Search Through Grants for 501(c)(3) in Oregon in the U.S.

Ben B. Cheney Foundation Grant

The Ben B. Cheney Foundation makes grants in the communities where Mr. Cheney’s lumber company operated.

Within those communities, the Foundation will respond to a wide variety of requests. The Foundation’s main goal is to support efforts that help to improve the quality of life in those communities.

Type of Grant

The Foundation is open to a wide variety of programs serving the communities where we give. We prefer to focus on project grants rather than ongoing operating support.

A project has three distinguishing features:

• A specific time period with a beginning and an end,
• Specific accomplishments for the project, and
• A specific budget that outlines both what resources the organization needs to achieve the stated accomplishments and where the organization plans to obtain those resources.

Project Grants

Project grants are generally given on a one-time basis. The Foundation will evaluate an organization's plans for sustaining the impact of project grants, especially those for program expansion or starting new programs. That evaluation will include these questions:

• Are there identified sources of support capable of sustaining the program?
• Is the organization committed to a strategy to gain those sources of support?
• Does the project plan include activities towards gaining that sustainability?

While the Foundation understands that fund raising is a part of many organizations' budgets, we feel that this approach allows us to respond to needs that go above and beyond the annual operating budget. As a result, projects for one-time capital or equipment needs often gain priority.

Through this approach the Foundation is able to make grants to a number of first time grantees every year. Since 1975 the Foundation has supported 1,200 organizations.

Program Areas

The Foundation organizes its grant making into eight categories. They are displayed here for information purposes only. The Foundation does not budget to categories in advance and grant seekers are not required to apply by category.

• Charity - Programs providing for basic needs such as food, shelter, and clothing.
• Civic - Programs improving the quality of life in a community as a whole such as museums and recreation facilities.
• Culture - Programs encompassing the arts.
• Education - Programs supporting capital projects and scholarships, primarily for six pre-selected colleges and universities with a record of service to Pierce County.
• Elderly - Programs serving the social, health, recreational, and other needs of older people.
• Health - Programs related to providing health care.
• Social Services - Programs serving people with physical or mental disabilities or other special needs.
• Youth - Programs helping young people to gain the skills needed to become responsible and productive adults.

Overview

Founded in 2007 by Kat Taylor and Tom Steyer, Beneficial State Bank is a B Corp Certified community development bank with branches in California, Oregon, and Washington. One hundred percent of the economic rights of Beneficial State Bank are owned not by private shareholders, but by nonprofit organizations, including Beneficial State Foundation. As nonprofit shareholders, we reinvest all distributed bank profit back into communities to promote thriving people, a healthy economy and a prosperous planet. This ownership structure allows us to learn and develop new metrics and standards as Beneficial State Bank tests and implements equitable banking products and practices.

As of 2023, Beneficial State Bank is a $1.7 billion asset state-chartered, federally insured bank with branches in California, Oregon, and Washington. Learn more about the origins of Beneficial State Bank.

Supporting Our Communities With Sponsorships

From day one, Beneficial State Bank has been committed to supporting our community above and beyond our lending by providing sponsorships to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations each year. We provide sponsorships to 501(c)(3) organizations in California, Oregon, and Washington that are engaged in transformative social justice and environmental work in our target sectors:

Social:

• Affordable and Multi-family Housing
• Arts, Culture and Community Building
• Education and Youth Development
• Beneficial Financial Services
• Economic, Business and Job Development
• Making, Manufacturing and Production
• Social Justice

Environmental:

• Environmental Sustainability
• Health and Well-being (non-food)
• Healthy Food
• Other Mission Categories (Business Ownership, Structures and Practices)

Beneficial State Bank has a unique business model compared to other banks. As a mission-driven bank majority-owned by the nonprofit Beneficial State Foundation, we work to maximize prosperity for our communities and our customers instead of working to maximize shareholder profits. We structure our business practices to benefit our stakeholders, not just our shareholders, so our total sponsorship budget is smaller than what you’ll find at a large, national bank. Therefore, we are limited in the number of sponsorships we can approve each year.

Starseed Foundation seeks to provide opportunities and exposure to the arts and environment, to improve the quality of life for those in need, and support social programs that offer cultural and lasting benefit to deserving populations.

In furtherance of these goals Starseed Foundation shall:

• Make gifts to exempt organizations which focus on expanding and enriching the performing and visual arts through education and public performance
• Make gifts to exempt organizations which focus on the environment through education and environmental protection work
• Make gifts to exempt organizations in support of literacy
• Make gifts to exempt organizations to alleviate hunger and support social services;
• Make gifts to exempt organizations that support programs related to children and animal welfare
• Make gifts to exempt organizations, with board approval, in support of culture and community improvement
• Make gifts to exempt institutions of education that support the goals listed above.

