Search Through Community Development Grants in Portland, Oregon in the U.S.

Background

Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation seeks to dramatically improve the lives of underserved communities across the globe by supporting scalable, innovative, and impact-first solutions that leverage existing systems and stakeholders. Our goal is to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic products or services that have a proven ability to positively impact the lives of underserved people, and nurture those organizations at the early stages by providing capacity, capital, and community.

Our application process is designed to be open and accessible, and we accept applications year round from across our priority geographies and sectors. Borrowing from our venture capital legacy, we find exceptional entrepreneurs and provide them with: 

Capacity

• The core of DRK’s model is deep and extensive operational and technical support for each portfolio organization, both through dedicated hands-on Board service and specialist capacity-building resources for fundraising, board and organizational development, leadership, financial support, and scaling strategy,

Capital

• DRK provides up to $300,000 USD in either unrestricted grant funding or investment capital over a three-year period, and

Community

• DRK convenes our portfolio and alumni annually, facilitating connections and community. 

What We Fund

DRK Foundation funds early-stage social impact organizations solving the world’s biggest social and environmental problems using bold, scalable approaches.

What stage of growth does DRK Foundation typically fund?

Early stage: Organizations who are early stage, which we define as post-pilot and pre-scale. This typically means: 

• Your program, product or service is already being used in the market or in the field, 
• You have early indication that your model is having its intended impact on the beneficiary populations,
• Your organization is relatively young (ideally between two and five years old, although we will consider both younger and older organizations).

Venture funding: In the case of for profits, we typically support Seed to Series A organizations, and never lead rounds; we also generally but not exclusively refrain from participating in financings exceeding a $15M USD post-money valuation.  

Community Grants

State Farm is committed to helping build safer, stronger and better-educated communities.

• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​We are committed to auto and home safety programs and activities that help people manage the risks of everyday life.
• We invest in education, economic empowerment and community development projects, programs and services that help people realize their dreams.
• We help maintain the vibrancy of our communities by assisting nonprofits that support community revitalization.

Good Neighbor Citizenship company grants focus on safety, community development and education.

Focus Areas

Safety Grants

We strive to keep our customers and communities safe. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Auto safety — improving driver, passenger, vehicle or roadway safety
• Home safety — shielding homes from fires, crime or natural disasters
• Disaster preparedness and mitigation
• Disaster recovery

Community Development

We support nonprofits that invest and develop stronger neighborhoods. That's why our funding is directed toward:

• Affordable housing — home construction and repair
• Commercial/small business development
• Job training
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Financial literacy
• Sustainable housing and transportation
• Food insecurity

Education

Our education funding is directed toward initiatives that support the following programs:

• Higher education
• K-12 academic performance
• K-12 STEM
• Pathways for college and career success

Mission

The mission of the Hearst Foundations is to identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States can build healthy, productive and satisfying lives. Through its grantmaking, the Hearst Foundations support well-established nonprofit organizations that address significant issues within their major areas of focus—culture, education, health and social service—and that primarily serve large demographic and/or geographic constituencies. In each area of funding, the Foundations seek to identify those organizations achieving truly differentiated results relative to other organizations making similar efforts for similar populations. The Foundations also look for evidence of sustainability beyond their support.

Whether providing a scholarship to a deserving student, supporting a rural health clinic or bringing artists into schools so children can see firsthand the beauty of the arts, the Foundations’ focus is consistent: to help those in need, those underserved and those underrepresented in society. Since the Foundations were formed in the 1940s, the scale and capabilities of the grant making have changed, but the mission has not.

Culture Grant

The Hearst Foundations fund cultural institutions that offer meaningful programs in the arts and sciences, prioritizing those that enable engagement by young people and create a lasting and measurable impact. The Foundations also fund select programs nurturing and developing artistic talent. Supported organizations include arts schools, ballets, museums, operas, performing arts centers, symphonies and theaters.

Funding Priorities in Culture

In the recent past, 25% of total funding has been allocated to Culture. Organizations with budgets over $10 million have received 60% of the funding in Culture.

The Hearst Foundations are only able to fund approximately 25% of all grant requests, of which about 80% is directed to prior grantees and about 20% is targeted toward new grantees.

Types of Support

Program, capital and, on a limited basis, general and endowment support

Mission

Driven by a philanthropic calling to support marginalized communities throughout the world, the Semnani Family Foundation partners with on-the-ground organizations and leverages its resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner that delivers the maximum benefit.

History

Guided by his grandmother Maliheh’s example and teachings, Khosrow Semnani and his wife Ghazaleh established the Semnani Family Foundation in 1993. The foundation’s first grant was issued through CARE International to an orphanage in Romania that cared for newborns affected by HIV. Over the last few decades, the foundation has continued to build upon its mission to empower the disaffected, partnering with a variety of organizations in different countries who can make the greatest impact.

In addition to its global influence, the Semnani Family Foundation established roots within the state of Utah with the founding of Maliheh Free Clinic in 2005 to provide free healthcare to thousands of uninsured people in the Salt Lake City area.

Where We Work

The Semnani Family Foundation focuses primarily on promoting health, education, and disaster relief for marginalized communities all around the world. Driven by a clear mission to adapt and serve at the global level, we have leveraged our resources to make a meaningful impact in the following countries so far:

• Afghanistan
• Bosnia
• Colombia
• England
• Ethiopia
• Ghana
• Guatemala
• India
• Iran
• Kenya
• Madagascar
• Mali
• Mexico
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• Romania
• Somalia
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Tonga
• Uganda
• United States
• Yemen

At the heart of the Foundation lies a fervent commitment to human welfare, always prioritizing health and the needs of society’s most vulnerable.

