Search Through Small Grants for Nonprofits in Oregon in the U.S.

Background

Established in 1932, OnPoint Community Credit Union has become Oregon’s largest credit union with over 500,000 members. As we have grown, so has our commitment to community engagement, from the volunteerism encouraged among employees to direct financial support of schools and nonprofits.

Through an inclusive and equitable approach, OnPoint supports organizations in our membership area that align with our core impact values. We offer funding for community grants, sponsorships, and schools making a positive impact.

Focus Areas

All three potential funding tracks fall under OnPoint’s focus areas of Economic Opportunity and Community Vitality.

Economic Opportunity

• Financial Education and Programming
  • Organizations dedicated to empowering youth and adults through educational programming that connects them to all aspects of personal finance in order to make informed financial decisions
• Access to Capital
  • Organizations dedicated to empowering and supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses with education on accessing capital, technical assistance, etc.
• Workforce Development
  • Organizations dedicated to creating pathways to career building, job training education, etc.

Community Vitality

• Hunger and Shelter
  • Organizations dedicated to supporting individuals/communities facing food and housing insecurity including, but not limited to food banks, rent assistance, etc.
• Education
  • Schools, school-adjacent, and other organizations dedicated to informing and educating individuals or the general public and providing teachers, parents and students with products and services that improve learning and decisions about opportunities.
• Community Development
  • Organizations dedicated to supporting and revitalizing communities through behavioral health, arts & culture, etc.
• Sustainability and Environmental Health
  • Organizations dedicated to sustainability efforts and projects.

OnPoint sponsors events and other activities for nonprofit, community-based organizations delivering programs that align with OnPoint’s key focus areas.

Funding

While we will consider all eligible requests, our average contribution ranges from $100 to $10,000.

Background

Established in 1932, OnPoint Community Credit Union has become Oregon’s largest credit union with over 500,000 members. As we have grown, so has our commitment to community engagement, from the volunteerism encouraged among employees to direct financial support of schools and nonprofits.

Through an inclusive and equitable approach, OnPoint supports organizations in our membership area that align with our core impact values. We offer funding for community grants, sponsorships, and schools making a positive impact.

Focus Areas

All three potential funding tracks fall under OnPoint’s focus areas of Economic Opportunity and Community Vitality.

Economic Opportunity

• Financial Education and Programming
  • Organizations dedicated to empowering youth and adults through educational programming that connects them to all aspects of personal finance in order to make informed financial decisions
• Access to Capital
  • Organizations dedicated to empowering and supporting entrepreneurs and small businesses with education on accessing capital, technical assistance, etc.
• Workforce Development
  • Organizations dedicated to creating pathways to career building, job training education, etc.

Community Vitality

• Hunger and Shelter
  • Organizations dedicated to supporting individuals/communities facing food and housing insecurity including, but not limited to food banks, rent assistance, etc.
• Education
  • Schools, school-adjacent, and other organizations dedicated to informing and educating individuals or the general public and providing teachers, parents and students with products and services that improve learning and decisions about opportunities.
• Community Development
  • Organizations dedicated to supporting and revitalizing communities through behavioral health, arts & culture, etc.
• Sustainability and Environmental Health
  • Organizations dedicated to sustainability efforts and projects.

Support for Schools

In 1932, OnPoint was founded by a group of school teachers. In addition to supporting educational programs delivered by 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations through our charitable grants, we continue to invest in education across other areas as well and this includes contributions to support:

• Schools and Districts
• Boosters and PTAs
• Alumni and School-Based Associations

Funding

While we will consider all eligible requests, our average contribution ranges from $250 to $2,500 for support for schools.

Larger funding requests

For requests that exceed $25,000, applications should be aligned with our funding priorities. We fund programs, operations and capital projects. 

Grant Funding Priorities

Family

Grants aligned with our Family impact area help strengthen connections between a parent or other primary caregiver and a child. We focus on ensuring that children have nurturing attachments from their earliest years, including preventing child abuse and neglect. We also focus on promoting financial stability so that families have the resources they need to care for their children.

Current grant funding examples

• Children’s mental health supports
• Parenting support programs
• Domestic violence programs and shelters for families with children
• Child abuse prevention and intervention programs
• Supports for children in foster care
• Maternal-child health programs
• Two-generation family literacy programs
• Family financial education and access
• Earned Income Tax Credit access and utilization
• Scholarships for parents to complete their college education
• Statewide networks and systems reform to support all of the above

Education

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.