Grant Funding Priorities

We aspire to a future where all  rural families provide childcare with a nurturing, safe, and stable foundation for life. A child’s early years are the most critical time for setting a positive trajectory for life. Research shows that trusted relationships with caring adults make all the difference. We want to help families access the supports they need.

What we prioritize:

• Parent and caregiver supports build nurturing and healthy attachments that allow children to thrive. Our communities have identified a need for programs that better match the demographics of families and the emotional needs of children. We prioritize home visiting, parenting education, early childhood mental health and other community supports for parents and caregivers.
• Family financial stability helps parents access programs that exist to assist low-income families, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. We also offer educational scholarships for parents.
• Child abuse prevention protects children and improves outcomes for future generations. We fund and partner with local organizations and regional and statewide networks to prevent abuse and neglect, build awareness and strengthen systems that bring stability and safety to the most vulnerable among us.Grants aligned with our Education impact area aim to ensure that rural children have the supports and opportunities they need to succeed in their education. Our emphasis is on early childhood education, helping children start strong in their early grades, and preparing students for the transition from high school to postsecondary education or a career.

We envision a future in which all rural young people experience educational success. Education has always been at the top of The Ford Family Foundation’s priorities. We invest in high-quality, affordable early childhood education all the way to our scholarship programs, which have helped thousands of aspiring college students achieve their dreams.

Our emphasis is on ensuring that children and their families benefit from targeted support across two key transitions — from the early years to the schoolroom, and from K-12 to educational and career opportunities after high school.

What we prioritize: 

• Early childhood education allows children to develop the habits, skills and healthy brains that will help them succeed academically as they enter their K-12 school pathway.
• P-3 alignment helps children and families transition from early childhood education settings to more structured classrooms. This ensures children can read independently, problem solve and manage their social-emotional needs.
• Supports and pathways build K-12 students’ knowledge, skills and awareness to plan for life after high school and to improve their long-term economic opportunities.
• Postsecondary completion for students, especially those who are the first in their families to attend and complete college, improves economic and social outcomes for them and their families.

We commit to a future where rural communities are vibrant places that provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.  The Ford Family Foundation is a community building organization. We support rural residents as they work together to develop a shared vision for their community’s future and implement plans that enable them to attract and retain a diverse population, especially working-age families.

What we prioritize:

• Community building catalyzes efforts by rural residents to address needs and improve their communities. Community building fosters leadership, relationships, capacity and collective action to create well-being for all, especially children and families. From scholarship alumni to business leaders, community builders are everywhere. Learn more about the rural Community Building Approach.
• Community economic development builds a vibrant rural economy, improves the economic well-being of families and makes the community a place where people choose to live. Rural business retention and expansion is at the heart of our work in this area.
• Organizational capacity building across the region supports a range of stable and effective organizations that contribute to more resilient rural communities. Nonprofits are the backbone of providing essential services to rural families.

Good Neighbor grants

They’re called Good Neighbor grants for a reason. Good neighbors help each other, learn from each other and lift each other up.

Good Neighbor grants are designed to support the initiatives that matter in your community in a way that works for your organization, including unforeseen emergencies that interrupt programming or services. We fund both program and capital requests.

For Good Neighbor Grants, applicants should note the following:

• 25% committed before applying (in-kind can play a role but strongest requests have other funding at the table)
• Can request up to 1/3 for programs/operations and up to 50% for capital
• Clearly need to see the community at the table where services will be provided
• We also look for a clear plan in place for sustainability
• You will typically hear back from us in six to 10 weeks

Grant amount: Up to $25,000

Grant examples

• Emergency repairs to essential equipment at a food bank, library, fire hall or other community service provider
• Updates to facilities at a beloved community gathering place, including ADA accessibility and technology
• Community events such as celebrations, clean-ups or summer festivals (Events and celebrations must be free to the public and multi-day or annual, such as a music or art series.)
• New or special programs for the children and families in your communities
• Studies or research on a community need
• Playgrounds or recreational facilities
• Translation of materials or outreach to special populations
• Basic needs for vulnerable children and families
• Feasibility studies for economic development projects (e.g., business incubator, makerspace, commercial kitchen)

Pacific Power Foundation

The Pacific Power Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Pacific Power. Our mission, through our charitable investments, is to support the growth and vitality of our communities.

Apply for a Grant

The foundation manages its grants in four cycles. This helps the foundation carefully review similar requests to ensure maximum benefit.

• The information on this page is for Health, safety and wellness organizations including:
  • addiction, disability resources, disaster relief, domestic violence, first responders, food insecurity, healthcare accessibility, homeless support, mental health, public safety initiatives, veteran organizations, wellness and preventative care.

