The Seattle-based Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has announced second-quarter grants totaling more than $2.5 million to thirty-eight nonprofits serving the Pacific Northwest region.

Through its Arts and Culture program, the foundation awarded grants to help organizations create and present work by professional artists and engage local audiences in public programs. Grant awards included $120,000 over three years to the Myrna Loy Center in Helena, Montana, to support programming and media arts; $50,000 to the Perseverance Theatre in Douglas, Alaska, for its 2011-12 season; and $120,000 over three years to Literary Arts in Portland, Oregon, for an arts and lecture series and related programs.

Through its asset-building program, the foundation awarded grants to help low-income individuals in rural and urban communities save and build financial assets, obtain skills needed for livable-wage work, establish small businesses, and become more knowledgeable about the financial system and household budgeting. It also awarded emergency-relief grants to strengthen the social safety net and help the region's most vulnerable residents meet basic needs, particularly food. Recipients include the Cascade Land Conservancy, which was awarded $100,000 to improve the supply of fresh vegetables in Tacoma-area foodbanks, and YouthCare, which received $25,000 for an emergency meals program for homeless youth.

"Each foundation grant reflects our longstanding commitment to transform lives and strengthen communities in the Northwest," said the foundation's vice president, Susan M. Coliton. "Arts and culture programs, in particular, enable communities to define and express themselves. As the arts nonprofit sector undergoes significant transformation in these challenging economic times, we're helping organizations sustain themselves and thrive."

For a complete list of second-quarter grants, visit the Allen Family Foundation Web site.