Best Early Childhood Development Grants in Oregon

Nonprofit 501(c)(3)s, government agencies, and tribal nations in Oregon can seek larger grants to support early childhood development programs, operations, and capital projects. The Ford Family Foundation funds initiatives like parenting support, childcare centers, and early education as part of its Strong Starts, Bright Futures, and Thriving Communities priorities for rural children and families.

Oregon 501(c)(3) nonprofits supporting early childhood development, family stability, or related youth programs can apply for Community Possible funding to advance economic opportunity, housing, and community arts. Grants from US Bancorp Foundation help organizations in designated U.S. Bank communities that address multiple pillars (work, home, and play) and prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion, including leaders of color.

Nonprofits and other organizations expanding, diversifying, or training the behavioral health workforce in Oregon can seek funding to improve early childhood and family mental health. With a mission to advance whole-person health, Cambia Health Foundation provides US $30,000 - US $60,000 for projects that reduce disparities, strengthen caregivers, and address social isolation for children and families.

Nonprofit organizations in Oregon working on early childhood development, youth services, housing, or economic opportunity can apply for Banner Bank’s Community Support Program. Grants prioritize programs serving low- and moderate-income populations, including efforts around affordable housing, youth academic and social-emotional development, and financial education that benefit young children and their families.

Nonprofits, government agencies, and tribal nations in Oregon can seek up to US $5,000 to build internal capacity for early childhood and family-focused work. Focused on technical assistance, the Ford Family Foundation supports consulting, strategic planning, board development, and staff training for organizations serving rural children and their families.

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations advancing health equity and early childhood development in Oregon can apply for PacificSource Foundation for Health Improvement grants of US $10,000 - US $50,000 to expand programs and capacity. With a mission to improve access to quality healthcare, the foundation supports clinical and community solutions, including infant and maternal health, parent education, and related support services.

SC Johnson Grants aim to enhance community welfare through charitable contributions, focusing on health, sustainability, and opportunity. Since 1937, the company has committed five percent of its pretax profits to support registered charities and nonprofit organizations, especially in areas where it operates. The grant program prioritizes initiatives addressing healthcare access, environmental conservation, and educational equity, ensuring that efforts align with the values of community service and corporate responsibility.

Graduate students conducting early childhood language development research at U.S. speech-language programs, including those in Oregon, can seek funding for preschool or early school–age studies. Focused on early verbal language and speech-language disorders, the American Speech Language Hearing Foundation offers US $4,000 awards, with up to three grants available in the current cycle.

Grants from 15 and the Mahomies Foundation help Oregon 501(c)(3) organizations improve the lives of children through health, wellness, and community-based programs, including early childhood development. Eligible U.S. nonprofits may request up to US $15,000 to support initiatives serving children, especially those in communities needing additional resources.

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) social service agencies serving Hillsboro residents can apply for City of Hillsboro’s Community Services Grant Program, offering up to US $20,000 for programs improving mental or physical well-being, including early childhood development. Oregon organizations providing child care, early education, or family support in Hillsboro may benefit from this funding.

Focused on early childhood development, nonprofits in Oregon can seek funding to improve school readiness for children from birth to age five. The PNC Foundation supports high-quality programs in areas like vocabulary, social-emotional learning, math, science, and the arts through its Grow Up Great initiative in eligible Oregon counties.

Oregon nonprofits and other organizations supporting early childhood development and school readiness can apply for grants up to US $20,000 to serve at-risk children ages 0–5. Ohio Children’s Foundation funds quality early learning, literacy, parent engagement, and policy advocacy initiatives that build brain and language development and reduce toxic stress for vulnerable young children.

Nonprofit organizations supporting early childhood development in Oregon can access free On My Way to Kindergarten kits to strengthen school readiness for children ages 3–5. Grants from The Molina Foundation help providers offer bilingual (Spanish-English) activity books and online songs, games, crafts, and stories that engage families and caregivers in preparing children for kindergarten.

Local and national charities in Oregon serving the needs of children, including early childhood development, can seek funding for programs that improve children’s health, welfare, and opportunities. CAPTRUST Community Foundation offers one large Charity of Choice grant plus multiple national partnership grants each year for organizations aligned with its mission to support children.