Founded in 1999, the Sundt Foundation was created to give Sundt employee-owners a way to give back to the communities where they live and work. Today, the Sundt Foundation remains true to its original mission, fostering a sense of connection and belonging in our local communities. The Sundt Foundation provides volunteer and grant opportunities to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in its regional areas.

Giving Guidelines

Employee-owner committees are responsible for Foundation grantmaking designated in the areas of youth development, hunger & nutrition, basic needs & social services, and military & veterans.

Grant Opportunities

Communities need nonprofits to thrive

We believe in transformational ideas that help individuals, families and communities flourish—and since 1975, the Murdock Trust has invested more than $1.4 billion into nonprofit organizations that share our commitment to thinking bigger, challenging problems and making a true difference.

Strategic Project Grants

Capacity-building awards for mission-focused projects and infrastructure investment

Capital Grants

Is capital growth or expansion important to your nonprofit’s vision for long-term growth and success? The Murdock Trust regularly makes grants that support construction, renovation, land purchase and other capital projects. In most cases, we prefer to receive requests for these types of projects once your organization has raised a portion of the needed funds.

Grant Opportunities

Communities need nonprofits to thrive

We believe in transformational ideas that help individuals, families and communities flourish—and since 1975, the Murdock Trust has invested more than $1.4 billion into nonprofit organizations that share our commitment to thinking bigger, challenging problems and making a true difference.

Strategic Project Grants

Capacity-building awards for mission-focused projects and infrastructure investment

Program & Staff

Expanding programs and adding staff are important markers of nonprofit success. Murdock Trust grants help fund both new programs and the expansion of existing programs and may be used to cover start-up costs and/or related staff member additions. Typically, we fund program and staff grants on a declining basis over three years (100/67/33%). 

Hydro Flask® is the leader in high-performance insulated products that help people enjoy the things they love to do in the places they love to be. From the number-one-selling water bottle to soft good innovations like our Unbound Series™ Soft Coolers and Down Shift™ Hydration Packs, Hydro Flask’s delightfully simple designs and go-anywhere durability always deliver the perfect temperature when you need it.

Founded in 2009 in Bend, Oregon, Hydro Flask inspires active outdoor lives with two simple words: Let’s Go! Its giving platform Parks For All supports the development, maintenance, restoration, and accessibility of public green spaces so people everywhere can live healthier, happier, and more fulfilled lives.

Product Donation Information

All applications will be reviewed in January. If your organization is selected to receive a donation, we will notify you in February. Orders may take up to 4-8 weeks to arrive, so please plan for an estimated arrival in March.If your organization is selected to receive a donation, we will contact you to confirm which items and colors we have available. We are sorry we are not able to offer your organization’s logo on these donations.Requests must be in quantities of 24, with a minimum of 48 and a maximum of 240.

Parks For All Product Donation Criteria

Before you begin your product donation request, make sure your request and organization meet the following criteria:

• Organizations seeking a Parks for All product donation must be dedicated to building, restoring, maintaining, or providing more equitable access to, or education around, parks and recreational public lands and/or beaches and coastal areas.
• Product donation requests are being accepted for the following uses:
  • Reward for participation
  • Stakeholder engagement (i.e. – galas, fundraising events, etc.)
• Applicants must demonstrate a history of efficient use of resources.
• Applicants’ missions should be aligned with Hydro Flask’s priorities of inclusivity, active lifestyles and enhanced health.
• Eligible organizations must have offices/staff and programming in the United States.

Charis Fund Grant

Charis Fund is a small, benevolent family trust established in 1938, intended to support projects focused on social welfare (prioritizing hunger, housing, homelessness, at-risk youth), health and education. Charis is non-denominational but often funds religious organizations which provide services in the above categories. Charis Fund aids organizations located in California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada. Charis Fund has two funding cycles per year. Charis Fund exists to support organizations addressing some of society’s greatest challenges.

Charis Fund’s goal is to help initiate or expand programs focused on the areas below:

• Housing issues/homelessness
  • Example: New showers for a shelter, shelter program expansion
• Food insecurity/feeding programs
  • Example: Food purchase, location expansion
• At-risk youth/education
  • Example: After-school programs, mentoring support
• Mental health/health care
  • Example: Wrap around programs for families and children, counseling programs
• Domestic violence
  • Example: Furniture for safe houses, violence prevention programs
• Substance abuse
  • Example: Treatment center/program expansion, substance free housing

Funding

Our grants range from $2,500 - $7,500.

Reser Family Foundation 

The Reser Family Foundation continues Al and Pat Reser’s decades-long commitment to giving back to Oregon communities. The Reser Family is passionate about strengthening Oregonians through charitable grants made to organizations doing broad-based, innovative, inclusive work across our state.