Current grant funding examples

• Child care and early childhood education
• Early literacy programs
• Family engagement in their children’s education
• Programs that support social-emotional learning
• Youth development and summer learning programs
• Programs supporting students of color and marginalized populations
• College and/or career preparation programs
• Scholarships for aspiring low-income rural and urban students to attend and complete college
• Programs to support low-income, first-generation rural student success beyond high school

Community

Grants aligned with our Community impact area support conditions that help children and families thrive in rural communities. This includes focusing on their local economies, social capital, community visioning and planning capacity, and public gathering spaces.

Current grant funding examples

• Community building and engagement efforts
• Community centers and convening spaces
• Community social service centers (Where direct youth programming is provided)
• Arts and culture centers
• Libraries
• Rural health centers (Federally Qualified Health Centers)
• Disaster resiliency planning and fire halls
• Community economic development planning, feasibility studies
• Community supports for entrepreneurs, including start-ups, business retention, and youth and women entrepreneurs
• Business development services

Applying for a capital project?

We offer support for large capital projects (usually up to $250,000) aligned with our impact areas. Capital grants can fund up to one-third of a project’s total budget. Successful applications include significant community support in the form of local or regional dollars. Fifty percent of the budget should be raised before applying. This process can take three to six months.

Capital projects aligned with our impact area are limited to the following:

• Community centers and gathering spaces
• Social services centers (when direct youth programming is provided)
• Libraries
• Children’s museums or children’s exhibitions
• Small business incubators
• Fire halls
• Rural health centers (Federally Qualified Health Centers)
• Art and cultural centers

In addition, we support capital projects aligned with our Family and Education impact areas.

The Salvador Fund will consider applications from nonprofit groups from any sector (e.g. education, housing, transportation, health care, the arts and culture, public health) seeking financial support for programs, projects, or events that fit the Salvador Fund’s criteria and priorities.

The purpose of the Salvador Fund is to honor the memory of Salvador Castañares by offering small grants ($250 to $3,500) to benefit low-income people in the mid-Columbia region of Oregon and Washington. The grant committee will consider applications from nonprofit groups from any sector seeking financial support for programs, projects, or events that fit the criteria in the grant guidelines which are available here – Salvador Fund Grant Guidelines. The submission process is open and grant requests will be accepted at any time.

General Purpose - Large Grants

Our large grant program is a two-step process that begins with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), followed by a full application (if selected to move forward by our Board of Trustees) and can be extremely competitive. Decisions are based on the merits of the proposed project/program and its alignment with SMCF’s funding priorities.

Funding

Large Grants have a maximum request of $50,000 for programmatic work and up to $100,000 for capital projects.

General Purpose - Small Grants

Our small grant program is a competitive two-step process that begins with a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), followed by a full application (if selected to move forward by our Board of Trustees). Decisions are based on the merits of the proposed project/program and its alignment with SMCF’s funding priorities.

Funding

Small Grants have a maximum request of $7,500. 

Social Justice Fund NW

Social Justice Fund NW is a foundation working at the frontlines of social change. We leverage the resources of our members to foster significant, long-term social justice solutions throughout  Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

Emerging Justice Fund

In an effort to continue responding to the needs of our community, organizers, and activists SJF is so excited to launch our new grant cycle, the Emerging Justice Fund!

Emerging |  /əˈmərjənt/ | adjective – becoming apparent or prominent

The Emerging Justice Fund will move unrestricted funds to resource grassroots organizing for communities that have been and continue to be targeted by Federal, State and Local policies. Aligned with SJF’s intention to continue to move resources to groups that are most under represented in traditional grantmaking, the Emerging Justice Fund will resource organizations that are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color-led.

Funding

1-year grant of $10,000.

About

To help ensure our communities are places where everyone can thrive, we will invest in organizations, programs and partnerships focused on driving long-term, systemic change that leads to positive health outcomes for youth and accelerates equitable outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. We will leverage all our assets – cash, in-kind, people time to maximize our impact.

