Focused on the futureBuilding on our Sons of Norway Foundation 2008 Annualhistory Report Building on our The Sons of Norway Foundation was formed in 1966history primarily for Norwegian literary and scientific research. From its humble beginnings we have continually added opportunities for our Sons of Norway members, lodges and their communities. Beginning in 1984 with the Astrid Cates scholarship, and expanding into today’s five separate scholarship categories, we are allowing the next generation the ability to reach for their educational dreams. Norwegian-Americans have al- ways had a high regard for education as a means for success. Since 1990 we have added four grant categories designed to promote our unique Norwegian heritage and culture to wider audiences. Lodges and communities across the country are showcasing Norwegian arts in the form of theatre offerings, musical performances, rosemaling, genealogy and folk dancing workshops and participation in community heritage festivals. The third focus of our Foundation is our Humanitarian Fund. It was formed in 1997 with monies donated from the Norwe- gian government to assist victims of the Red River Flood. It has grown since then and stands ready to provide assistance to our members during times of natural disaster. We have provided grants for Sons of Norway families who have been victims of hur- ricanes, floods and tornadoes, as well as for 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Indonesian Tsunami and the 35W Bridge Collapse. What began in 1966 with small stipends has grown into awarding over $100,000 in 2008 alone. Since 1984 we have awarded over $1,000,000 in scholarships and grants. From OurThe Foundation is Directorbuilding on our past by funding opportunities to showcase all the different cultural fac- ets that make up the Norwegian experience. Rosemal- In 2008 the Sons of Norway Foundation awarded over ing workshops, folk dance instruction, genealogy clinics, $100,000 in scholarships and grants. That is the good Viking encampments and Grieg and Ibsen presentations news. We also saw the impact the world wide financial are all represented through our 2008 grant awards to in- crisis had on our bottom line. That is the bad news. We dividuals, lodges and their communities. are not alone. A majority of foundations experienced declines in their assets. I hope you enjoy reading through this report to get a picture of the range of opportunities your Sons of Nor- The Foundation is focusing on the future through our way Foundation helps to fund. Your continuing financial scholarship recipients as they learn Norwegian history and support will keep us moving forward. I encourage you language and keep us up to date on the Norway of today. to visit the foundation section of the Sons of Norway Just as our Viking ancestors led us on interesting discovery website at www.sonsofnorway.com/foundation to paths, the Norway of today is leading the way in many view all we are doing. technologies, diplomacy issues, world health partnerships and environmental topics. Cindy Olson Q Building on our history General Heritage & Culture grants Chicago, Illinois Friends of the Viking Ship PowerPoint presentation on the 1893 Viking Ship that sailed from Norway to Chicago for the World’s Colum- bian Exposition in Chicago. “Creating this presentation was a larger task than I anticipated. My research at Vesterheim Museum was only the beginning. I also searched the archives of the Chicago History Museum, read hundreds of newspaper articles, and reached out to Viking Ship experts in the U.S. and Norway.” - Lorraine Straw Q General Heritage & Culture grants Portland Revels - Portland, Oregon The Christmas Revels In the 14th year of The Christmas Revels in Portland we took our audience to the dark and cold northlands and treated them to a light and dark mixture of Scandinavian myth, music and dance. Thanks to a grant from the Sons of Norway Foundation over 7,000 audience members experienced our wonderful production. - Deborah D. Garman “This year The Christmas Revels will follow the North Star to the land of Kalevala, in a happy celebration of the winter solstice. Audiences will enjoy songs from Norway, Sweden and Finland. This show will feature musicians visiting from Karelia, dancers from Norway and local singers and musicians in a rich collaborative blend of holiday celebration and storied traditions.” - The Christmas Revels General Heritage & Culture grants Rollins College - Winter Park, Florida Grieg Festival at Rollins College “The Grieg Festival brought together internationally-known Grieg scholars, concert artists, talented young musicians and Grieg researchers from all parts of the world to share and discover some of the rarely-heard music of Edvard Grieg. Grieg scholars from Norway and America, the competitors, judges, and other attendees were in agreement that the festival exceeded their expectations in terms of excellence of presentations and performances. Our competition yielded three winners in piano, two in voice and one in violin/piano. The grand prize winner Where words fail, received a concert tour in Norway as his