Tribal governments and tribal organizations in Eastern Oregon can receive funding for one-year projects that improve access to quality care and community health, including early childhood development services. With a mission to improve health and healthcare access, Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization provides up to US $30,000 for programs serving EOCCO members in 12 eastern Oregon counties.

Public health departments in Eastern Oregon counties can apply for Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization’s Community Benefit Initiative Reinvestment grants, awarding US $8,000 - US $50,000 for one-year projects improving access to quality care. Projects may address early childhood trauma, parenting support, non-billable perinatal care, data systems, and broader early childhood development needs in Oregon.

Organizations improving health and early childhood development in Oregon can apply for Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization’s Community Benefit Initiative Reinvestment Opt-In grants. Grants from Eastern Oregon Coordinated Care Organization help fund one-year projects in its Eastern Oregon service counties, including kindergarten readiness for ages 0–6 and wellness and preventive care for youth 7–21, with awards up to US $65,000.

Oregon students pursuing careers in early childhood development and related early learning fields can access scholarship support through the Dr. Chao-ying & Sue Wu Early Learning Scholarship. Administered by Chuckanut Health Foundation, this academic scholarship helps remove financial barriers for future early educators and child-focused professionals, which may benefit those committed to early childhood development work.

$20K for changemakers with transformative ideas & firsthand insight in early childhood

About the Imagine Award

The Imagine Award by the Promise Fund offers $20,000 in flexible funding (see definition in FAQs) and a six-month cohort-based learning experience for community-rooted early childhood leaders with ideas for transformative impact. ​​Award recipients are at the idea stage and will launch a pilot within six months, testing their solutions with real users, gathering feedback, and refining their approach.

Imagine Award recipients will learn strategies for designing and executing lightweight tests for rapid learning while gaining clarity on their idea's direction using impact and business models. They will craft a compelling story about their work to build future partnerships and run a focused pilot with strong feedback loops for gathering data, all while growing alongside a supportive peer community.

What We Provide

Our grant dollars are flexible and meant to be used at award recipients’ discretion for the pursuit of tests or a pilot of a transformative idea. Read the FAQ for more information.

Direct, one-on-one support from our team to help you learn, get tailored help, and make relevant connections.

Multi-day gathering for peer connection, learning, and pilot design.

Access to a bench of mentors to guide you as you transition out of the program and navigate next steps with your pilot.

Light, tailored coaching to support pilot preparation, launch, and implementation.

Ongoing peer community and resources to continue learning and collaboration

The Tribal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program seeks applications for Development and Implementation Grants to support evidence-based home visiting programs for expectant families and young children. Funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, these grants aim to enhance maternal and child health, improve parenting practices, and foster early childhood development within tribal communities, ultimately promoting better socio-economic outcomes and reducing instances of child maltreatment.

Request for Proposals: Launchpad Funds

Background

Coefficient Giving is increasing its giving, primarily to prepare for the billions of dollars in new philanthropic capital that may become available in the coming years. Our increased giving in global health and wellbeing is a temporary surge, with two objectives: to smooth funding and pull forward initiatives we expect to be cost-effective, and to help create an ecosystem of regrantors and implementers with the capacity to allocate this new money as cost-effectively as possible. Additional context on our scaling is provided in this blog post. 

With new potential capital on the way, we want to increase the supply of actionable and fundable plans to address some of the world’s hardest problems. We’re looking for specific, credible strategies to convert funding into measurable progress. Our ideal funds are:

However, we are also open to funds that are thematic and don’t have a quantified goal — for example, a fund organized around a promising type of intervention. Such funds still need to be led by a single, identifiable person who is accountable for the fund’s direction.

Through this request for EOIs, we aim to seed or scale Launchpad Funds that can grow to $100m+ over the next few years. We don’t seek scale for its own sake; it is a proxy for the ambition of the fund, and a signal that the problem is large and tractable enough to justify deploying significantly more capital over time.