Seattle Mariners Community Impact Grants: Focus Areas

Through the Community Impact Grants, the Seattle Mariners Care Foundation seeks to help communities across Washington and Oregon, increase positive health outcomes for youth and accelerate equitable outcomes for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. The Mariners invest in efforts that focus on long-term, systems-level change; preference will be given to initiatives engaged in research and advocacy. Requests for programs that provide direct service without a focus on systemic change will be accepted and considered as a secondary priority.

Positive Health Outcomes for BIPOC Youth:

Support will be provided to organizations, partnerships and coalitions working to increase opportunities for young people, especially BIPOC youth, to realize the many rewards of physical activity, including the benefits to their mental health. The Mariners are also interested in efforts that grow organizational or sector understanding of the connection between physical activity and mental health.

Accelerate Equitable Outcomes for BIPOC communities:

Support will be provided to organizations, coalitions, and efforts responding to the issues most crucial for ensuring that everyone, especially BIPOC communities, have equal opportunity to thrive.

Preference will be given to efforts focused on and leveraging research and advocacy as key elements of systemic change work, and those that are led by and primarily serving BIPOC communities.

Funding

Mariners Care will provide one-year grants ranging from $10,000 - $25,000. In addition to cash grants, the Seattle Mariners Care Foundation team will work with its nonprofit partners to determine other ways the Mariners can support their work once grants are determined.

Guidelines

Grants from National Trust Preservation Funds (NTPF) are intended to encourage preservation at the local level by supporting on-going preservation work and by providing seed money for preservation projects. These grants help stimulate public discussion, enable local groups to gain the technical expertise needed for preservation projects, introduce the public to preservation concepts and techniques, and encourage financial participation by the private sector.

A small grant at the right time can go a long way and is often the catalyst that inspires a community to take action on a preservation project. Grants generally start at $2,500 and range up to $5,000. The selection process is very competitive.

Eligible Activities

National Trust Preservation Fund grants are awarded for planning activities and education efforts focused on preservation. Grant funds can be used to launch new initiatives or to provide additional support to on-going efforts.

Planning: Supporting existing staff (nonprofit applicants only) or obtaining professional expertise in areas such as architecture, archaeology, engineering, preservation planning, land-use planning, and law. Eligible planning activities include, but are not limited to:

• Hiring a preservation architect or landscape architect, or funding existing staff with expertise in these areas, to produce a historic structure report or historic landscape master plan.
• Hiring a preservation planner, or funding existing staff with expertise in this area, to produce design guidelines for a historic district.
• Hiring a real estate development consultant, or funding existing staff with expertise in this area, to produce an economic feasibility study for the reuse of a threatened structure.
• Sponsoring a community forum to develop a shared vision for the future of a historic neighborhood.
• Organizational capacity building activities such as hiring fundraising consultants, conducting board training, etc.

Education and Outreach: Support for preservation education activities aimed at the public. The National Trust is particularly interested in programs aimed at reaching new audiences. Funding will be provided to projects that employ innovative techniques and formats aimed at introducing new audiences to the preservation movement, whether that be through education programming or conference sessions.

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%). 

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

Equipment & Technology Grants

Best practices suggest that a healthy equipment and supporting technology infrastructure is essential. Please note that with these grants, recipient organizations are responsible for 50% or greater of the purchase cost.

The Impact Fund awards recoverable grants to legal services nonprofits, private attorneys, and small law firms who seek to confront economic, environmental, racial, and social injustice. Since our founding in 1992, the Impact Fund has made more than 800 recoverable grants totaling more than $10 million for impact litigation. We award grants four times per year, most within the range of US$10,000 to US$50,000.

Social Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants and legal support to assist in human and civil rights cases. We have helped to change dozens of laws and win cases to improve the rights of thousands. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Texas and North Carolina, incarcerated people with mental health disabilities are forced to remain in jail despite being found not guilty and unable to proceed with a criminal trial.
• In Orange County, California there are currently 13 gang injunctions under effect, which disproportionately affect young men of color.
• In Chicago, Illinois, the city’s homeless shelter program is inaccessible to people with disabilities.
• In Springfield, Oregon, the city and its police department used excessive force against Black Lives Matter protesters.
• In West Virginia, the state fails to protect children in foster care from abuse and neglect. 
• In Montana, voter suppression laws disadvantage young adults and give priority to gun owners.
• In Gary, Indiana, a gun manufacturer negligently marketed and distributed its guns, leading to an epidemic of gun violence in the city. 
• In Vancouver, British Columbia, the police perpetuate systemic discrimination against Indigenous people through bureaucratic measures.

Environmental Justice

The Impact Fund provides grants to support local litigation for environmental justice. These grants are for cases aiming to help people or communities who are affected by environmental harm or who lack access to basic environmental needs, such as clean water, clean air, adequate waste treatment, and green spaces. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Centreville, Illinois, the city’s failure to maintain its sewer system has caused raw sewage to flood peoples’ homes, endangering the property and health of a predominantly Black community.
• In Fresno County, California, the California Department of Transportation approved a highway expansion project that would increase air pollution and traffic in one of the state’s most environmentally burdened communities.
• In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the proposed expansion of a highway would divide the region's Black, Asian, and Latine neighborhoods and cause pollution and ill health.
• In North Dakota, the five-month closure of a highway in response to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests disproportionately affected the livelihoods and health of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe members.
• In Ontario, Canada, mercury contamination of the English-Wabigoon river system causes catastrophic environmental and health impacts for the Grassy Narrows First Nation.
• In Sacramento, California, the county government and Sacramento Area Sewer District violated the Clean Water Act by discharging raw sewage into nearby rivers.
• In the Eastern Coachella Valley in California, 1,900 residents of the Oasis Mobile Home Park suffer from arsenic-laced drinking water, wastewater contamination, and overcharging for utilities.

Economic Justice

The Impact Fund provides financial and other forms of support to cases fighting for economic justice. From workers' rights to consumer protection for vulnerable populations, impact litigation is a powerful tool to hold corporationss and the government accountable. The cases we are funding allege that:

• In Brooklyn, New York, a prominent mortgage lender engaged in predatory practices, leaving homeowners of color at risk of losing their homes. 
• In Washington, live-in caregivers are unconstitutionally excluded from the state’s wage-and-hour protections.
• In Ravalli County, Montana, the county has created a “modern-day debtors’ prison” by incarcerating people unable to afford pre-trial fees. 
• In San Diego, California, vehicle ordinances target unhoused vehicle owners even when no adequate housing alternative exists.
• In New York, a federal immigration detention facility is violating minimum wage and forced labor laws by forcing detainees to work for just a dollar a day. 
• In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the city and county destroy the property of unhoused individuals and conduct forced evictions from public spaces. 
• In Miami, Florida, insurance companies discriminate against a nonprofit community development corporation renting to tenants with Section 8 rental subsidies.

At Banner we care about the places where we work and live—the places we call home—and we appreciate your interest in our Banner Gives program.

Areas considered for Banner Gives grants include:

• Housing,
  • especially programs that address homelessness and opportunities to advance affordable housing such as home ownership counseling and projects creating and/or preserving access to affordable housing
• Youth
  • academic achievement, civic involvement, financial literacy (see below), as well as physical and emotional development
• Financial education
  • for youth and adults
• Economic development
  • with greatest emphasis on aiding small business and small farm development and lending, workforce development education, job creation and retention

Oregon Department of Justice charity data shows that the majority of registered arts and culture nonprofit organizations in Oregon have annual budgets under $100,000. Although these organizations are central to the vitality of Oregon’s communities, they are often not eligible or competitive for traditional grant programs. In response to this need, Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) will distribute at least $8 million over the next three years to support small community-driven arts and culture organizations. 

Arts and Culture Rebuilding Program

The Arts and Culture Rebuilding Program supports the adaptive capacity of the arts and culture sector, which has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The program is supported by the Fred W. Fields Fund and the Oregon Arts and Culture Recovery Fund. We will operate on a rolling deadline through December 10, 2024. Please see the Program Guidelines for more details.

Funding will go to arts and culture organizations to rebuild and strengthen the sector through support for general operations, capacity-building, small capital projects and new or expanding programs/projects. 

Funding Opportunities

• Funding will go to arts and culture organizations to rebuild and strengthen the sector, with a focus on one of the following grant types: 
• Operating support for immediate needs due to revenue losses or increased expenses since the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Operating support for small arts organizations with budgets under $100,000.
• Operating support for organizations serving Oregon populations or communities that have historically experienced significant bias, discrimination or underinvestment.
• Capacity-building to rebuild core operations, programs and support. 
• Small capital projects.
• New or expanding programs or projects that adapt, innovate, build resilience or increase impact. 