prize.” - Dr. Sylvia R. Eckes music speaks. - Hans Christian Anderson Q General Heritage & Culture grants All Soul’s Church - New York, NY Musica Viva’s Music of Norway “Our program was a journey of exploration and discovery. We expected the accessible and familiar from Grieg and his contemporary, Svendsen, and something of the contemporary from Nystedt. We started out seeing only the faces of mountains and simple reflections on the surface of fjords. What we found was a multi-dimensional picture and great depth, a full range of music and poetry and sheer sound, all expressing Norway’s distinctive and adventurous musical spirit.” - Miriam S. Michel, Musica Viva “The program featured both traditional and modern music, all sung in Norwegian. New Yorker’s came away in admiration – indeed awe – of Norway’s rich musical heritage.” - Winnifred Olsen, Musica Viva Local Lodge Partnership grants Vesterheim 6-118 - Estes Park, Colorado Scandinavian Mid-Summer Festival “The Scandinavian Mid-summer festival is the largest midsummer festival in Colorado, celebrating the powers of nature and rejuvenation of life, this magical Scandinavian weekend welcomes the summer solstice. Thanks to the grant from the Sons of Norway Foundation our event was well received by the community.” - Cathy Allen Scandinavians celebrate the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, with a festival of light, flowers, food, and music. The summer solstice celebration has its roots in pre-Christian practices and is a day when the spirits of nature join the human community to rejoice in the long days of summer. Q Q Helping Hands to Children grants Vidda 4-663 - Crosby, North Dakota Norwegian Youth Day Camp ”We held our first Youth Day Camp and the day was filled with activities Do not judge by the including Hardanger embroidery, yam carving, folk dancing, rosemaling and Norwegian cooking. We used our grant from the Sons of Norway harvest you reap, but by Foundation to provide brushes, paint, wood, rosemaling supplies, carving knives, lunch ingredients for the kids and rental of the facility. Our day was so full that we did not get a chance to play the Norwegian games the seeds you sow. that we had planned. All of the children want to do this again. The day - Robert Louis Stevenson was a huge success!” - Rosemary Howard, Vidda 4-663 Our grant opportunities Local Lodge Partnership Grants Helping Hands to Children Grants For individual lodges to fund festival participation, To fund programs specifically for youth including Sons cultural skills workshops, books for lodge libraries, of Norway Adopt A School, Barnas Norsk Klubb, chil- lodge anniversary celebrations, Syttende Mai, parade dren’s language and heritage day camps or Syttende floats, etc., designed to highlight Norwegian heritage Mai and Christmas celebrations. & culture. Helping Hands to Member Grants General Heritage & Culture Grants To provide disaster relief from the Sons of Norway For community-wide events aimed at wider audiences Foundation Humanitarian Fund to current Sons of showcasing Norwegian culture including choral and Norway members who lose their homes due to natural orchestral presentations, theater, museum shows and disasters including hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires or books. floods. To view all the qualifying information and download the applications please visit www.sonsofnorway. com/foundation Focused on the future “Thank you to the Sons of Norway Foundation for the scholarship to Oslo International Summer School! My friends, classmates and I celebrated how enriched our lives have now become through this unique cultural and academic experience…and I will treasure these memories for the rest of my life.” Oslo International Summer School Recipient Laura Ewing “This past year I spent a semester studying at Universitetet i Bergen. I loved everything about Norway. I was lucky enough to learn a lot about other nation’s cultures while sharing my own in the role of student ambassador. I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to explore the incredible nation where my fam- ily comes from. Studying abroad was undoubtedly one of the most eye-opening and best experiences of my life!” King Olav V Scholarship Recipient Ashley Colberg Study abroad program in Bergen, Norway Trondheim Bridge, Norway Borexino Detector, Gran Sasso Italy “ Thank you to the Sons of Norway Foundation, I just wanted to say again how much I appreciate this scholarship. I will be working in Italy for five weeks at the Borexino detector, a solar neutrino experiment at the Gran Sasso laboratory. The scholarship from the Sons of Norway Foundation was one of the main reasons I was offered this position. You have helped me out in so many ways! Nancy Lorraine Jensen Memorial Amanda Lund Scholarship Recipient Physics Major, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Our scholarships King Olav V Norwegian-American Scholarships Astrid Cates/Myrtle Beinhauer Scholarships American students, 18 years old and up, who wish For any post high school area of study at accredited to study Norwegian language or culture at accred- schools.