What we will fund

• We expect to support established ideas that have either not yet secured anchor support or could significantly scale beyond their existing level of funding.
• This funding can cover operating expenses, but we expect most of it to be used for activities that make progress on the fund’s goals — whether through regranting or direct implementation.
• For exceptional proposals, we may consider funding levels beyond $50m. We anticipate higher funding levels will involve more thought partnership from our team.
• While we don’t expect to make grants longer than 36 months, funded proposals may later be considered for additional funding beyond the initial period.

Fall 2026 Early Childhood Education Funding Cycle

Overall Early Childhood Education Program Blueprint

The Stranahan Foundation’s Early Childhood Education grant program supports efforts to improve access to high-quality early care and education for young children (birth to five), especially those from low-income families. We do this by investing in strategies that strengthen, support, and retain a high-quality, thriving early educator workforce.

The Foundation has a history of supporting professional development (PD) and learning systems through its Provider strategy (). We believe strong professional development systems are essential for building a skilled early childhood workforce and creating positive learning environments for young children.

The Fall 2026 funding cycle is available for organizations that align with this Provider strategy.

Funding Opportunity

This funding opportunity will provide up to $750,000 to support early childhood education providers in strengthening existing professional development (PD) systems. Funding is intended to improve a specific area of an established PD system—not to build a brand-new system from scratch or put the foundational elements in place.

What kind of improvements can funding support?

Organizations should focus their projects on strengthening their professional development systems. The Stranahan Foundation defines a strong professional development system as one that includes:

• Connect learning opportunities that build on one another over time.
• Use adult learning best practices.
• Align staff learning to educator competencies, credentials, career growth, or compensation.
• Provide learning experiences that are individualized, scaffolded, and responsive to educators’ needs, experience, and goals.
• Have dedicated leadership and organizational capacity to support ongoing implementation.

• Gather regular feedback from staff and families.
• Use standardized assessment and evaluation tools to understand what is working and where improvements are needed.
• Make ongoing improvements based on what is learned.
• Support reflective practice, peer learning, and collaborative inquiry among educators.

• Offer both individual and group learning opportunities, such as training, professional learning communities, coaching, and mentoring.
• Provide learning opportunities on an ongoing basis rather than in a one-and-done situation.
• Connect internal and external learning opportunities to make the best use of available resources.
• Support classroom implementation through observation, modeling, feedback, and continuous improvement cycles.

• Provide learning experiences that are practical, relevant, and easy to apply in daily work.
• Include fundamental topics such as family engagement, effective instruction, developmentally appropriate practice, and classroom management.
• Align with established standards, research, and effective practices in the early childhood field.
• Equip educators to support all learners, including multilingual learners, children with disabilities, and children impacted by trauma or adverse experiences.

The Alleghany Foundation, a private 501(c)(3) organization in Virginia, focuses on enhancing the quality of life in the Alleghany Highlands through strategic funding initiatives. It seeks grant applications that address key areas such as economic transformation, educational excellence, health and wellness, community capacity, and civic leadership. By prioritizing innovative projects and supporting local organizations, the Foundation aims to foster sustainable growth and community engagement, ensuring a vibrant future for the region.

The WKKF Grant, offered by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is dedicated to fostering a future where every child and family thrives. With a focus on nurturing early education, accessible healthcare, and equitable food systems, this grant supports initiatives that empower communities across the U.S. and parts of Mexico and Haiti. Organizations meeting IRS regulations and being legal entities, particularly 501(c)(3) nonprofits, are encouraged to apply for funding to create lasting impacts in their communities.

The PNC Foundation aims to enhance the lives of individuals in local communities through partnerships with nonprofit organizations. Their focus includes promoting educational opportunities, particularly for early childhood education, and supporting economic development initiatives. Grants are available for organizations that benefit low- to moderate-income families and enhance community growth. The foundation prioritizes programs that foster sustainability and diversity, ensuring a lasting impact on the communities they serve.

The FDC Foundation, established in 2008, is a private non-profit dedicated to providing grants to 501(c)(3) public charities across three main areas: Health & Nutrition, Education, and Housing. The foundation supports initiatives that improve nutrition, assist diabetic individuals, enhance early childhood development, and promote housing opportunities for those in need. However, it does not fund for-profit entities or international organizations, nor does it provide grants for specific excluded purposes.