Improving the quality of life for vulnerable children, animals, and communities

The Summer Lea Hillman Foundation is committed to protecting people, the environment, and animals by strengthening safety nets, advocacy initiatives, and direct services in the Portland metro area.

Priorities

The Foundation prioritizes:

• animal health and safety,
• foster care and adoption,
• child and youth development and advocacy,
• homeless services, and environmental sustainability and
• education.

Our Mission

The Tony Robbins Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of people often forgotten.

We’re dedicated to creating positive changes in the lives of youth, seniors, the hungry, homeless and the imprisoned population, all who need a boost envisioning a happier and deeply satisfying way of life. Our passionate staff, generous donors and caring group of international volunteers provide the vision, inspiration, and resources needed to empower these important members of our society.

Grants

Dedicated to meeting challenges within the global community, creating solutions and taking action, The Tony Robbins Foundation provides monetary donations to various organizations around the world. Funding requests are evaluated on an ongoing basis. We look for organizations that align with our mission to empower individuals and organizations to make a significant difference in the quality of life of those often forgotten.

Mission

The mission of the Black United Fund of Oregon is to assist in the social and economic development of Oregon's underserved communities and to contribute to a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups.  

As one of the only Black-led foundations in Oregon, as well as one of the few remaining BIPOC-led organizations in historically-Black NE Portland, our presence has power!

Black United Fund Sponsorship

The Black United Fund of Oregon (BUF-OR) supports BIPOC-led and -serving, grassroots nonprofit organizations that hold a 501(c)(3) tax status or that are fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3), and that align with our mission.

We prioritize grassroots organizations as they are the heart of community-driven change and effectively address local needs. We believe that sustainable progress is best achieved by those who are deeply connected to and invested in their communities. BUF-OR defines “grassroots” as an operating budget equal to or below $600,000 (minus exceptions of the organization’s physical move to a new space or capital campaign funds). Applying organizations must meet this to be eligible for sponsorship.

Sponsorship Amounts:

Typically range from $250 to $1,500. Due to high demand, not all requests can be supported; this does not reflect the merit of any project.

What is Metro?

Metro works with communities, businesses and residents in the Portland metropolitan area to chart a wise course for the future while protecting the things we love about this place.

Where is Metro?

Metro serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. The agency's boundary encompasses Portland, Oregon and 23 other cities – from the Columbia River in the north to the bend of the Willamette River near Wilsonville, and from the foothills of the Coast Range near Forest Grove to the banks of the Sandy River at Troutdale.

Planning and Development Grants

Everyone in greater Portland benefits when communities reach their full potential. 2040 planning and development grants help communities implement our region’s vision for the future. They create new housing and shopping opportunities, revitalize town centers, grow employment areas and reduce barriers to all types of housing and plan for growth in new neighborhoods.

The program, formerly known as the community planning and development grants program, supports  cities, counties, tribes and unincorporated groups who want to incorporate or annex into a neighboring city. Since 2006, Metro has awarded more than $30 million to fund 135 projects across the region. The grants are funded by a regional excise tax on certain construction projects in greater Portland.

Grant Categories

Metro may award up to $4 million in grant funds. Grants will be awarded in two different categories: Concept Planning and Planning Inside the UGB.

• Planning Inside the UGB
  • These grants are intended for planning projects that facilitate equitable development and redevelopment and/or promote economic growth.
  • Projects funded in this category must align with the goals of the 2040 Growth Concept.
  • The following types of projects are eligible for funding in this category:
    • Center, main street, corridor, and station area plans
    • Community visioning and redevelopment plans
    • Equitable development strategies
    • Economic development strategies and funding tools
    • Site-specific redevelopment plans
    • Community engagement for planning and development projects
    • Plans and strategies for industrial land readiness
    • Parking studies and management plans
    • Other, similar types of projects that support 2040 Growth Concept goals and facilitate development and redevelopment

What is Metro?

Metro works with communities, businesses and residents in the Portland metropolitan area to chart a wise course for the future while protecting the things we love about this place.

Where is Metro?

Metro serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. The agency's boundary encompasses Portland, Oregon and 23 other cities – from the Columbia River in the north to the bend of the Willamette River near Wilsonville, and from the foothills of the Coast Range near Forest Grove to the banks of the Sandy River at Troutdale.

Nature in Neighborhoods Grants

Nature in Neighborhoods grants support community projects and programs across the region, from local park improvements to stream restoration to hands-on nature education for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Grant programs under Nature in Neighborhoods include:

• Nature education
• Restoration and community stewardship
• Capital
• Community choice

Grants are designed to support communities of color and other communities who have experienced barriers to accessing Metro grant funding in the past.

Capital Grants

Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants fund a wide variety of projects. The program provides three year grants to projects led by community organizations, park providers, local governments and other organizations. The grants are for publicly owned capital projects. It also must meet criteria listed in the 2019 bond, including advancing racial equality, preparing the region for climate change and conducting meaningful community engagement.

