The 2024 Community Grants Program provides equitable access to flexible funding for organizations serving communities’ most pressing needs throughout Oregon.
Donor Name: Oregon Community Foundation
State: Oregon
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/08/2024
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
- OCF is committed to funding across Oregon with grant dollars reaching rural and urban communities in every region.
- OCF gives high priority to strengths-based organizations that create positive, substantive change.
- OCF prioritizes efforts that demonstrate strong community support, solid planning and wise stewardship.
- OCF believes that creative, impactful, sustainable solutions come from people closest to the issues being addressed and should be implemented by organizations the community trusts.
- OCF values the state’s diverse regions and populations and firmly affirm that every Oregonian is an integral part of the community.
- OCF seeks to build bridges of connection, eradicate the practice of “othering” and actively promote a sense of belonging for all Oregonians through the funding.
Oregon Community Foundation encourages a broad range of nonprofits to apply for a Community Grant. They prioritize work that clearly addresses community-identified needs in support of the following disproportionately impacted populations in Oregon:
- Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x/e and communities of color (communities of color include, but are not limited to, Black/African/African American,Indigenous/Native American, Latino/a/x/e, Asian/Asian American, Middle Eastern, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander).
- People living in under-resourced communities and/or communities lacking critical infrastructure.
- Immigrants and/or refugees.
- People experiencing disabilities.
- People living on low incomes.
- People who are homeless/unsheltered.
- People who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Funding Priorities
To be competitive in the 2024 spring cycle, an organization must fit into one or more of the following categories:
- Small rural organizations are those that meet all of the following criteria:
- The organization is located in and serves a community or communities in Oregon with a population of 35,000 or fewer that is not directly adjacent to (or part of) a metropolitan area of 50,000 or more.
- The organization had less than $250,000 in cash expenses during its most recently completed fiscal year.
- Culturally specific organizations serve a distinct cultural community and are primarily staffed and led by members of that community. They have intimate knowledge of the community’s lived experience, including, but not limited to, the impact of structural and individual racism or discrimination on the community; knowledge of specific disparities, barriers or challenges documented in the community and their influences on the structure of their program or service; and the ability to describe and adapt their services to the community’s cultural practices, health and safety beliefs/practices, positive cultural identity/pride, religious beliefs, and so forth.
- Culturally responsive organizations provide services that have been adapted to maximize the respect of and relevance to the beliefs, practices, culture and linguistic needs of diverse populations and communities. “Cultural responsiveness” describes the capacity to respond to the issues of diverse communities. It thus requires knowledge and capacity at the systemic, organizational, professional and individual levels of intervention.
Funding Information
The grant duration is one year. Grant activities that occur outside the grant period are ineligible for funding. The maximum award is $40,000. For 2024, general operating grants will not exceed the organization’s completed year-end operating budget.
Eligibility Criteria
The following organizations are eligible to apply for this grant cycle:
- 501(c)(3) organizations, Tribal entities and government entities are eligible to apply. Other types of organizations may work with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor to become eligible; an official agreement outlining the relationship with the fiscal sponsor must be submitted with the application.
- Organizations that have active grants with other OCF grant programs are eligible to submit an application in 2024.
For more information, visit OCF.