Best Grants for Grassroots Organizations in Oregon

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation offers over 250 scholarships for dietetic interns, allowing a single application to apply for multiple awards. Scholarships range from $500 to $25,000, with eligibility for interns enrolled through June 30, 2024, including those with off-cycle matches. Applicants should consider their career goals in areas like clinical dietetics, culinary arts, and nutrition education. Academy membership is encouraged but not required. Fundraising determines the number of scholarships available each year.

The Garden Club of America Award in Coastal Wetlands Studies supports graduate students engaged in coastal wetlands research. Established through the Rockefeller Environmental Education Fund, this scholarship promotes conservation by funding field work in tidal and nontidal wetlands across coastal states, including the Great Lakes. Eligible applicants must be enrolled in a U.S. graduate program and can propose their own wetlands study. The award aims to foster environmental education and scientific inquiry in this vital ecosystem.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation offers a variety of scholarships for students in the Dietetic Technician Program, with over 250 scholarships available. Ranging from $500 to $25,000, these scholarships help support aspiring dietetic professionals. Applicants need to complete a single application to be considered for multiple scholarships based on eligibility. Membership in the Academy is encouraged but not mandatory for applying.

Oregon Parks and Recreation Department

The mission of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) is to provide and protect outstanding natural, scenic, cultural, historic and recreational sites for the enjoyment and education of present and future generations. Its vision is to take the long view to protect Oregon's special places and provide the greatest experience while creating stable future funding.

The department was created as a branch of the Highway Department in 1921. The 1989 Legislature created a separate Parks and Recreation Department, effective in 1990. State park user fees, Oregon Lottery dollars, and recreation vehicle license fees are the main fund sources for department activities.

Veterans and War Memorials Grant

The Veterans and War Memorials Grant Program was created and authorized by House Bill 2739 during the 73rd Oregon legislative assembly in 2005. It created opportunities for organizations to receive grant funds to construct or restore veterans and war memorials on public property pursuant to ORS 390.180(1)(d) and Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 736, Division 17. The OPRD was designated as the state department to administer this grant program. Funding for this program comes from the OPRD budget.

The Veterans’ and War Memorials Grant Program provides funding assistance to local governments for the construction and restoration of veterans’ and war memorials. There is approximately $300,000 available for this program. Grant amounts are generally between $10,000 and $70,000. Grant funds are let on a biannual basis in January of odd-numbered years, subject to availability of funds.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation offers over 250 scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing dietetics. Applicants complete a single application to be considered for multiple scholarships ranging from $500 to $25,000. Eligibility includes enrollment in an ACEND-accredited program and various special criteria. This initiative supports students from diverse backgrounds, encouraging future professionals in nutrition and dietetics. Membership in the Academy is recommended but not mandatory for application.

The Fields Artist Fellowship, established in partnership with Oregon Humanities, supports artists and culture bearers in Oregon by providing $150,000 each to four fellows over two years. This initiative aims to empower individuals at pivotal career moments, enabling them to create meaningful community change through their artistic practice. With an emphasis on professional development and networking opportunities, the fellowship seeks to enhance the visibility and impact of Oregon's artistic community.

New Seasons Market offers donation requests to 501c3 nonprofit organizations addressing food insecurity through equitable systems and immediate relief. Please allow 4 weeks for processing, as only approved requests will receive responses. Donations are typically provided in the form of gift cards to support community efforts. This initiative emphasizes collaboration with partners focused on policy advocacy and the underlying causes of hunger.

The Wilburforce Foundation Conservation Grants aim to enhance the conservation of vital lands, waters, and wildlife in Western North America. By 2025, their vision is to ensure native wildlife thrives across connected landscapes. The foundation supports organizations dedicated to strategic conservation efforts, focusing on habitat security and wildlife linkages. Grants are available to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations and similar entities, fostering initiatives that protect critical wildlife habitats and promote ecological integrity.

About Us

advancing the science of water ®

Who We Are

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is the leading research organization advancing the science of all water to meet the evolving needs of its subscribers and the water sector. WRF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization that funds, manages, and publishes research on the technology, operation, and management of drinking water, wastewater, reuse, and stormwater systems—all in pursuit of ensuring water quality and improving water services to the public.

