 Paul Knauls, a local resident and entrepreneur who was described as the "unofficial mayor" of Northeast Portland, was "instrumental" in securing funding for the sculpture's design. Cheryl Perrin and Betsy Brumm coordinated fundraising, with assistance from Charles Lewis; before Lewis invited U.S. Senator Mark Hatfield, for whom he had worked as an intern, to speak at a breakfast fundraiser, fundraising efforts had stalled for eight years. Oregon's Congressional delegation wrote appeals to large companies, requesting their support at the breakfast. Within six months of the campaign's re-launch, $ 300,000 was raised, enough to create the sculpture. The Dream was dedicated by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Statue Foundation on August 28, 1998, the 35th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. It was also dedicated by Harry Belafonte and much of the Congressional delegation. John Jenkins, chairman of the foundation, said in a statement announcing the statue and its dedication:
