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A $280,000 gift from Tom and Chris Neilsen will provide hundreds of students with scholarships over the next 20 years. The gift, the first of its kind for PCC, will be invested as a limited term endowment to maximize the impact of the gift and provide between $10,000-$20,000 per year for PCC student scholarships.
Longtime PCC Foundation supporters, the couple owned Neilsen Manufacturing Inc., a Salem-based family business serving the high-tech industry. After retiring to Portland in 2007, Chris served on the PCC Foundation Board for five years and was appointed president for one of her terms. Today, she remains active with the philanthropic arm of the college and is a member of PCC Foundation’s new Emeritus Board.
The Portland couple sought a way to significantly increase the returns from their philanthropic investment. As opposed to a traditional endowment that provides an average four percent return forever, the Tom and Chris Neilsen Impact Fund will divest in 20 years, allowing the couple to see the benefit of larger awards over a shorter span of time....