5418 - Optimizing PFAS Treatment Systems for Multi-contaminant Removal and Operational Benefits

Project Objectives

The Nationwide Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program aims to eliminate derelict fishing traps nationwide. Focused on collaboration, it emphasizes standardized data collection, quantifying impacts, and comprehensive data sharing. With an annual budget of up to $1,475,000, the program supports 6 to 15 projects, providing grants ranging from $50,000 to $200,000 for 18-month initiatives. This effort significantly enhances marine resource conservation by reducing bycatch mortality and removing abandoned traps.

 Housing Stabilization Program

The Housing Stabilization Program assists low-income families who are receiving a state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant and are homeless or are unstably housed and at risk of becoming homeless. 

HSP funds can pay for:

• Housing-related costs
• Case management and program delivery costs 

HSP is funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through a grant from the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. ODHS allocates funds to Oregon Housing and Community Services biennially. Oregon Housing and Community Services allocates funds to community action agencies annually.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation offers over 250 scholarships for graduate and doctoral students pursuing degrees in nutrition and dietetics. With scholarship amounts ranging from $500 to $25,000, applicants can utilize a single application to be considered for multiple opportunities. Eligibility includes enrollment in accredited programs and other criteria such as experience in education or dietetics. Membership in the Academy is encouraged, although not required, for most scholarships.

The Honda USA Foundation's Mobility Pillar Award aims to empower individuals with disabilities by funding programs that enhance access and mobility. The foundation supports nonprofit organizations and schools that provide therapeutic, adaptive, and comprehensive care programs, as well as mobility modifications and assistive technology. Applications are accepted from U.S.-based organizations with 501(c)(3) status or fiscal sponsors, ensuring that the joy of mobility is accessible to all.

The Miller Foundation: Education Grant aims to ensure equitable opportunities for all Oregon students. It provides funding for K-12 education organizations that create supportive learning environments and prioritize student engagement, especially for those from underserved communities. The grant encompasses a variety of programs, including arts education and early childhood initiatives, while emphasizing the importance of family and community involvement. Organizations may apply for single or multi-year grants, fostering long-term partnerships to enhance educational equity across the state.

The RMEF Grant Program lies at the core of advancing our mission.

RMEF established the program in 1986 to provide financial and logistical support to projects that align with our priorities and goals. Grant funds raised by RMEF members, volunteers and generous donors from across the country translate into significantly more conservation accomplishment when matched with partner funds. The RMEF Grant Program also aims to build recognition for RMEF’s work, grow engagement, and boost local fundraising efforts.

Governed by clear guidelines and criteria, the RMEF Grant Program seeks to foster meaningful collaborations and long-term impacts in the conservation of natural resources and outdoor traditions. Grant project partners include federal, state, local, and tribal wildlife and land management agencies, private landowners and local stakeholders, sportsmen and women, and conservation organizations, universities, foundations and the outdoor industry. Eligible projects primarily focus on habitat stewardship, land conservation and access, wildlife management, and hunting heritage.

We support organizations recognized by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as a 501(c)3 entity, federal, state, local, or tribal government entities, sportsmen’s organizations, or educational institutions. All applicants must have a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) issued by the IRS. RMEF does not offer grants to individuals.

Land Conservation and Access

RMEF conserves critical big game habitat and migration corridors, while expanding and improving public access, including through land acquisitions and voluntary conservation agreements. RMEF's

2026 priorities include:

• Conserving migratory corridors and connecting landscapes through land conservation efforts
• Creating new or improved public access through access easements and agreements and state-run access programs

The Battlefield Preservation Fund Grant aims to support initiatives that preserve battlefields and related historic sites. This funding encourages planning and educational efforts, particularly those that engage new audiences in preservation activities. Eligible applicants include public agencies and nonprofits in specified states. Grants can be used for staff support, consultant fees, and educational materials. Applicants must provide a one-to-one match for funding, ensuring strong community involvement in preservation efforts.