Project types

Projects eligible for the Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants fall into four major categories:

• Land Acquisition
  • Land acquisition projects can transform privately owned property into the next great neighborhood natural area and preserve special places in communities across the greater Portland area.
  • The Nature in Neighborhoods capital grants have protected local assets that aren’t covered by Metro’s regional efforts to buy natural areas.
  • As a tried-and-true conservation tool, land acquisition provides a straightforward way to make a difference.
  • Purchasing land can be the first step in a community’s mission to open a nature park, build trails or restore habitat.
• Urban transformations
  • A little creativity and determination can go a long way toward weaving nature into the most urban development and infrastructure projects.
  • Urban transformations bring nature to even the most urban areas.
  • Although these projects tend to have the biggest price tags, they also have some of the biggest benefits for their communities
• Restoration
  • Conservation groups and local governments have no shortage of restoration projects on their wish lists.
  • The challenge: finding funding to make them happen.
  • With a boost from Nature in Neighborhoods grants, restoration efforts are improving the health of floodplains and watershed basins across the region.
  • Although these projects improve habitat for fish, amphibians and other animals, many are also designed to improve the experience for the community.
• Neighborhood livability
  • Public land in neighborhoods can become a place for people to experience and enjoy nature.
  • Neighborhood natural areas give people a place to walk, reflect and connect with nature.
  • Nature in Neighborhoods grants are helping communities create and transform outdoor destinations close to homes and schools.
  • Unlike big regional natural areas, neighborhood projects typically don’t protect large blocks of threatened wildlife habitat.
  • But, by preserving nature down the street, they forge a connection between people and the natural world.

Our Mission

The mission of the Black United Fund of Oregon (BUF-OR) is to assist in the social and economic development of Oregon’s underserved communities and to contribute to a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups.

As one of the only Black-led foundations in Oregon, as well as one of the few remaining BIPOC-led organizations in historically-Black NE Portland, our presence has power!

Black United Fund Community Impact Grants

The Black United Fund of Oregon annually offers one-time monetary awards to several selected nonprofit organizations. Selections will be prioritized based on an organization’s alignment with BUF-OR’s mission and impact on BIPOC communities.

Funding

BUF-OR will award approximately 10 nonprofits with grants ranging from $2,500 to $5,000.

The Foundation is dedicated to providing financial assistance to organizations committed to improving our world. Solutions to the problems of today's world still lie in the values of innovation, practicality, hard work, and compassion.

The Foundation considers applications for grants in the following areas:

• Education
• Social Service
• Health care
• Civic and cultural
• Environmental

The categories above are not intended to limit the interest of the Foundation from considering other worthwhile projects. In general, the Foundation guidelines are broad to give us flexibility in providing grants.

The majority of our grants are made in the U.S. However, like Dr. Scholl, we recognize the need for a global outlook. Non-U.S. grants are given to organizations where directors have knowledge of the grantee.

What is Metro?

Metro works with communities, businesses and residents in the Portland metropolitan area to chart a wise course for the future while protecting the things we love about this place.

Where is Metro?

Metro serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. The agency's boundary encompasses Portland, Oregon and 23 other cities – from the Columbia River in the north to the bend of the Willamette River near Wilsonville, and from the foothills of the Coast Range near Forest Grove to the banks of the Sandy River at Troutdale.

Nature in Neighborhoods Grants

Nature in Neighborhoods grants support community projects and programs across the region, from local park improvements to stream restoration to hands-on nature education for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Grant programs under Nature in Neighborhoods include:

• Nature education
• Restoration and community stewardship
• Capital
• Community choice

Grants are designed to support communities of color and other communities who have experienced barriers to accessing Metro grant funding in the past.

Community Stewardship and Restoration Grants

Metro's Nature in Neighborhoods grants provide opportunities to support and create partnerships in local communities that improve water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and connect people with nature.

Potential Projects

Funding is available for projects that:

• preserve and restore local fish and wildlife habitat
• create, support and/or deepen partnerships in local communities
• address inequities in the conservation movement
• support larger conservation initiatives
• increase people's awareness of the need for protecting and managing natural areas
• engage people in protecting and managing natural areas at the community level
• increase the expertise and capacity of organizations to lead habitat restoration and land management activities
• provide environmental resources and economic opportunities to communities of color and other historically and continually marginalized groups
• offer direct access to protected natural areas and the positive impacts of clean land, air and water to communities of color and other historically and continually marginalized groups.

Funding

Funding for the community stewardship and restoration grants funding cycle is set at $750,000. The final slate of proposals recommended for funding will include a mix of small, medium, and large grants. Small grants have a maximum award of $50,000, medium grants have a maximum award of $75,000, and large grants have a maximum award of $100,000.

Program Purpose and Goals

Community stewardship and restoration grants support and create partnerships in local communities that improve water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and connect people with nature.

All applications must clearly meet the grant program’s overall purpose. Priority will be given to applications that meet each of the grant program’s three goals.

Goal 1: Improve water quality, fish and wildlife habitat

These grants will preserve and restore fish and wildlife habitat in local communities and support larger environmental justice and conservation initiatives.

Examples of project strategies and activities:

• Increase the health of the overall urban landscape for native species and people. Address environmental justice and our region’s history of displacement.
• Promote stewardship of wildlife on urban landscapes and reduce human-wildlife conflicts.
• Reduce hazards to wildlife and humans.
• Remove invasive species and enhance native vegetation.
• Support climate change adaptation and climate resiliency initiatives.
• Improve regional habitat connectivity.
• Restore ecological processes and functions in natural areas.
• Engage and support a variety of local approaches, and ways of knowing and being.
• Focus on multiple key habitats and species

Goal 2: Community partnerships, collaboration and accountability

These grants create, support and/or deepen partnerships in local communities. Strategies for community engagement fall on a spectrum from deep, personal engagement to outreach via mass media, but should aim for transformational partnerships rather than transactional information sharing.

Examples of project strategies and activities:

• One-on-one personal connection (e.g. involve multiple community members in project design, implementation and/or outreach, community participation in hands-on restoration projects, organizing, workforce development, and mentoring).
• Outreach and/or marketing (e.g. social and mass media, group discussions, interpretive signs, mailings, project and/or site tours).
  • Collaboration with communities of color and other historically and continually marginalized groups to develop shared learning about environmental justice priorities and practices, and follow their direction to restore, experience and connect with nature and the region’s natural areas.
  • Provide information, advertising or other promotions so that residents can more easily learn where natural areas are located, how to access them, and what to do there.
• Increase the capacity of, and support for, organizations or businesses that are led by, organize with and/or employ people of color and other historically and continually marginalized communities in habitat restoration or local park and natural area land stewardship activities. Examples of capacity and support building activities include technical assistance, professional or leadership development, or stipends/compensation to participate in project design and/or implementation.
• Expanded partnerships with local and/or regional community-based organizations to support increased stewardship of local natural areas, fish and wildlife habitat.
• Intentional involvement of the community in restoration and stewardship efforts, contributing to community members’ sense of connection back to natural areas, providing opportunities to learn from and educate local users, residents and nearby school populations.
• Training on trauma informed care for natural and water resource professionals and community members who interact with people experiencing houselessness. Learn from houseless communities about their needs and desires to be in nature. Facilitate transformational, equity centered, trauma-informed approaches to address safety and provide resources for houseless communities to be in nature. 

Goal 3: Economic and environmental equity

The community stewardship and restoration grants help address inequities in the conservation movement. The grants provide outdoor, environmental, and natural resources; economic opportunities; direct access to protected natural areas; and the positive impacts of clean land, air and water to Indigenous communities, Black communities, communities of color and other historically and continually marginalized groups in greater Portland.

Examples of project strategies and activities:

• Provide social and economic benefits to Indigenous communities, Black communities, communities of color and other historically and continually marginalized communities beyond the specific project scope or original design.
• Increase the number and improve the experience of visitors, staff and programs at natural areas representing diverse racial, ethnic and cultural groups and other historically and continually marginalized groups. Provide opportunities to communities of color to learn about, guide, and have decision-making power in how agencies and communities manage and care for the land and create opportunities to care for trails, harvest seeds or plant native plants. Improve accessibility to and within natural areas for the elderly, people with disabilities and communities of color.
• Include workforce development goals for partner organizations or programs, including internships or career pathways programs. Shift power to create possibility for equity in career pathways, hiring, retention, and educational opportunities.
• Work with and shift power to Indigenous communities to protect, preserve and access culturally significant land; salmon, steelhead and lamprey habitats; and native plants.
• Include work with Black communities, Indigenous communities, and/or communities of color on anti-displacement and housing security
• Provide economic opportunities for communities of color and other marginalized communities in the construction of natural area improvements, restoration or community stewardship projects by working with COBID-certified firms and hiring and training a local workforce.

Scholarships

One of the most effective roles played by the AABC Foundation is to encourage more people to get involved and deepen their connection to the birth center movement by introducing interested students and seasoned midwives to the many resources of the American Association of Birth Centers, by sponsoring scholarships to AABC workshops and conferences

Amy Ellen Polk Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship was developed in memory of Amy Ellen Polk, a devoted wife, dedicated mother of two, talented transportation engineer, and passionate and outspoken advocate for a Takoma Park, Maryland-based birthing center.

The annual scholarship provides a tuition grant for a How to Start a Birth Center Workshop offered by the American Association of Birth Centers. If the recipient attends an in-person workshop, an additional $500 is awarded for travel expenses.

The workshop is offered in two formats:

• Online course that you can complete at your own pace, in your own home
• Multi-day, in-person workshop. In 2025 the workshop will be offered September 9-11 in Portland, Oregon, immediately preceding the AABC Birth Institute.  

About our Grant Making

Ninety-nine girlfriends makes annual grants, called Impact Awards, in the Portland Metro/SW Washington region from a pool of money contributed by our members. Impact awards range from $50,000-$100,000 each year, depending on that year’s pool.

We fund equally in four focus areas, selecting nonprofits whose work is aligned with our vision of a more equitable future for all and our values of strength in diversity, collective action, and community impact.

Letters of Interest are due in early April. Then, we use our internal processes to select the ones that are most aligned with our vision and values. These organizations are invited to submit applications. During this time, our member-volunteer teams are learning about implicit bias, equity and inclusion, Trust-Based Philanthropy, and consensus building. 

Guiding Principles

In addition to our eligibility criteria, we apply the following principles and trust-based philanthropy to guide decision-making on grant applications.

Equity - Grant making must be grounded in equity.

Trust - We believe the organizations that apply for our grants are the experts in their field. We will lead with trust, respect, humility and curiosity.

Learning - At our heart, we are a learning organization. We value new approaches as much as experience, we recognize our missteps as learning opportunities, and we learn best together. 

Responsiveness and Transformative Impact - We fund organizations that respond to a critical need and/or are working to address the root causes of systemic issues.

Initiative and risk-taking - We believe that taking risks and exploring new ideas can lead to innovative solutions to complex societal problems.  

We engage women in a collaborative learning environment of inclusiveness and mutual respect, incorporating our collective voices, perspectives, talents, and skills. We educate ourselves about implicit bias, equitable grant making, and consensus-building, and we are embedding racial equity in our work. Each year is a new year of grantmaking at ninety-nine girlfriends. Community context changes as do our members, our grant review teams, and our annual Funding Priority. In the end, what we fund is determined by the votes of our members. 

Focus Areas

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to our work. Our vision is a more equitable community for all, therefore we prioritize funding that supports communities that are historically and/or currently underserved with respect to socioeconomic status, race, identity, or ability.

We seek to fund organizations working to improve educational equity, opportunity, or education-related services for children and youth from pre-K through high school in the areas of:

• Early childhood education and development
• Out-of-school time and summer learning
• Programs that work to close achievement and opportunity gaps
• Career and/or college readiness tools and skills for high school students
• Arts education, cultural education, and creative expression

We seek to fund organizations working to ensure everyone has equal access to resources and safe spaces, across environmental issues in the areas of:

• Access to environmental resources - healthy food, homes, water and green space
• Countering environmental burdens - pollution in air, water, and land
• Providing educational resources around sustainability and climate change preparedness
• Advancing participation in the green workforce
• Promoting systems change that includes meaningful and inclusive participation in the environmental decision-making process, that promotes environmental justice and equitable environmental policies

We seek to fund organizations delivering trauma-informed services that focus on housing solutions and home stability for families, youth, and adults in the areas of:

• Prevention of homelessness and helping people stabilize and keep their housing
• Emergency, temporary, and transitional housing and shelters
• Housing placement
• Resources and support that help prevent adverse childhood experiences or provide healing resources for families experiencing housing/home instability
• Wrap-around services that strengthen housing/home stability including mental and physical health services, recovery support, and domestic violence advocacy

We seek to fund organizations that advance the economic security and financial well-being of women by removing barriers to work in the areas of:

• Job readiness - including skills training, trades, and education
• Adult literacy and language proficiency
• Financial literacy
• College and post-secondary success
• Accessibility to affordable and reliable childcare
• Accessibility to safe and affordable healthcare including physical, mental, dental, and reproductive health

Ninety-nine girlfriends recognizes the complexities of gender identity and gender expression, and welcome cisgender women, transgender women, and gender non-binary, gender non-conforming, or gender queer persons.

Use of Funds

Funds may be used for general operating or project support to advance your mission. Awardees may choose to have funds disbursed in one payment in 2024, or in two payments: one in 2024 and one in 2025. 

Prosper Portland is proud to announce the launch of the Reimagine Oregon Economic Opportunity Investment Fund in accordance with City Code allowing funding “support for neighborhood small businesses, especially women-owned and minority-owned businesses, including but not limited to business incubator programs, management training and job training opportunities, providing economic opportunity and education to communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition.”

Reimagine Oregon Economic Opportunity Investment Fund Grant

Focused on economic and business development for those disproportionately affected by the cannabis prohibition, this fund offers grants to both for-profit and nonprofit entities, as well as social service organizations with a 501(c)3 as a fiscal sponsor, that operate within the City of Portland. Fund use is flexible to allow for innovative proposals for growth and capacity-building initiatives which may include:

• Ensuring that economic opportunities and capital are made increasingly available.
• Reconstructing and revitalizing the Portland economy.
• Supporting entrepreneurs with scaling their businesses.
• Creating multi-generational wealth opportunities.
• Meeting business needs for capital and growth.
• Expanding assistance to and resilience of businesses in need of economic support.
• Increasing access to business and property ownership, real estate, financing, and partnerships with a focus on growing wealth more equitably via inclusive networks.

Program Context & History

Reimagine Oregon began as an initiative created by Black-led organizations and individuals working to dismantle systematic racism in Oregon. Community leadership created a movement that resulted in the launch of the Reimagine Oregon Economic Opportunity Investment Fund at Prosper Portland. This grant program aligns with the Advance Portland strategic vision to foster wealth creation within underserved communities by creating access to economic opportunity for business development and growth. The goal of both the initiative and the investment fund is to provide economic opportunities to communities disproportionately impacted by cannabis prohibition. The effects of Cannabis Prohibition involved communities that faced disproportionately higher levels of criminalization related to cannabis, resulting in multi-generational economic and social impacts. Cannabis was legalized in Oregon on July 1, 2015 under Measure 91.

Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program

Building a More Just and Sustainable Outdoor and Environmental Movement Together

Black, Indigenous, and People of Color-led organizations are on the frontlines of the grassroots work being done to build a better planet but our work is chronically overlooked and underfunded. We know that when our voices are left out, our communities suffer, and our planet does too. With the Liberated Paths Program, we envision a way to bridge that gap.

Through this program, we are working to create a more just and sustainable outdoor and environmental movement by shifting resources to and building power with Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. The Liberated Paths Program supports outdoor initiatives and organizations that cultivate and celebrate the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color and affirm the many experiences and identities our communities hold, through grantmaking, capacity building, and network building.

Through our Liberated Paths regional grants, we support organizations and initiatives of all sizes located in California, the Pacific Northwest (Oregon and Washington), the Southwest (Arizona and New Mexico), and the Delaware River Watershed that work at the intersection of racial justice, outdoor experiences, and the environment. In 2023, we will also launch grantmaking in North and South Carolina. Our Liberated Paths: Youth Access to Nature Fund supports efforts in the San Francisco Bay Area that increase safe and equitable access to the outdoors for Young People of Color.

We work with leaders and organizations who are rooted within their communities with the lived experiences to understand how to best advance justice and center the needs of the community. We support Leaders of Color to design and lead the types of joyful outdoor experiences and environmental efforts that are most meaningful to them and their communities. 

Liberated Paths support looks like:

• Relationship-driven and trust-based support
• Multi-year grants of $1,000 to $20,000 per year when possible
• Long-term, deep engagement in financial, operational, and fundraising capacity building
• Network building with a cohort of grantees to facilitate shared learning and systems-level changes
• Eligibility that is not hinged on organization size, ability to do impact reporting, or 501(c)(3) status
• Support for organizations and initiatives of all sizes and in all stages of their development
• Prioritized funding for organizations and initiatives led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color
• Capacity building trainings and workshops for grantee partners

Capacity Building

Our model offers financial grants, as well as consistent coaching and mentorship. We want to connect our grantee partners with the tools and resources they need to sustain their vital work. To that end, in addition to trainings and workshops for all grantee partners, we work with each partner to identify areas where they want to grow and tailor our support to their needs. These areas could include: board recruitment, financial sustainability, staffing and hiring considerations, executive leadership coaching, budget planning, program design, insurance and liability considerations, safety, guidance on applications for additional grants, and more.

Network Building

Through Liberated Paths, we seek to bring together organizations and leaders working at the intersection of environment and racial justice. We do this through virtual get-togethers and information sessions. We facilitate network building within each cohort of grantees to facilitate shared learning and systems-level changes.

We also bring together funders and partners through a webinar series to connect, share information about the Liberated Paths Grantmaking Program and to also hold critical conversations regarding topics such as the explicit role of race in Liberated Paths, the racial funding gap, and racial bias and its impact in philanthropy.

Who is Metro

The Metro Council consists of a president, elected regionwide, and six councilors who are elected by district every four years in nonpartisan races. The Metro Auditor, elected regionwide, is responsible for oversight of Metro's annual financial statements and for conducting performance audits. The council appoints a chief operating officer to carry out council policies and manage Metro operations. The chief operating officer oversees a diverse workforce of more than 1,600 employees including park rangers, economists, teachers, scientists, designers, planners, animal keepers, stagehands and cartographers. Hundreds of volunteers lend a hand at Metro's parks, cemeteries, natural areas, offices and visitor venues.

Community Enhancement Grants: Sherwood

Across the Portland metropolitan area, Metro community enhancement grants give a boost to neighborhoods affected by garbage transfer facilities.

Since 1986, Metro has invested more than $6 million in communities across the Portland metropolitan area. Local jurisdictions and community partners help Metro to administer the grant funds in and around Forest Grove, Gresham, Portland, Oregon City, Sherwood, Troutdale and Wilsonville. These funds come from fees collected at local waste transfer stations that are reinvested back into surrounding communities.

Program Goals

The program supports projects that advance one or more of the following goals:

• Provide programs, training or services that benefit youth, seniors, low income persons, people of color, veterans or other marginalized and underserved populations
• Increase reuse, recycling and waste prevention opportunities; reduce toxicity of waste
• Improve the environmental quality of the area
• Preserve or enhance wildlife and natural areas within the target area
• Improve or increase recreation opportunities for residents in the target area
• Rehabilitate and upgrade property owned or operated by non-profits
• Improve the safety, appearance or cleanliness of neighborhoods.

Project examples

Successful grant projects include:

• Developing environmental education and job training opportunities for underserved youth
• Habitat restoration in parks and natural areas; increased programming to improve access
• Property improvements at community centers and social service hubs
• Producing community events such as festivals, cultural events and summer concert programs
• Safety, cleanup and beautification projects around communities and main street boulevards
• Supporting farmers markets and increasing access to healthy food for underserved communities.

Target areas and grant cycles

Each of the eight enhancement grant programs award funds in a different geographical target area. Grant review committees of local elected officials and residents promote, solicit, evaluate and select funded projects each cycle. 

Sherwood

The Sherwood Community Enhancement Committee awards about $90,000 each spring to projects that serve city residents. The grant program is funded by community enhancement fees collected at Pride Recycling Company.

The Community Enhancement Program (CEP) is an exciting opportunity for citizens to participate in making Sherwood a place where families and businesses thrive.

This program derives its funding from a partnership between Sherwood and Metro and is generated by a $1.00 per ton surcharge collected at the Pride Recycling Company transfer station located at 13980 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Road, in Sherwood, Oregon.

The grant program is open to non-profit groups, organizations, and City advisory committees. We encourage you to let us know your ideas for enhancing the community.

Whether you have big ideas, small ideas, or ideas somewhere in-between, you can be sure they will be considered.

Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Grant

The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs.

The Multnomah Athletic Foundation provides community grants that support confidence and character-building opportunities for youth with an emphasis on athletic participation. The foundation gives highest priority to investing in partners who provide opportunities to neighborhoods and populations with limited access and resources.

Helping Kids and Communities Thrive

• The Multnomah Athletic Foundation provides community grants that support confidence and character-building opportunities with an emphasis on athletic participation for youth.
• We believe we have an opportunity to make an impact on a nonprofit organization’s ability to foster or enhance athletic participation.
• We believe that there is social, emotional, and physical value in athletic participation. We provide each individual an opportunity to experience the value of team, dedication, and participation through athletics.
• The foundation gives highest priority to activities that provide greater access to youth who are economically disadvantaged and under-served.
• We believe that our community grant partners outreach should reflect the diversity of Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties.
• We embrace our opportunity to lead by harnessing our collective resources and passion. We are a catalyst - connecting people and resources for the benefit of our communities.

What do we fund?

The Multnomah Athletic Foundation funding is unrestricted, which began in 2024. This approach is fundamentally about recognizing and addressing power imbalances in service of a healthier, more equitable, and more impactful nonprofit sector. Our commitment is to relationships based on transparency and mutual learning – both internally within our organization and externally with our grant partners. We will ask about the organization’s initiatives and projects that the funding will support. 

Projects and initiatives may include:

• Funding for program development and the continuation/expansion of existing programs
• Creating a viable fundraising and sustainability plan.
• Operation support that enables an organization to carry out its core mission by strengthening organizational capacity and program sustainability
• Specific projects with capital expenditures, such as equipment and facilities
• Funding can be requested for operational support or administrative expenses like staffing and training expense

What is Metro?

