The Oregon Community Foundation is, according to Charity Navigator, a four-star organization. It manages its assets well, and it is open about how it does business. More important, the business it does in every county in Oregon makes this state a better place to live.

Now it’s putting serious research behind its efforts that should help make them more effective. (Several members of the Chandler family, which owns The Bulletin, have funds at the community foundation.)

The result of OCF’s research was published late last year. “Tracking Oregon’s Progress” looks at the state of childhood in Oregon and reports on a very mixed bag.

As is true nationwide, young Oregonians living in poverty, in single-parent households or in rural Oregon are less likely to climb into the middle class than they used to be, though that’s not universally true.

Well-educated parents, early childhood education and something called social capital can improve a child’s odds. Social capital is higher east of the Cascades and includes such things as people’s membership in religious institutions, civic organizations and even fitness clubs. Kids growing up in most counties this side of the mountains have a better chance of earning more than their parents than many kids on the west side of the Cascades.

OCF is already putting the information in its report to good use. Money from OCF funds supports collaborative housing solutions, increased community engagement efforts, programs that help create stronger families, improved economic prospects and well-paying jobs in areas that need them. That money can help make a difference. Moreover, the foundation’s research department is trying to track what works and what doesn’t.

In many respects Oregon’s decline in upward mobility and all that goes with it reflects what’s happening nationwide. OCF will not be able to change that trend by itself, but its efforts no doubt will help.