Our Cornerstones

To help create the broadest possible benefit to Oregonians, The Reser Family Foundation focuses on four Cornerstones—Education, Health, Arts, and Environment—to guide giving through our Fast Track and Mid Size grant programs. 

Education

Grants supporting student success and engagement

Education Funding Priorities:

• Support school-day academic and transitional programs that encourage student success.
• Provide after-school enrichment and support for extracurricular activities in middle schools.
• Support the basic needs of students with limited economic means on their path to a high school diploma or GED.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in Education:

• In-school programs in public schools or independent schools that serve children with special needs
• Programs that support Career Technical Education (CTE) initiatives, first-generation college students, and schools serving low-income youth

We accept grant requests that have clear letters of support, signed by the school administrator (e.g., superintendent) if applicable.

If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

Health

Grants serving Oregonians affected by life-altering events

Health Funding Priorities:

• Serve children affected by a severe health diagnosis or life-altering event.
• Support the basic needs of children with limited economic means.
• Help underserved adults to achieve independence or improve quality of life after a severe health diagnosis or life-altering event.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in Health:

• We are not currently reviewing new requests for medical research funding, animal-assisted therapies, caregiver support programs, or child advocacy programs.

If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

The Arts

Grants to engage communities with the arts and increase access

Arts Funding Priorities

• Engage youth through creative visual and performing arts programs.
• Support broad-based community arts programs that increase access and enrich communities.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in The Arts:

If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

If your organization is a school, please apply under the Education Cornerstone.

Environment

Grants supporting either the natural environment or the built environment

Environment Funding Priorities

• Cultivate the long-term resiliency and vitality of our natural environment while engaging communities.
• Support community and economic development in the built environment that create sustainable community improvement.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in Environment:

• Funding for land acquisition, preliminary studies or preliminary research is outside of our current funding priorities. We are not currently reviewing requests from organizations with ongoing or pending litigation.

The foundation will consider capital fundraising requests when more than 80% of the funds needed to complete the project have been raised/pledged

The Fast Track Grant Program is for requests $12,499 and under. The Fast Track application process is designed to provide eligible organizations with streamlined access and support for projects or programs. 

Reser Family Foundation 

The Reser Family Foundation continues Al and Pat Reser’s decades-long commitment to giving back to Oregon communities. The Reser Family is passionate about strengthening Oregonians through charitable grants made to organizations doing broad-based, innovative, inclusive work across our state.

Our Cornerstones

To help create the broadest possible benefit to Oregonians, The Reser Family Foundation focuses on four Cornerstones—Education, Health, Arts, and Environment—to guide giving.

Education

Grants supporting student success and engagement

Education Funding Priorities:

•  Supporting middle and high school, campus based or school-day academic and transitional programs that encourage student success, including career technical education.            
•  Supporting the basic needs & basic skills of K-12 students with limited economic means.        

A closer look at our current funding priorities in Education:

• If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

Letter(s) of support, or the MOU, are required to be uploaded before the application can be submitted.

If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

Health

Grants serving vulnerable Oregonians.

Health Funding Priorities:

•  Increasing access to mental health services & addiction programs for underserved youth.
•  Providing basic needs for both those impacted by domestic violence and for low-income elders and supporting day shelters that provide wraparound services leading to successful employment for unhoused individuals.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in Health:

• We are not currently reviewing new requests for medical research funding, animal-assisted therapies, caregiver support programs, or child advocacy programs.

If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

The Arts

Grants to engage communities with the arts and increase access.

Arts Funding Priorities

• Engage youth through creative visual and performing arts programs.
• Support broad-based community arts programs that increase access and enrich communities.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in The Arts:

If your request is for capital construction and replacement of equipment, please see our Built Environment funding priority.

If your organization is a school, please apply under the Education Cornerstone.

Funding for individual artists is outside of our Arts guidelines.

Environment

Grants supporting the vitality of the natural environment. Grants supporting the built environment & community development.

Environment Funding Priorities

• Cultivate the long-term resiliency and vitality of our natural environment while engaging communities.
• Support community and economic development in the built environment that create sustainable community improvement.

A closer look at our current funding priorities in Environment:

• Funding for land acquisition, preliminary studies or preliminary research is outside of our current funding priorities.
• We are not currently reviewing requests from organizations with ongoing or pending litigation.

The foundation will consider capital fundraising requests when more than 70% of the funds needed to complete the project have been raised/pledged.

Assessment Criteria

While our funding priorities have a broad base, they all share a single purpose — to improve and strengthen communities throughout Oregon. In considering grant applications, we look for:

• In considering grant applications, we look for programs or projects that hold promise to accomplish a measurable impact in the area of Education, Health, Arts, and Environment. 
• We provide funding to applicants that possess the ability to achieve uncommon results.

