Just as a bell can't ring without a clapper, we can't ring without you.
Bells of the Cascades is a non-profit 501(c)3 charitable organization recognized by the Internal Revenue Service. Our ringers and Board are all volunteers. However, we can use your help with the necessary expenses involved in carrying out our mission of promoting handbell awareness, such as music, bells, equipment, wardrobe, travel costs, and advertising.
We are listed on the Candid GuideStar non-profit organization directory with a Silver Transparency rating.
Your Giving in Action
Thanks to generous support of supporters, Bells of the Cascades has:
- Emerged from a pandemic absence to perform at the national handbell festival in the summer of 2021
- Celebrated 35 years as an advanced community handbell ensemble and successful non-profit 501(c)3 organization
- Created Holiday Ringer ensembles to bring handbell performances to more audiences than ever during the holiday season
- Hosted Read & Ring events and other educational events around the Portland area
- Led regional handbell festivals for other choirs and ensembles
- Chartered fifteen handbell cruises across the western hemisphere, with some of the best handbell clinicians in the world, and we're soon to go on our sixteenth!
- Continued to collaborate with other musicians, including the Melodica Men, Alex Guebert's Cathedral Bells, Portland Choir and Orchestra, Bells of the Sound, Pink Martini, Novum Chamber Singers and more
- Published our third full-length CD, Hitting Things!
- Held a 25th anniversary composition contest in which we awarded five finalists, several of whom have now had their compositions published
- Embarked upon a first in the handbell world—a new way of commissioning an original composition—check out our Commission Consortium!
We're committed to making the art of handbell ringing more accessible, more available, more interesting and more exciting to both audiences and other bell ringers!
But with these new ventures, expenses are also rising, and we need your help.
Thanking our Donors
In appreciation of your tax-deductible donation, we will provide you with recognition at our concerts, special acknowledgments on our cruises, and mention on our website, with a link to your business or homepage if desired. Occasionally we may send special member awards as our form of thanks as well.
In addition to donating via PayPal or making a gift via Venmo, donors may also make a check payable to Bells of the Cascades and send it to P.O. Box 151, Tualatin, OR 97062.
Individual Donors from March 1, 2024 through February 28, 2025
Mt. Rainier Level
14,410 feet · $500 or more
- Elizabeth Davidson
- Gay Enyeart
- Sterling Hamilton
- Debbie Ivanov
- Nancy Patton
- Kathleen Riley
- Cathy Wood
- and 1 anonymous donor
Mt. Shasta Level
14,162 feet · $250–$499
- Brian Hawkins
- Carol Pickford
- Mark Wright
Mt. Adams Level
12,276 ft · $100–$249
- EG Gilbert
- Elaine Gilbert
- BT Graves
- Ronald and Eileen Hylton
- Paul and Karen Jolly
- Stephanie LaShoto-Westfield
- Judy Lyons
- Mary Jane Nordgren
- David and Candace Schade
- Nancy Schmidt
- and 1 anonymous donor
Mt. Hood Level
11,239 ft · $50–$99
- Cyrena GIlman
- Mary Ann Kooning
- Charles Pritchard
- and 1 anonymous donors
Mt. Jefferson Level
10,497 ft · $20–$49
- Cyrena Gilman
- Mary Ann Kooning
- and 1 anonymous donor
Foundation Grants, Matching Gifts, and Corporate Giving
- Oregon Arts Commission
- Ridgeline, Inc.
- Exterro, Inc.
- Westminster Presbyterian Church
- Tualatin Presbyterian Church
- Kaiser Permanente Community Fund
- Kroger/Fred Meyers Community Rewards
Community Supporters
- Salmon Creek Church, Vancouver, Washington: Rehearsal and event space, as well as periodic loans of individual bells.
- Tualatin Presbyterian Church, Tualatin, Oregon: Rehearsal and storage space for many years, as well as the loan of five octaves of chimes.
- Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, Lake Oswego, Oregon: Loan of two of the large sixth-octave bells.
- First United Methodist Church, Portland, Oregon: Loan of one of the large sixth-octave bells.
- The Bells of the Cascades Associate Members
Tax Deduction Eligibility for your Gifts
Bells of the Cascades is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt non-profit charitable organization, incorporated in Oregon. Financial donations are tax-deductible. If you'd like information about receiving tax deductions for in-kind donations, please contact our Treasurer. Thank you for your support!
Additionally, Bells of the Cascades is a qualified non-profit cultural organization under the Oregon Cultural Trust, a permanent, protected endowment to provide long-term support for culture, arts, and heritage throughout Oregon. For supporters who live in Oregon, the Cultural Tax Credit allows you to double your donation to Oregon arts and culture.
Here's how it works: First, make a donation to Bells of the Cascades directly. Second, make a matching gift to the Oregon Cultural Trust. Finally, receive a tax credit for your gift to the Trust on your Oregon income tax. One hundred percent of up to $500 for individual taxpayers, $1,000 for couples filing jointly and $2,500 for Oregon businesses qualifies for the tax credit. The money donated to the Oregon Cultural Trust then goes toward helping nonprofits across the state, including Bells of the Cascades. Supporting Oregon arts and culture couldn't be easier!