The Community Services Grant Program, offered by the City of Hillsboro, Oregon, supports local nonprofit agencies aimed at enhancing the mental and physical well-being of community members. Eligible organizations include 501(c)(3) social service agencies that address diverse needs such as aging, child care, and mental health. Agencies receiving $3,000 or more must submit a Six-Month Progress Report to qualify for future funding, ensuring accountability and effective use of resources.

Definition

A Focused Investment Partnership is an OWEB investment that:

• Addresses a board-identified Focused Investment Priority of significance to the state; 
• Works towards achieving clear and measurable ecological outcomes;
• Uses integrated, results-oriented approaches as identified through a strategic action plan; and 
• Is implemented by a high-performing partnership.

Implementation Grants

Implementation funding supports partnerships with up to $12 million over 3 biennia (6 years). Initiatives must demonstrate clear and measurable restoration outputs and ecological outcomes that support limiting factors outlined in a federal recovery and/or state conservation plan(s).

Strategic Action Plan

Partnerships applying for FIP Implementation funding must have a strategic action plan (SAP) that addresses all components detailed in OWEB's Strategic Action Plan Guidance. A SAP defines the geographic extent, timeframe, and range of strategies and actions that will lead to the long-term goals of a partnership. The scope of an Implementation conservation initiative is determined by the partnership and constitutes the portion of the SAP that the partnership believes it can accomplish in the proposed timeframe with the proposed funding.

About Samaritan Health Services

We’re a nonprofit network of hospitals, clinics and health services caring for more than 290,000 residents in the mid-Willamette Valley and central Oregon Coast and portions of Marion and Polk counties. We work together to provide highly reliable and innovative medicine with world-class quality in a way that supports the values of the communities we serve. That includes caring for all people, regardless of their ability to pay.

Health Education Scholarships

One of the many keys to maintaining a healthy, prosperous community is ensuring a sustainable supply of excellent health care providers. To achieve this, Samaritan Health Services offers numerous scholarships to local students pursuing careers as doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as well continuing education or specialty training for current medical providers.

Each year, Samaritan awards more than $25,000 in scholarships for health care education to ensure the communities we serve receive the best care possible well into the future.

John & Carol Dinges Medical Scholarship

The John and Carol Dinges Medical Scholarship is intended to provide financial support for the education of an individual who desires to enter a medical field for the first time. The funds will be sent directly to the college for the student’s tuition. 

The scholarship is to be used for one of the following programs of study, which are listed in order of preference:

1. Nursing

2. Nursing Assistant

3. Diagnostic Imaging

4. Pharmacy Tech

5. EMT

6. Medical Assistant

7. Medical Office Specialist

8. Other LBCC medical field classes

About Samaritan Health Services

We’re a nonprofit network of hospitals, clinics and health services caring for more than 290,000 residents in the mid-Willamette Valley and central Oregon Coast and portions of Marion and Polk counties. We work together to provide highly reliable and innovative medicine with world-class quality in a way that supports the values of the communities we serve. That includes caring for all people, regardless of their ability to pay.

Health Education Scholarships

One of the many keys to maintaining a healthy, prosperous community is ensuring a sustainable supply of excellent health care providers. To achieve this, Samaritan Health Services offers numerous scholarships to local students pursuing careers as doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, as well continuing education or specialty training for current medical providers.

Each year, Samaritan awards more than $25,000 in scholarships for health care education to ensure the communities we serve receive the best care possible well into the future.

Julietta A. Pape Scholarship

The Julietta A. Pape Scholarship Fund was designed to help residents of Brownsville, Cascadia, Crabtree, Crawfordsville, Foster, Halsey, Lacomb, Lebanon, Scio, Shedd, Sweet Home, Tangent and Waterloo who are attending medical school. Applicants must be attending College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest in Lebanon or Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.  

The Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowships program, managed by the USDA's NIFA, aims to enhance the training of new graduate students in food and agricultural sciences. It provides essential funding for master's, DVM, and doctoral students, focusing on developing the next generation of experts to address critical needs in agricultural sciences. This initiative supports U.S. citizens and residents in achieving their educational goals and contributing to the USDA's mission.