The Mid Size Grant Program serves requests from $12,500 to $50,000. The Mid Size grant process is open to eligible organizations with operating budgets larger than $1,200,000 who are requesting support for projects or programs. Applications are reviewed, then organizations selected for consideration will have a site visit with Foundation representatives.

Who We Are

Based in Portland, Oregon and created in 2019 by Dr. Ron Naito, the Ronald W. Naito MD Foundation continues his legacy of healing by supporting nonprofit organizations that strengthen, protect, and transform our communities and our planet.

Our grants support organizations working all over the world to mitigate the climate crisis, reduce health disparities, and build communities that are socially equitable and environmentally sustainable. We also support Oregon-based arts and education initiatives, particularly those focused on under-resourced communities.

Our grants are trust-based. Because we respect the expertise of our nonprofit partners and understand that they know best how to spend their funds, all of our grants are unrestricted.

Current Funding Trends

• Under-represented areas:
  • If you work in these areas and are eligible within our funding priorities and restrictions, please consider applying.
    • Nonprofits that work internationally or domestically outside of Oregon, including regional and national organizations
    • Climate crisis mitigation, especially aggressive efforts to curtail or prevent new greenhouse gas emissions
    • International long-term health equity initiatives and health equity initiatives addressing aging and supporting elders
    • Systemic initiatives and advocacy/policy work in any of our funding priorities
• Over-represented areas:
  • We value these types of work and still seek applications from these categories, but applicants may find these categories slightly more competitive if current trends continue.
    • Arts initiatives
    • Oregon frontline nonprofits across all sectors
    • Frontline services, especially organizations supporting people with mental health or substance use needs and organizations supporting survivors of child abuse and domestic and sexual violence

Funding Area: Climate

We seek to fund initiatives that work aggressively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to prevent new emission sources now, both at the frontlines and through policy, markets, litigation, and legislation.

This includes (but isn’t limited to) organizations that:

• Support or lead upstream policy, advocacy, or other reform initiatives that deter new fossil fuel investments, accelerate decarbonization, and promote renewable energies, both domestically and internationally.
• Advance grassroots organizing by Indigenous or other frontline communities, or work to advance climate justice in systems or markets.
• Regranting organizations that can pool our resources with other funders’ and direct them to impactful, proven organizations.

Funding

We tend not to fund organizations with annual budgets over $20 million, although there are some exceptions. We often fund grassroots initiatives. We fund larger organizations ($10m+ budgets) only if they primarily are resource, advocacy, policy, movement-building; if they are regranting organizations; or if they work beyond the local/statewide level (regional, national, international). We also occasionally fund larger organizations working across multiple regions or countries to provide lasting frontline interventions.

We offer unrestricted grants, mostly ranging from $5,000-$40,000. We occasionally fund smaller and larger requests, and we are moving toward more multi-year grants. We try to keep a balance between organizations providing frontline services and organizations working to create and advocate for systemic solutions.

Our grants are unrestricted and can be used for general operating, program/project, capacity building, capital requests (for projects with budgets under $1m), endowment, seed funding, etc.

Who We Are

Based in Portland, Oregon and created in 2019 by Dr. Ron Naito, the Ronald W. Naito MD Foundation continues his legacy of healing by supporting nonprofit organizations that strengthen, protect, and transform our communities and our planet.

Our grants support organizations working all over the world to mitigate the climate crisis, reduce health disparities, and build communities that are socially equitable and environmentally sustainable. We also support Oregon-based arts and education initiatives, particularly those focused on under-resourced communities.

Our grants are trust-based. Because we respect the expertise of our nonprofit partners and understand that they know best how to spend their funds, all of our grants are unrestricted.

Current Funding Trends

• Under-represented areas:
  • If you work in these areas and are eligible within our funding priorities and restrictions, please consider applying.
    • Nonprofits that work internationally or domestically outside of Oregon, including regional and national organizations
    • Climate crisis mitigation, especially aggressive efforts to curtail or prevent new greenhouse gas emissions
    • International long-term health equity initiatives and health equity initiatives addressing aging and supporting elders
    • Systemic initiatives and advocacy/policy work in any of our funding priorities
• Over-represented areas:
  • We value these types of work and still seek applications from these categories, but applicants may find these categories slightly more competitive if current trends continue.
    • Arts initiatives
    • Oregon frontline nonprofits across all sectors
    • Frontline services, especially organizations supporting people with mental health or substance use needs and organizations supporting survivors of child abuse and domestic and sexual violence

Funding Area: Sustainable Communities

In Sustainable Communities, we seek to fund organizations that address pressing social issues and support equitable models of infrastructure so that communities can thrive socially, environmentally, and economically.

Sustainable Communities grants often intersect with our Climate and/or Health Equity funding areas, incorporating social justice advocacy, economic initiatives, climate adaptation, and other human rights and environmental justice initiatives that impact health outcomes, lead to healing, and increase communities’ capacity to thrive.

