Best Columbia County Grants for Nonprofits in Washington

Spectrum Digital Education Grants support nonprofit organizations in educating communities about broadband benefits and usage. These grants aim to bridge the digital divide, particularly for seniors and those with disabilities or ethnically diverse backgrounds. Applicants must demonstrate community partnership, address specific needs, and provide measurable impact metrics. With a focus on financial feasibility and meaningful outcomes, this initiative ensures that underrepresented urban and rural communities gain access to essential digital resources, fostering long-term improvement in their lives.

Robison Foundation for Jewish Elders

Robison Foundation for Jewish Elders (RFJE) supports community organizations and initiatives by funding programs that enhance the lives of elders in the Jewish community of greater Portland and Southwest Washington by supporting their social, spiritual and physical well-being.

To achieve its mission, RFJE offers funding through four grant track opportunities:

• Nitzan Grants
• Kulanu Grants
• ChikChok Grants
• Kadimah Grants

Oregon Jewish Community Foundation ( OJCF) administers and supports RFJE's grantmaking programs. In 2025, OJCF announced and managed the application process for RFJE's ChikChok, Kadimah, Nitzan, and Kulanu grant programs that support Jewish elders in Greater Portland and Southwest Washington. OJCF specifically stated that it is proud to support the administration of these grants.

Kadimah Grants

Kadimah (move forward) grants are designed to support growth, innovation and capacity-building to better serve elders. These grants are intended to launch new programs or expand existing ones, address identified community needs or service gaps; and invest in strategic planning, infrastructure and organizational capacity. There are two Kadimah grant cycles per year.

The Purpose of the Kadimah Grants

Grant awards for this Kadimah cycle will be $20,000-$50,000 per year, with multiyear commitments possible. There will be two grant cycles per year. We strongly encourage organizations to self-evaluate how they can effectively use grant funds-given existing organizational constraints-and ask for funding accordingly.

RFJE will limit funding of a program to no more than 10% of an organization’s overall budget during this grant cycle for their solo grant application.

For collaborative grants, RFJE will fund up to 50% of a program’s overall budget, irrespective of the organizational budget. 

RFJE understands that effective planning is vital to nonprofit success. Thoughtful strategic planning strengthens and sustains vibrant community institutions. To support this work, RFJE will offer Kadimah planning grants—covering up to 100% of costs—to organizations with proven impact on community elders and sound fiscal management. We invite organizations seeking strategic, capacity-building support to expand services for elders to apply for funding.

We believe that overreliance on a single funder can undermine a nonprofit’s long-term stability and encourage you to share how others are supporting your work. RFJE does not guarantee a specific award amount and reserves the right to decline any or all proposals.

We hope Kadimah grants will serve as a catalyst to inspire new projects and activities or expand and enhance existing programs that address the community’s priority needs. 

Grant Size and Timeframe Parameters

RFJE will consider funding proposals for up to three years and encourages applicants seeking multi-year support to request reduced funding amounts in the second and third years (“step-down funding”). For approved multi-year grants, RFJE will commit to funding for the full proposed term, contingent on annual reporting requirements and on agreed-upon criteria and conditions established by RFJE and the applicant to assess the program’s progress.

Youth Lead Project — Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program

The Washington State Department of Commerce is making up to $646,065 available in Youth Lead Project grant funding. The Office of Homeless Youth received awards through HUD’s Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP) to provide interventions that prevent and end youth homelessness in Washington’s Balance of State (BoS) Continuum of Care (CoC).

The Youth Lead Project was developed by the BoS YHDP Youth Action Board, known as the Youth for Youth (Y4Y) Board, to embed youth voice into every aspect of the youth homelessness response system. Grant funds support professional opportunities for young adults with lived experience of homelessness to address youth homelessness through both direct service delivery activities, like street outreach and case management, and participating in leadership activities for local and statewide system change efforts.

Grant funds must be used to support youth and young adults, ages 12-24, who meet criteria for category 1, 2, or 4 of the HUD definition of homelessness at enrollment. Youth Lead Project grants are for supportive services only and do not include housing programs or ongoing rental assistance.