient movement of goods and people. The computer, named Gaia in honor of the Greek goddess of Earth, helped the school's research team more effectively analyze methane emissions in Earth's atmosphere that were collected from the Olympic Peninsula as far back as the 1970s. A subsequent study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and highlighted a significant increase in methane emissions between 2000 and 2009 compared to the prior two decades.