This includes (but isn’t limited to):

• Social justice, civil rights, and anti-hate initiatives that build power, sovereignty, community, and resources for people whose wellness and success are threatened by systemic prejudice or injustice.
• Triple-bottom-line initiatives that help historically-marginalized communities gain access to sustainable economic power and lasting health benefits.
• Environmental justice work that impacts the health and success of historically marginalized communities, and that help communities adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis.

All of these are united by healing — of prejudice and hate, of inequities, and of the many social, economic, and environmental factors that adversely impact people’s health and well-being.

Funding Areas

There is urgent need in our world for healing: healing our planet, healing our communities, and healing ourselves, in body, mind and spirit. Our grants focus on four key areas of healing. 

• Climate
• Health Equity
• Oregon Arts & Culture
• Sustainable Communities

Current Funding Trends

Under-represented areas:

• Nonprofits that work internationally or domestically outside of Oregon, including regional and national organizations
• Climate crisis mitigation, especially aggressive efforts to curtail or prevent new greenhouse gas emissions
• International long-term health equity initiatives
• Health equity initiatives addressing aging and supporting elders
• Systemic initiatives and advocacy/policy work in any of our funding priorities 
• If you work in these areas and are eligible within our funding priorities and restrictions, please consider applying.

Over-represented areas:

• Arts initiatives
• Oregon frontline nonprofits across all sectors
• Frontline services, especially organizations supporting people with mental health or substance use needs and organizations supporting survivors of child abuse and domestic and sexual violence

We value these types of work and still seek applications from these categories, but applicants may find these categories slightly more competitive if current trends continue.

Our roots run deep.

The Ash Grove Charitable Foundation makes grants annually to support the work of public charities with tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code in the geographical markets that we serve.

As one of the largest cement companies in the United States and one of the oldest still in operation, Ash Grove plays an important part in the foundation and infrastructure of our country. And with plants from coast to coast, being a good neighbor in the communities in which we live and serve is a priority and part of our DNA.

Ash Grove territory is a lot of ground to cover. We believe in active participation to improve the existing and future quality of life in the communities we serve. This participation includes financial support to charitable activities. We aren’t just focused on building highways and buildings – we are also helping to build better communities.

Ash Grove is one of the largest cement companies in the United States and one of the oldest still in operation. Ash Grove plays a part in the foundation and infrastructure of our country. With plants from coast to coast, being a good neighbor in the communities we live and serve is a priority and part of our DNA.

The Ash Grove Charitable Foundation mission is to support communities today without compromising future needs, where nature is respected, minds challenged, opportunities created, and neighbors gather in the community. We stand together to build better communities. Communities that thrive today and for future generations.

Funding Priorities

The Foundation awards grants to charitable, educational, and scientific organizations, which are public charities.

The Foundation gives primary consideration to capital building and renovation projects for the following funding priorities:

• Nature – Protect or Preserve.
• Education – STEM
• Economic – Trade Skills
• Civic – Gather in Community
• Human Services – Shelter

Funding

The Foundation’s goal is to provide significant support to public charities for capital building and renovation projects. Grants for these projects generally are limited to $25,000. Consideration is also given to program grant requests. Grants for these projects are generally limited to $5,000.

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. 

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.

Nominate a Nonprofit

The People Helping People Awards are a celebration of exceptional work within the communities we serve and provide us the opportunity to honor members and nonprofits that drive positive change through service to others.

Each year, BECU members can nominate local nonprofits for a People Helping People Award of up to $50,000 in grant funds.

So look around you for heroes who deserve recognition, and nominate a nonprofit for a BECU People Helping People Award today.

Giving Areas and Subcategories

Nonprofit work must be focused in any one of the following seven giving areas:

• Advancing education (Pre-K through college): Access to education, mentoring, educational materials and programming, classroom, school and PTSA funding for educational programs/materials/experiences.
• Arts and culture: Equitable access to art experiences, underrepresented art and cultural organizations, cultural programs.
• Creating economic opportunity: Living-wage jobs, small and startup businesses, job quality for low-wage workers.
• Preserving health and promoting wellness: Access to healthcare, illness prevention/cure, mental health, patient support, disabilities, veteran advocacy.
• Preserving or restoring the environment: Conservation, stewardship, sustainability.
• Providing for basic human needs: Affordable housing, homelessness, senior advocacy, infant and child advocacy, food/diaper/clothing banks.
• Strengthening local communities: Neighborhoods, public safety, search and rescue, outdoor spaces, rotary/chamber.

The mission of The Stimson-Miller Foundation is to carry on the civic, cultural, educational, and health and human services charitable interests and concerns of the shareholders of Stimson Lumber Company in the greater Portland area and communities throughout the United States where Stimson Lumber Company conducts its business. 

