09/18/2025
Yes, you see that correctly: we are now the Lebanon Oregon Legacy Club!
After much discussion, our members voted to transition from the Lebanon Optimists to form our own local nonprofit organization. This change will allow us to better serve youth and families in our community.
So, why the change? As part of Optimist International (OI), our club did not hold local nonprofit standing. That made it difficult to raise funds and accept donations directly. By becoming our own nonprofit, we can manage donations locally and put them to work more effectively for Lebanon youth and our community. Several of our members already have experience starting and running nonprofits, so we’re ready for this step.
Also, by becoming our own local nonprofit, we are able to lower our membership fees and ensure those fees are staying local, and again, benefitting our community. This enables us to better support our programs and activities for kids right here at home.
Lastly, with our own nonprofit status, we can now apply for grants that were previously out of reach. Because our status was tied to OI, headquartered in Missouri, local grant applications often didn’t gain traction. As a locally recognized nonprofit, we’ll have more opportunities to secure funding for our projects.
The heart of our work remains the same: supporting youth and community here in Lebanon. This transition simply allows us to keep more resources here in our community and expand the opportunities we can provide. Thank you for supporting our Club and its future. We appreciate you Lebanon and look forward to continuing doing the good work we always have done -- today, tomorrow, and well into the future.
