After a five-year hiatus, the Lester Viles Grant (LVG), returned in 2025 to continue its goal of supporting North Portland businesses through micro-grants.
With a year of experience under their belt, the revamped LVG board is now moving forward with its 2026 grant season. The application window opened July 1 and runs through August 31, with award notifications expected by late September. Businesses in the St. Johns, Cathedral Park, University Park, Portsmouth, Kenton, Arbor Lodge, Overlook, and Hayden Island neighborhoods are encouraged to apply.
“The grant went into hibernation mode for five years over the (COVID) pandemic and the previous board all went their separate ways,” says Joseph Purkey, current LVG president and a principal at Convergence Architecture in St. Johns.
But instead of allowing another COVID casualty, original board member Steve Weir kept the organization alive. Weir, former owner of longtime St. Johns’ staple Weir’s Cyclery, assembled a new board and schooled them in the purpose and goals of the LVG.
“[Weir] brought me on in 2023 to help rebuild the board and restart grant distributions,” Purkey says. “We’ve done that with a great round of applicants in 2025 and a solid board in place. Now Steve can pursue retirement full-time.”
Last year the LVG funded applications from, among others, Daydreamer Coffee, Novedades Prado, and Ockley Green Middle School. Projects ranged from flooring repairs or new awnings, to audio-visual updates or the creation of seasonal lighting displays. In all, the LVG granted over $30,000 to seven local businesses.
One of the local businesses to successfully apply for funding was Alice in Bunderland, located in the St. Johns Workspace building at 6635 N Baltimore. Owner Kimberly Gehl received funding for a new plank floor to cover the decades-old, scuffed warehouse floor in her new 900 square-foot space. She has picked out the planks and hopes to install them with some help in the next few weeks. “I learned about the grant from the St. Johns Boosters. Since I’m not located on the main street, I am not eligible for other small grants,” she noted.
Gehl sells fun pet items for rabbits, gerbils, hamsters and other small “alternative” pets in pet-friendly North Portland. Her business is named for her first pet rabbit, Alice. She will soon offer small animal grooming, host bunny rescue events and related pop-up businesses. You can follow Alice in Bunderland on Facebook and Instagram.
Lester Viles, the Kenton business owner who bequeathed the grant, championed small businesses until his passing in 2005. The LVG hopes to remove a lot of the “red tape” that often comes with grants and act as a more direct method of support to organizations in need.
“Being a private fund, there is greater flexibility to remove barriers that can often make public grants challenging for small business owners,” Purkey says. “We appreciate being able to foster community-building via this fund and helping Mr. Viles’ legacy live on.”
For more information or to apply, visit lvgrant.org.