Metro works with communities, businesses and residents in the Portland metropolitan area to chart a wise course for the future while protecting the things we love about this place.

Where is Metro?

Metro serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. The agency's boundary encompasses Portland, Oregon and 23 other cities – from the Columbia River in the north to the bend of the Willamette River near Wilsonville, and from the foothills of the Coast Range near Forest Grove to the banks of the Sandy River at Troutdale.

Planning and Development Grants

Everyone in greater Portland benefits when communities reach their full potential. 2040 planning and development grants help communities implement our region’s vision for the future. They create new housing and shopping opportunities, revitalize town centers, grow employment areas and reduce barriers to all types of housing and plan for growth in new neighborhoods.

The program, formerly known as the community planning and development grants program, supports  cities, counties, tribes and unincorporated groups who want to incorporate or annex into a neighboring city. Since 2006, Metro has awarded more than $30 million to fund 135 projects across the region. The grants are funded by a regional excise tax on certain construction projects in greater Portland.

Grant Categories

Metro may award up to $4 million in grant funds. Grants will be awarded in two different categories: Concept Planning and Planning Inside the UGB.

• Concept Planning
  • Concept planning grants facilitate planning for new urban areas on land currently designated as Urban Reserves.
  • Concept planning efforts must plan for complete communities that comply with Title 11 of the Urban Growth Management Functional Plan.
  • Evaluation Criteria
    • Proposed projects must demonstrate consistency with Metro Code Section 3.07.1110 while considering activities to achieve a range of housing types and employment opportunities, all served by a well-connected multi-modal transportation system with access to parks and recreation.
    • Projects should help realize community plans and goals and may maximize existing community assets such as parks, natural features, or nearby employment areas.
    • Projects will also be evaluated upon the extent to which they utilize best practices for public involvement, including strategies for meaningfully engaging neighbors, businesses, property owners, key stakeholders, and historically marginalized communities, including people with lower incomes and communities of color.

The PGE Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Portland General Electric. Founded in 1997, the foundation was created through an endowment with the purpose of improving the quality of life for all Oregonians.

PGE Foundation welcomes applications from eligible nonprofits through three focus-specific grant cycles: Education, Creative Expression and Career Pathways. While the majority of grants support projects and programs that align with our funding priorities, we also award grants for operating expenses and new and existing capital construction projects.

Career Pathways

We are committed to helping individuals and communities overcome common barriers to economic mobility and generational wealth-building by increasing avenues to family wage jobs, entrepreneurship and small business ownership.

If you’re interested in submitting a proposal for a career-oriented program, consider:

• Programs that facilitate access to in-demand, family-wage jobs in the trades, sciences and green sectors
• Programs for adults focused on skill development
• Wrap-around services offering mentorship, transportation and other resources that impact workforce participation
• Proposals that offer entrepreneurship and business-ownership support for minority- and woman-owned small businesses

The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) partners with private, nonprofit, and government entities to advance and boost artist services and creative communities across our region through grant programs and partnerships.

Portland Arts Project Grant Program

The Portland Arts Project Grant program is available to support the making and sharing of artistic work and the development of the arts community in Portland, Oregon. 

Artists and organizations can apply to support artistic projects, including programming, presentations, events, or artistic development that results in sharing your learning or activity with the public. You will be asked to clearly explain what you need grant funding to support, and then make the case for how the public investment of the grant will impact both you and the community.

When applying for a Portland Arts Project Grant, you may submit only one application for consideration in the grant cycle. Applicants can be listed as collaborators or participants within the applications of other eligible applicants, as long as the proposed activities are for a different project. Applicants will select their request level ($1,000, $2,000, $3,000, $4,000 or $5,000) and the application questions will increase with the requested amount.

Grant awards are based on funds available, panel rankings, and RACC’s work to increase investment in under-represented communities.

The Inukai Family Foundation was established in honor of Richard Michael “Dick” Inukai.

Born May 25, 1943 to Tom and Mecha Inukai in a Japanese internment camp in Tule Lake, California, Dick’s parents moved to Hood River while he was an infant, and later relocated the family to Portland where his father owned a gasoline service station. A graduate of Madison High School, Dick joined the Marine Corps where he served four years as a reserve. Eventually, Dick’s love of cars drove him into the automobile industry in 1962 when he took his first job with a local auto dealership as a salesperson. Dick quickly established himself as a top salesman and worked his way up the ladder. Inukai found his way into ownership with his first auto franchise at the young age of 30.

Coming to Hillsboro in the early 1970’s, Inukai later acquired what is now known as Dick’s Country Chrysler Jeep Dodge and in 1994 became a full partner in Dick’s Mackenzie Ford. Hard work, honesty and integrity were the foundation of Dick’s business dealings which quickly endeared him to the local business community. Dick’s philosophy on running his business was simply never asking anyone to do something he would not do himself. Inukai devoted much of his work in the community to dozens of organizations with causes that impact children, such as providing books and readers to elementary schools through Operation Outreach; providing food, gifts and adopt-a-family coordination during the holidays for the Domestic Violence Resource Center; and with Hillsboro Parks and Recreation.

Inukai Family Foundation

Inukai Family Foundation goals are to create positive youth development, educational grants and scholarship support to teachers and students, scholarship support to the sons and daughters of employees of Dick’s Auto Group, support healthcare needs, and Japanese education and awareness.

Education

Inukai Family Foundation creates Positive Youth Development in our community by supporting opportunities for youth to enhance their interests, skills, and abilities. We offer grants to a wide variety of programs that work toward this goal.