What We Do

On the surface, Foundation work may seem to only be about giving money to a nonprofit organization — simple as that. But no! When done well, a foundation’s money giving is only a small part of its activities. To give is not the end game. Well, then why do we exist? TO EFFECT CHANGE!

Who changes? As a Foundation, we do. As a receiving nonprofit organization or partner, they do. The people the nonprofits serve also change. We seek to energize our nonprofit partners to excellence by helping them find positive change resulting in the ability to better the lives of those less fortunate. How is this done? In our changing times the answer to the question is – THINK DIFFERENTLY!

We accomplish our core value to effect change by employing the following key strategies to support our nonprofit partners:

• Conduct site visits of our nonprofit partners to hear and see what they do, meet their people, learn their processes, and provide recommendations on how we may help to advance their mission.
• Attending nonprofit fundraising events such as luncheons, galas, or evening programs to understand how the nonprofit functions in their community.
• Attending our nonprofit fundraising events such as luncheons, galas, or evening programs to understand how the nonprofit functions in their community.
• Awarding grants to help key nonprofits to accomplish their mission.
• Introduce nonprofit partners to other partners that promotes networking opportunities in support of common goals.

Our Mission

The primary interests of the Foundation are to partner with nonprofit organizations which address the needs of at-risk youth, families, and the elderly.

The Foundation has a commitment to bettering the lives of the less fortunate in the areas of Families In Crisis, Education, and Mental Health.

Our Values

Our Foundation is in the CHANGE business. Energizing our nonprofit partners to achieve excellence, helps them find positive change.

Thos nonprofit partners that achieve excellence in the art of positive change are considered for the Queen Award.

By providing support, our partners can better the lives of those less fortunate to become productive and self-sufficient in their community. Our core value is witnessing positive change in our partners, and those who are helped by them.

Areas of Focus

• Families in Crisis
• Education
• Mental Health
• Caring for Children

What is Metro?

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

Where is Metro?

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

Nature in Neighborhoods Grants

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

Grant programs under Nature in Neighborhoods include:

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

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

Community Stewardship and Restoration Grants

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

Potential Projects

Funding is available for projects that:

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

Funding

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

Program Purpose and Goals

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

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

Goal 1: Improve water quality, fish and wildlife habitat

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

Examples of project strategies and activities:

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

Goal 2: Community partnerships, collaboration and accountability

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

Examples of project strategies and activities:

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

Goal 3: Economic and environmental equity

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

Examples of project strategies and activities:

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

Braitmayer Foundation Grant

The Braitmayer Foundation seeks to support organizations advancing equitable access to experiential learning that is meaningful and relevant to students’ lives, including project-based and other active learning approaches. Grants will support efforts that increase the quality and quantity of teacher-facilitated projects and programs that amplify and spread the practice of experiential learning in K-12 schools. The Foundation will focus on projects and programs serving low-income students in coastal New England and coastal Pacific Northwest.

Background

The Braitmayer Foundation is a 4th generation family foundation that seeks to honor our shared values and continue our family legacy of giving to strengthen education. We seek to fund organizations that are increasing access to quality education for all students, especially in the communities with the least resources.

The Braitmayer Foundation has a history of supporting experiential education. Over the years, it has observed how experiential learning aligns with the demands of the global world and helps students be adaptable, innovative, and self-directed learners and leaders in their communities. It knows teachers have been the leading advocates of experiential learning in schools, addressing its challenges and spreading its practice. The Foundation has also seen how experiential learning centers young people as visible leaders and problem-solvers in their schools and communities.

The Foundation seeks to continue championing experiential learning in schools and support efforts that increase the quality and quantity of teacher-facilitated projects in schools serving low-income students.

Defining Experiential Learning

The Foundation is not dogmatic about the definitions of experiential, active, authentic, or project-based learning pedagogies. The Foundation encourages organizations taking creative approaches to advancing equitable access to student-centered learning to apply, even if they do not directly identify with experiential learning.

What the Foundation looks for in a project or program

The Foundation seeks to learn from projects and programs that can help build the field and spread the pedagogy, systems, and tools to a broad audience. It is especially interested in projects that have inclusive strategies for students – specifically student populations that are often overlooked, such as students with disabilities, including mobility, sensory, or are considered neurodiverse.