Our Mission

Supporting charitable work that makes Oregon a better place.

We primarily award grants to small non-profit organizations focusing on social services, arts and culture, education, environmental initiatives, and youth-centered missions.

Pacific Power Foundation

The Pacific Power Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Pacific Power. Its mission, through charitable investments, is to support the growth and vitality of local communities.

Together with our foundation and employees, we've given $13 million to local communities since 2019 to lend a helping hand and spur economic development.

Grant Focus

The foundation manages its grants in four cycles. This helps the foundation carefully review similar requests to ensure maximum benefit.

Community Enhancement

Affordable housing, community resilience, community and recreation centers, economic development, libraries, monuments, memorials and science centers.

Environmental Respect

Animal and wildlife biodiversity; carbon and methane emissions; conservation of natural resources; environmental management systems; parks, trails and gardens; resource stewardship; waste management reduction, and water usage management.

Philosophy

John and Nancy Schwemm, lived outwardly their core beliefs that compassion and personal integrity should serve as the guiding principles of life’s endeavors, and that our lives are more meaningful if we participate in bettering our communities.

Based on those principals, the Schwemm Family Foundation seeks to promote programs and initiatives that connect people to the past, help improve the way we live in the present, and identify and promote healthy land stewardship far into the future.

Goals

Enhancing natural environments

The Foundation seeks to promote programs and initiatives that strengthen communities through the enhancement of natural environments.  

The Foundation will consider grant requests that sustain and protect resilient, local ecosystems and related biodiversity by focusing on proactive conservation, and/or comprehensive restoration.

Funded Projects Will:

• Target environmental protection/enhancement efforts at local scales that contribute to ecosystem resiliency
• Have clear, measurable goals with long-term ecological benefits
• Be based on scientific principles of ecology and/or ecosystem restoration

Preserving local history and culture

The Foundation seeks to promote programs and initiatives that help instill a sense of connection and belonging to one’s community through the preservation of local history and culture. The Foundation will consider grant requests that better communities by preserving and sharing history and cultural heritage through literature, digital archiving, and/or other interpretive means.

Funded Projects Will:

• Document or interpret some portion of pre-1935 community history or culture
• Focus on a specific local community
• Speak to a wide audience
• Provide an enduring component accessible to the general population

Promoting healthy communities for all

The Foundation seeks to foster thriving communities by supporting projects that build healthier and more equitable communities.

Funded Projects Will:

• Promote local communities in the planning and implementation of environmentally focused land use decisions and/or support parks, green spaces, urban trail corridors, community gardens, and urban farms.
• Integrate with ongoing community efforts aimed at enhancing equitable access of resources to individuals in underserved communities.

GO Grants

Collins is a responsive grantmaker. We award and fund arts and culture, child welfare and development, education, environmental protection, health equity, and a broad range of efforts to enhance the quality of life in Oregon’s communities.

A central priority for the Foundation is to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion through our grantmaking. We support organizations at various stages in their pursuit of equity. Many successful applicants will have made efforts to learn about the root causes of social inequities, are actively thinking about how racial equity informs their work and operations, or have implemented policies and practices to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

We provide general operations grants.

Bloomfield Family Foundation 

The Bloomfield Family Foundation (2000) is a private, family-led philanthropic organization. Founded by Margery Bloomfield (1925-2017), the BFF now operates through the volunteer work of Marge’s children and grandchildren. While originally conceived primarily as a resource for arts initiatives in Oregon, the Foundation has since developed partnerships with select organizations around the United States in our three mission areas of education, arts and humanities, and public health. Within these areas, the BFF prizes holistic programming that emphasizes local engagement with underserved communities, and invests in the future of their leadership.

Mission Areas

The Bloomfield Family Foundation works to encourage initiatives that improve the lives of underserved and underrepresented groups. We focus on localized non-profits that are grounded in community, helping them to cultivate leadership, expand program capacity, and create inclusive solutions.

• Expanding Access
• Supporting Community Resilience
• Cultivating Diverse Leadership

Focus Areas

• Education
• Arts & Humanities
• Health & Wellness

For the 2025 funding cycle, the Foundation will prioritize initiatives responding to our health & wellness mission and addressing the cost of living crisis currently facing low-income and working-class people in the United States. Areas that may be targeted include access to food and appropriate healthcare.

What We Fund

Programs

The Foundation supports programs within its areas of focus that align directly with community needs and have shown effectiveness in meeting them. We prioritize collaborative, community-based and interactive programs.

• Programs expanding access to the arts and humanities for groups that otherwise lack these opportunities.
• ​Programs supporting creative education, at any stage of life, through libraries, museums, schools, universities, and other institutions.
• ​Programs advancing public health and well-being for generally underserved communities, through research or direct services. 