Senior Care

Inukai Family Foundation is dedicated to improving care for seniors, and those with chronic or debilitating illness. After his mother, Mecha, passed away in 2002, Dick Inukai saw firsthand the value of quality care, and was compelled to put his time and resources into assisting the elderly.

Japanese Culture

Born in a Japanese internment camp in Tule Lake, California, Dick Inukai spent a lifetime promoting Japanese culture and educating his community about his proud heritage. Inukai’s roots drew him to the Japan-American Society of Oregon (JASO), serving as a member for over 20 years.

What is Metro?

Metro works with communities, businesses and residents in the Portland metropolitan area to chart a wise course for the future while protecting the things we love about this place.

Where is Metro?

Metro serves more than 1.7 million people in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties. The agency's boundary encompasses Portland, Oregon and 23 other cities – from the Columbia River in the north to the bend of the Willamette River near Wilsonville, and from the foothills of the Coast Range near Forest Grove to the banks of the Sandy River at Troutdale.

Nature in Neighborhoods Grants

Nature in Neighborhoods grants support community projects and programs across the region, from local park improvements to stream restoration to hands-on nature education for people of all ages and backgrounds.

Grant programs under Nature in Neighborhoods include:

• Nature education
• Restoration and community stewardship
• Capital
• Community choice

Grants are designed to support communities of color and other communities who have experienced barriers to accessing Metro grant funding in the past.

Nature Education Grants

Metro's Nature in Neighborhoods community grants provide opportunities to connect people with nature across greater Portland. The nature education grants are offered every two years.

Purpose of Grants

Nature education and outdoor experiences grants support and create partnerships in local communities that improve water quality, restore fish and wildlife habitat and connect people with nature. These grants prioritize programs that advance racial equity, diversity and inclusion, make communities more resilient to climate change and include greater community engagement.

Potential Projects

Funding is available for projects that promote cultural, environmental and economic equity. As examples, projects could:

• build relationships and partnerships that promote nature education and outdoor experiences by and for people of color
• increase the number of visitors and staff at parks and natural areas who represent diverse racial, ethnic and cultural groups and other historically and continually marginalized groups
• develop the capacity of organizations that serve people of color to lead nature education and cultural programs in parks and natural areas
• support outdoor nature programs that include family and community collaboration and culturally specific organizations that center people of color, specifically support programs that are led by and for these communities
• integrate outdoor nature education with school-based and science, technology, engineering and math curriculum
• support community engagement and nature education programs that include hands-on restoration activities to improve fish and wildlife habitat in local communities
• support mentorship, youth corps and job skill development or otherwise prepare participants for continuing careers or higher education in natural resources, nature education or other nature-related science, technology, engineering or math fields.

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation Vision

The Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation, "A Foundation for All", was established in 2002. It was begun in order to give a clear voice for those who wish to be a part of the many, worthy, forces for change in our world.

We are a foundation whose purpose is to look ahead towards the future, giving the past its due by remembering where we came from, and how much we can all accomplish together. We aim to make the critical difference on our planet by recognizing and having respect for our ever changing world. We respect all Life, the Environment, and all People, no matter who they are.

Georgia-Pacific Foundation

Established in 1958, the Georgia-Pacific Foundation sets aside resources to improve life in the communities where we operate. We’ve worked with thousands of outstanding community-based programs, service projects and disaster relief efforts, focusing our investment in four areas we believe make the most impact:

• education
• entrepreneurship
• enrichment of community
• environment

Investment Priorities

• Aligns with GP’s mission and values
• Aligns with GP’s Four Focus Areas of giving: Education, Environment, Enrichment of Community and Entrepreneurship
• Serves communities where GP has manufacturing facilities
• Creates value by contributing to and positively impacting long term well-being and sustainability of GP communities

Northwest Neighborhoods Parks & Recreation Fund

Grants for the capital development and renovation of parks and recreation facilities in Northwest Portland.

OCF's Northwest Neighborhoods Parks & Recreation Fund awards grants in the northwest section of Portland, with preference given to projects within the boundaries of the Northwest District Association, Northwest Industrial Neighborhood Association or the Hillside Neighborhood Association.

Fund History 

Recognizing the impact of highway and bridge construction on Northwest Portland, the state of Oregon and the city entered into an agreement in 1974 whereby the city leased property beneath the I-405 access to the Fremont Bridge, which was in turn subleased to generate revenues for a fund for the recreational needs of Northwest Portland. In 1994, the fund was transferred from the city to OCF, creating the Northwest Neighborhoods Parks & Recreation Fund. Its purpose is to support the capital development and renovation of parks and recreation facilities in the northwest section of the city.

From the fund’s inception, a citizen advisory committee advised the Park Bureau and the neighborhood associations about the fund’s use. With the fund’s transfer, this group became OCF’s Northwest Neighborhoods Parks & Recreation Fund Technical Advisory Committee, which is responsible for recommending proposals to OCF’s board of directors for final approval.

Introduction

The Northwest Neighborhoods Parks and Recreation Fund of Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) invites proposals to fund the capital development and renovation of parks and recreation facilities in the Northwest section of the city. The eligible area includes neighborhoods in the northwest section of Portland, with preference given to projects within the boundaries of the Northwest District Association (NWDA), the Northwest Industrial Neighborhood Association (NINA), and Hillside Neighborhood Association. While there is no specific ceiling on requests, recent grants for projects have ranged from $3,500 to $35,000. 

Scope of Proposals Sought

The Northwest Neighborhoods Parks and Recreation Fund will consider proposals for projects that make capital improvements to improve opportunities for community recreation, including projects that present opportunities for public/private collaboration and that leverage community resources including financial, volunteer and in-kind contributions.