While the concept applications will provide more of a summary, we are looking for full proposals that communicate most or all of the following:

• Familiarity with the theory and practice. As leaders, applicants should be grounded in the field and the challenges of active learning, problem-based learning, experiential education, etc.
• Equity. The project explicitly tries to address equity – racial, class, gender, ability, etc.
• Universal design. Projects are accessible to people with various abilities, disabilities, and other characteristics.
• Clear goals and objectives. The project is outcome- and results-oriented.
• A learning orientation. The project addresses exciting questions about the challenges of the work that is useful to others.
• Experiential learning is core to the mission. Providing experiential or active learning for young people is a central aspect of the organization’s mission and a driver of the organization’s creativity, innovation, and ongoing partnerships.
• The proof is in the projects. Participants take leadership in producing tangible and authentic products, services, or experiences that benefit the larger community, build social capital, and showcase their talents. Does it feel real to the students?

Funding

The Foundation’s funding opportunity this year offers a limited number of one-year grants of $35,000 – $50,000 to organizations at various levels of capacity. The Foundation anticipates inviting a limited number of follow-up requests for continued and sustained support from this cycle’s pool of grantees, depending on progress and interest.

This Fund is a part of our general grantmaking activities, and celebrates Betty’s affection for literary arts, theater, and photography. Because we are a small foundation, we see our role as supporting smaller organizations and companies, and in larger urban areas, alternate or secondary ones.

The characteristics we evaluate for these activities, performances, projects and programs include:

• celebrating the excellence of an individual artist
• promoting one of the arts disciplines listed above
• offering an artistic experience directed to the general public
• exhibiting professional quality
• including a public presentation of artistic work
• emphasizing innovation or excellence in presentation

Our Betty Kinsman Fund grants support theatre, literary and photographic arts grantees. Although all proposals will be considered, we do not anticipate awarding grants to new or previous grantees in other disciplines

Environmental Justice Giving Project Grant

What We Will Fund

The Giving Project will focus on Environmental Justice, making grants to support organizing work that aims to achieve equitable access to a clean and healthy environment for frontline communities most impacted by the climate crisis, environmental racism, and environmental injustice.

The “environment” in the context of the environmental justice movement is defined as the spaces where we live, work, learn, play, pray, and heal. This grant will fund rural and urban organizations working at the intersection of environmental, racial, and economic justice to create sustainable, self-determined and just communities.

We will prioritize funding organizations with Black, Indigenous, and/or POC leadership, and/or who conduct most of their work in reservation communities, and/or rural, small town communities.

Some examples of organizing work that is eligible for this grant include:

• Resource mobilization for affordable and healthy housing
• Organizing efforts supporting access to clean and healthy food, water, and air
• Leadership development programs for environmental justice and health equity
• Facilitating just transition and climate resilience work
• Developing community processes, practices, or civic engagement addressing neighborhood blight

Funding

Grant amount: 2-year grants of $50,000 ($25K/year)

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.

About Our Program

Our investments are guided by the fundamental belief in the power of live theatre to spark dialogue, bring different viewpoints together on challenging subjects, and provide a lens to process the critical issues of contemporary society.  

Through our Social Impact Theatre grant program, we proudly recognize organizations with production-specific support that are intentional and innovative in engaging with their audiences around these issues and are committed to reaching new audiences. This year, in addition to production-specific grants, we are introducing a new opportunity reflecting our value to support the health and sustainably of the American theater ecosystem.

We understand the current climate for theatres is incredibly challenging – with decreasing revenue sources and increasing costs, many theatres are struggling (and even those thriving face seemingly insurmountable challenges). And yet, we know that in times of challenge, the sector will apply its boundless creativity to adapt models and practices to remain sustainable.

This year, in addition to production specific grant awards, we will be selecting a small number of theatres to receive change capital grants of $10-$25K to kickstart new plans or to adapt and deepen strategies already in process. Awardees will form a cohort to share insights and to support each other and will commit to sharing lessons learned with the Foundation so that we can reshare information to more broadly support the field.