The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) offers Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE) to support landowners in protecting, restoring, and enhancing wetlands previously degraded by agriculture. This program benefits wildlife habitats, improves water quality, and fosters biodiversity. NRCS collaborates with eligible landowners, including tribes, to implement Wetland Reserve Plans. Various enrollment options are available, ensuring financial support for easement values and restoration costs, thus enhancing resilience to climate change and providing educational opportunities.

The Ford Family Foundation

The Ford Family Foundation is a nonprofit, private foundation proudly headquartered in Roseburg, Oregon, serving rural Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. Our investments through grants, scholarships and community building create the conditions for children to have the family, educational and community supports they need to succeed in life.

Visual Arts Program

Support for arts fellowships, residencies and grants

The Visual Arts Program seeks to support Oregon’s established visual artists who are at pivotal points in their practice of art. We offer several opportunities and experiences aimed at accelerating an enhanced quality of artistic endeavor and significant advancements in artists’ work.

1905 Legacy Award

The 1905 Legacy Award honors outstanding Oregon artists whose life-long career and sustained excellence has significantly impacted the artistic community of Oregon. The Foundation grants one unrestricted award every five years.

About the Award

Named in honor of Hallie E. Ford’s birth year, the 1905 Legacy Award in Visual Arts is a new and valuable component of the Foundation’s Visual Arts program, which is designed to accelerate an enhanced quality of work by established Oregon visual artists and to enrich Oregon’s visual arts ecology. It is bestowed by nomination and reviewed by an anonymous panel of arts professionals.

Artists will be considered by nomination.

Use of funds

Fellowship funds are unrestricted and intended to assist with work and life expenses. This includes, among other things, purchase of materials, production costs of artwork and to supplement living or travel costs during the year of exploration, conceptualization and creation of new work.

The Ford Family Foundation

The Ford Family Foundation is a nonprofit, private foundation proudly headquartered in Roseburg, Oregon, serving rural Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. Our investments through grants, scholarships and community building create the conditions for children to have the family, educational and community supports they need to succeed in life.

Visual Arts Program

Support for arts fellowships, residencies and grants

The Visual Arts Program seeks to support Oregon’s established visual artists who are at pivotal points in their practice of art. We offer several opportunities and experiences aimed at accelerating an enhanced quality of artistic endeavor and significant advancements in artists’ work.

Hallie Ford Fellowship in the Visual Arts

The Foundation awards up to three unrestricted Hallie Ford Fellowships in the Visual Arts per calendar year to Oregon visual artists who have demonstrated a depth of sophisticated practice and potential for significant future accomplishment. These fellowships honor the late Hallie E. Ford, co-founder of The Ford Family Foundation, who strongly believed that artists should have the opportunity to realize their talents.

Artists who apply but are not selected for a Hallie Ford Fellowship are encouraged to reapply annually.

The OWEB Water Acquisition Grant Program aims to enhance instream flows by facilitating the acquisition of water rights from willing sellers. This program addresses critical conservation needs for habitats and species while improving water quality in Oregon's water-limited areas. Eligible applicants include tribes, non-profits, and local governments, with a focus on projects that implement strategic planning and monitoring for sustainable water use. Priority is given to partnerships that align with ecological priorities.

The OWEB Land Acquisition Grant Program, administered by the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, supports projects aimed at acquiring land for conservation and restoration efforts. Applicants must consult with OWEB staff prior to submission, ensuring a comprehensive and competitive application process. This program aims to enhance Oregon's natural resources and promote sustainable land use practices. With a focus on collaboration, it encourages applicants to align with OWEB's statutes and guidance for successful project outcomes.

The Oregon Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, funded by the USDA through the Oregon Department of Agriculture, aims to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, and nursery crops. Eligible applicants include non-profits, government entities, and producer groups. Projects must demonstrate potential benefits to U.S. specialty crops, and funds cannot be used for research proposals or to benefit a single entity. This initiative supports diverse agricultural advancements in Oregon.