Since 2002, the Oregon Business Plan has called for measures to boost access to capital for emerging and growth companies in Oregon. The most recent example was the Plan’s support for the Oregon Investment Act passed by the legislature as HB 4040. However, until now there has not been a comprehensive analysis of Oregon’s gaps in capital availability. In late April, a new study- “Oregon Capital Scan: A Developing Ecosystem,” was released jointly by The Oregon Community Foundation, the Oregon State Treasury, the Meyer Memorial Trust, Business Oregon and CTC Consulting.
The four-month analysis was conducted by Niels Zellers of Confluence Capital, LLC. The study identified eight so-called “capital gaps” affecting employers across the spectrum of Oregon industries. At a reception on June 7, the Oregon Community Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust, and State Representative Tobias Read laid out how their respective organizations intend to begin addressing these gaps.
The study can be found here.
Senate Confirms Oregon Growth Board Members
In May the Oregon Senate approved Governor John Kitzhaber’s nominations for the newly formed Oregon Growth Board-created by HB 4040 in 2012 to help the state more strategically invest its economic development dollars and better leverage private capital. The Board Members include:
Scott Burgess, Beaverton
James Coonan, Portland
Gerald Langeler, Portland
Ann Marie Mehlum, Eugene
Patricia Moss, Bend
Adam Zimmerman, Portland
Board members will meet throughout 2012 and present the 2013 legislature with a new capital allocation strategy for Oregon’s business finance tools, and with strategies to leverage more private capital to complement those tools. The Board will meet later this month and meetings will be public. At the time of this writing we were not aware of a website for the Board but we assume that one will be create soon.