Given our available resources and in the spirit of focusing on our own learning, we will be considering change capital grants in the following three categories:

• Business models. We hear “the current model is broken!” and want to learn how you are experimenting economically. Ex. Letting go of spaces or activating new spaces, shared leadership, cost-sharing partnerships, alternatives to the subscription model etc.
• Building and deepening connection with your community. Are you exploring new programs or projects to increase interconnectivity between your community and the art on stage?
• New leaders. Does your theatre have a leader who has started within the last year who needs capacity to enact their vision and implement necessary changes?

 Grant Process

Interested organizations may request funding for one production and, if interested, one project for which change capital is needed, by submitting an LOI when our grant cycle is open. From this applicant pool, select organizations will be invited to submit a full application. Social impact theatre grants can cover artistic, production, and community engagement expenses.

Queer Justice Momentum Giving Project Grant

SJF is pleased to announce the 2022 Queer Justice Momentum Giving Project Grant, open to queer-led grassroots organizations in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and/or Wyoming. 

What we will fund

Queer communities need our support NOW, with unrelenting attacks to reproductive justice and widespread surges in trans-antagonistic, anti-queer rhetoric, organizing, and legislation.

The 2022 Queer Justice Momentum Project will support building new and imaginative systems that help achieve a world where queer communities are protected, honored, and thriving. We hope to resource those working towards dismantling sexist, heteronormative structures and building practices and systems that protect and honor individuals and communities of different genders and sexual identities outside of the heteronormative binary. Through this grant, we hope to support organizers in working towards a world where LGBTQIA+ folks, fem(me)s, and gender non-conforming people are able to identify and express their gender and sexual orientation without fear, discrimination or harm, and have the economic, social, and political power and resources to make healthy decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities in all areas of their lives.

This grant will support groups led by LGBTQIA+ individuals, non-binary folks, and fem(me)s who are organizing against heterosexism, transmisogynoir, homophobia, cissexism, and working to build the liberation of groups who have been marginalized because of their sexual and/or gender identity in meaningful ways across Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. We will prioritize funding organizations with Black, Indigenous, and/or POC leadership, and/or who conduct most of their work in rural, small town, and/or reservation communities.

• Some examples of organizing work that is eligible for this grant include: 
• Resource mobilization for LGBTQIA+ folks
• Establishing queer and nonbinary community spaces
• Reproductive justice organizing
• Leadership development programs for LGBTQIA+ individuals, nonbinary folks, and fem(me)s
• Facilitating healing and wellness
• Developing community restorative justice processes
• Civic engagement
• Organizing against gender based violence

What is a Momentum Giving Project?

The funding from this grant will be raised by an SJF Momentum Giving Project cohort. Momentum Giving Projects are designed to be responsive to the “movement moment” that is happening at the time. We recognize that our grantees are organizing — strengthening communities, training activists, building analysis, developing leaders, making change — all the time. But sometimes, a spark catches. Circumstances come together so that there’s new momentum and focused attention around a particular issue.

What is a Giving Project?

Giving Projects are a unique, participatory model of funding which provides significant financial resources to grassroots organizing for long-term progressive social change. Giving Projects bring together a diverse group of people of varied class identities who are passionate about social change and want to strengthen their skills in fundraising, grantmaking, and community building. Participants work together to deepen their understanding of social justice principles and engage in collective giving and fundraising to support grassroots organizations.

Click here to learn about Social Justice Fund’s Giving Project model.

Funding

Grant amount: Two-year grants of $40,000 ($20,000 per year).

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

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

Career Pathways

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

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

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

Background

For 28 years, OCF’s Community Grants program has taken a responsive approach to grantmaking, supporting community-led solutions by listening to and investing in the people working closest to the issues.

As our state has evolved and grown, so too has the complexity of issues facing us as Oregonians. Compounding these challenges is a history of systems that have not benefited everyone equitably, a reality made more visible by shifting landscapes and a shortage of resources.

At OCF, we recognize this reality, and our 2024 Community Grants program will continue to provide flexible funding for nonprofits addressing the pressing needs of communities across Oregon, informed by the voices of people who know these communities best. The relationships we’re building across the state will only help our grantmaking improve.

At OCF, we recognize this reality, and the 2025 Community Grants program will continue to provide flexible funding for nonprofits addressing the pressing needs of communities across Oregon, informed by the voices of people who know their communities best.

Oregon’s nonprofits exemplify the hope, strength and opportunity that can make our state better, from music and art programs for Native youth to STEM education for rural children, and from entrepreneurial

internships for low-income high school students to culturally responsive mentoring for Black youth. 

