Schnitzer Foundation Invests Local

July 2023

Eric Rosenfeld

A Long-time Commitment to OVF and Oregon’s Youth

Born in Portland to immigrant parents, Harold Schnitzer studied metallurgy at MIT with the intent of pursuing a career at Schnitzer Steel, founded by his father in 1906 as a one-person scrap metal recycling business. He switched gears in 1950 to launch his own real estate investment company. Harold started by converting a single rundown warehouse in downtown Portland into an office building. That business – now Schnitzer Properties and run by his son Jordan – has grown to employ over 300 and owns and operates more than 190 marquee properties across the western U.S.

While profoundly successful in business, Harold and his wife, Arlene, were also extremely generous and philanthropic. Their gifts enabled Oregon communities to have access to world class arts facilities, performing arts organizations, museums, and medical research. In addition, their contributions were fundamental to building cultural community centers and educational programs to support a vibrant Jewish community and Judaic Studies programs in Oregon.

Harold purchased and restored the historic Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, California in 1954. When the Schnitzer family sold the hotel, they used the proceeds to seed The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.

While both parents have now passed, their legacy lives on. Jordan and his parents have always prioritized early investments, both in real estate and in youth education. The CARE Foundation provides annual funding for CommuniCare, which enables thousands of high school and college students to learn about the pressing needs of their community and develop leadership skills through grantmaking. By challenging students to engage in community service that is both rewarding and educational, CommuniCare hopes to inspire them to become active community leaders themselves in the future. Jordan has significantly expanded the program in the past five years to honor his parents’ legacy and is committed to growing CommuniCare to engage more students and serve more nonprofits.  

Over its 26-year history, over 6,500 students have granted over $4M to 400 nonprofit organizations and many additional school programs. Currently, 70 grantmaking groups from 37 different schools across Oregon participate in the program.

We are grateful for Jordan Schnitzer and the Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation’s commitment to supporting our region’s youth, schools, and social service, healthcare, and arts organizations. We are also grateful for their commitment to invest in our region’s next generation of entrepreneurs, some of whom will become substantial employers and some, we hope, will follow Harold, Arlene, and Jordan’s lead and be generous with reinvesting in our community.

"I believe in Portland and in Oregon. And I believe that one of the ways we can help secure our region’s future and create economic opportunities for more Oregonians is to invest locally through the Oregon Venture Fund. The jobs and wealth created by local entrepreneurs today will have a multiplier effect and directly and indirectly benefit countless others tomorrow.”
– Jordan Schnitzer.