Operating Support

Offered to smaller partner organizations of several years’ standing. Operational grants may be requested for time-limited needs or ongoing growth and stability. 

Capacity-building, Endowment, Capital

These awards are made less frequently, but may be considered in some circumstances, by invitation only.

How we fund

The Foundation operates an annual grant-making cycle. Grant decisions are made in late November, and awards are issued in December.

​Single year

• New applicants are eligible only for one-year grants, on a calendar basis. Following a successful first grant, an organization will generally be invited to re-apply.

Multi year

• This program invites selected organizations to apply for funding across 2 or 3 consecutive years.

Future Leaders

• Supplemental, small grants are available to help active grantees expand the diversity of their leadership.
• Awards are given for individual development opportunities that would otherwise not be accessible.
• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis during the grant’s calendar year.

A successful proposal is one that demonstrates:

• Program development reflecting a knowledge of best practices
• Commitment to an equitable structure with inclusive leadership and governing board, centered around the community of service
• ​​​A well-developed approach to impact assessment, consistent with the organization’s purpose

What We Fund

To maximize the impact of our financial support, the Foster Foundation cultivates long-term partnerships with organizations whose work aligns with our priority funding issues. By identifying well run nonprofit programs with the vision and capacity to get things done, we continue to make sound investments in the people, communities and future of the Pacific Northwest.

Priority Areas

Building strong communities benefits all of us. Improving community life encompasses not only meeting critical needs such as food, housing, healthcare, education and employment, but also enriching community spirt and well-being through the support of artistic expression, cultural programs and sports/recreational opportunities.

We seek to identify and fund under-resourced opportunities to make a difference in these four areas:

Social Services/ Human Welfare

We fund emergency and critical human services that support people and families in need. This includes food, emergency/transitional housing, job/life's skills training, counseling and other resources and opportunities that build economic self-reliance.

Education

We support innovative programs that improve literacy, learning and academic success for all ages. Training, tutoring, mentoring and enrichment programs are examples of our outreach in this area.

Medical Research, Treatment & Care

We provide funding for promising medical research to aid in the understanding, treatment and prevention of diseases. The Foundation also supports hospice care as well as HIV/AIDs research and education.

Community Engagement

We nurture the spirt and well-being of Northwest communities by supporting cultural, artistic and recreational activities that engage all ages and populations. Foundation grants help sustain arts organizations and programs that express and grow the creative imagination. We also support community sports/recreational programs, centers and activities that promote health, well-being and teamwork.

Geographic Reach

With both family and business roots in the Pacific Northwest, The Foster Foundation takes a regional approach to giving. We target our funding to assist nonprofits engaged in our priority funding concerns within Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

In addressing the founders' original intent, the Foundation will expand our philanthropy into smaller, more diverse communities within this five state area over the coming years. We will continue to support existing grantees. But, we desire to learn about and fund other pioneering initiatives and nonprofit programs that address the underserved and disadvantaged segments of this population―especially children, women and seniors.

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.

In-N-Out Burger created the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation to help those who are enslaved by any person or substance, by empowering them to live free!

The Slave 2 Nothing Foundation’s mission is to free people from being enslaved to any person or substance. We fulfill our mission by providing financial support to organizations in our communities that:

• Create, educate and assist in solutions to eliminate human trafficking
• Assist individuals and their families to gain freedom and healing from substance abuse

Requirements

The Slave 2 Nothing Foundation supports two types of nonprofit organizations:

• Substance Abuse organizations that assist individuals and their families to gain freedom and healing in the following ways:
  • Detox, inpatient (residential) treatment, outpatient treatment, transitional /sober living facility, support services, and prevention
• Anti-Human Trafficking organizations that create, educate and assist with solutions to eliminate human trafficking in the following ways:
  • Drop-in center, emergency safe home, Long-term residential programs, support services, and prevention

Funding Availability

The Slave 2 Nothing Foundation is able to fund only a limited number of the total requests we receive. If a particular request meets funding criteria but does not receive support, one should not interpret this as an indication of the Slave 2 Nothing Foundation’s lack of appreciation for the merit and worthiness of either the request or the organization seeking support. We welcome the opportunity to discuss possible future funding by invitation. While there is no guarantee of ongoing support, there is no limitation on how many times an organization can apply. Each request is reviewed on its individual merit, and decisions are not based on prior year submittals. Therefore, an organization can reapply each year.

On occasion, an organization that receives a grant asks to recognize Slave 2 Nothing and/or In-N-Out Burger for such contributions. While we are always honored by the request, we do not encourage or recommend any such recognition. Part of our company’s mission statement is to “assist all communities in our marketplace”, and so we are pleased to support your efforts.