Program Goal

To provide equitable access to flexible funding for organizations serving the most pressing needs in communities throughout Oregon.

Guidling Principles

• We seek to build bridges of connection, eradicate the practice of “othering” and actively promote a sense of belonging for all Oregonians through our funding.
• We are committed to funding across Oregon with grant dollars reaching rural and urban communities in every region.
• We value our state’s diverse regions and populations and affirm that every Oregonian is an integral part of our community.
• We believe creative, impactful and sustainable solutions come from people closest to the issues being addressed and should be implemented by organizations the community trusts.
• We prioritize efforts that demonstrate strong community support, solid planning and wise stewardship.

Funding Priorities

Funding will support applications focused on one of these three grant types:

New or expanding program or project: Costs associated with developing a new program or service or expanding a current one.

• New activities: These are initiatives that did not exist before and are planned or developed to address a gap or need for the organization or the community served.
• Expanding activities: These build on previous success to significantly increase impact on more or different people or communities. This can include reaching a new or different population, county, or community, or significantly more of the same population in the same community. Requests to support ongoing, incremental growth are not competitive and will not be considered. We have no single definition of “significant expansion” for all contexts and needs. Please explain why your request is a significant expansion in terms of community needs.

Capacity-building: Costs relating to new or expanded activities that develop the organization. Typical examples include strategic or business planning, board development, volunteer coordination, program planning, and marketing and communications.

Small capital: Costs associated with new or expanded building construction, renovation, or equipment. Total small capital costs may not exceed $500,000. (Please see “Budget Guidance” below for more information.)

Conventional grants

Our Board meets once each year in September to decide grants for that year that have not been decided through the small grant program. Inquiries are due August 1 of each year, but may be submitted anytime during the year. These grants are scheduled for distribution in November.

Eligibility Areas

The Foundation makes grants primarily for the purposes detailed here. An important element of all grants is a benefit to the public at large, rather than to specialized populations or groups.

Historic Preservation

Historic preservation has been our principal funding area since our beginning. In 2006 we identified our primary interest in this area as architectural preservation — the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction of historic buildings, structures and related sites. Most of the projects we fund involve buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as a contributing resource in an historic district.

We will continue to consider grants for other historic preservation activities as a secondary interest.

Native Wildlife Rehabilitation and Appreciation

Native wildlife rehabilitation is the focus of this interest, and is almost exclusively limited to nonprofits managed by state- and federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitators. These programs offer urgent care of injured and orphaned wildlife native to Oregon and Washington.

A small portion of our native wildlife budget is reserved for wildlife appreciation projects or programs that offer the general public opportunities to observe and appreciate the natural world. These activities will

• promote individuals’ stewardship of native wildlife and its natural habitat
• enable people to understand and minimize their impact on the Earth, and
• promote responsible enjoyment of wildlife in recreational settings.

For Historic Preservation and Native Wildlife Rehabilitation and Appreciation grants, inquiries less than $5,000 are processed throughout the year, and there is no application deadline. Small grant applications will generally require 6-8 weeks to review.

Eligibility Areas

The Foundation makes grants primarily for the purposes detailed here. An important element of all grants is a benefit to the public at large, rather than to specialized populations or groups.

Historic Preservation

Historic preservation has been our principal funding area since our beginning. In 2006 we identified our primary interest in this area as architectural preservation — the preservation, rehabilitation, restoration and reconstruction of historic buildings, structures and related sites. Most of the projects we fund involve buildings that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places, either individually or as a contributing resource in an historic district.

We will continue to consider grants for other historic preservation activities as a secondary interest.

Native Wildlife Rehabilitation and Appreciation

Native wildlife rehabilitation is the focus of this interest, and is almost exclusively limited to nonprofits managed by state- and federally-licensed wildlife rehabilitators. These programs offer urgent care of injured and orphaned wildlife native to Oregon and Washington.

A small portion of our native wildlife budget is reserved for wildlife appreciation projects or programs that offer the general public opportunities to observe and appreciate the natural world. These activities will

• promote individuals’ stewardship of native wildlife and its natural habitat
• enable people to understand and minimize their impact on the Earth, and
• promote responsible enjoyment of wildlife in recreational settings.