Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) is awarding $4.7 million in new community grants to 203 nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Communities in 33 Oregon counties will benefit from these grants, with nonprofit organizations providing arts, cultural, educational, equity, health, housing and human services support to Oregonians.
OCF’s Community Grants program is the longest running grantmaking initiative at the Foundation. Thousands of nonprofit organizations share their goals and good work in requests for individual grants of up to $40,000 of flexible funding. During this fall cycle, each grant ranges from $15,000-$30,000. Since 2020, this one grantmaking program at OCF has distributed more than $26 million to communities throughout Oregon.
“We’ve heard from nonprofits that access to flexible funding is increasingly useful as they take on so many great needs in their community, and we wanted to honor that need in this grant cycle,” said Marcy Bradley, Chief Community Engagement and Equity Officer, Oregon Community Foundation. “Every community is different, whether they need help broadening health and wellbeing support for mothers and children, fighting hunger and food scarcity or strengthening the arts as the connective tissue for their communities. We support communities and nonprofits with issues they care most about.”
Community Grants Program Reflects Diverse Community Needs in Oregon
This grantmaking cycle prioritized support for organizations that provide essential supports for underserved communities. Additionally, 25% of the community grants were awarded to smaller nonprofits, for whom a small grant can make a significant difference in their work.
The full list of 2023 community grants recipients can be found on the OCF website. Highlights for the fall cycle of 2023 community grants include:
Adrian 2040: $30,000 Community Grant
Adrian 2040 is a volunteer-led organization that supports Adrian, Oregon in Malheur County. Located in a food desert, the community does not have a grocery store or restaurant, and this grant will allow Adrian to purchase a modular food pantry.
“The generous grant funding will support a new food pantry in rural Adrian. This is crucial as it will bridge gaps, offering essential food resources and supporting vulnerable populations with reliable access. This initiative will significantly impact the community by ensuring access to nutritious food and increased food security, fostering community connections and collaborations, and ultimately improving healthy outcomes and long-term resilience,” said Nickie Shira, board president of Adrian 2040.
Comunidades: $30,000 Community Grant
This statewide program helps amplify Latino voices for environmental and social justice. With this grant, Comunidades will expand leadership training to include a youth-oriented leadership curriculum and increase civic engagement in Latino communities in the Columbia River Gorge.
“This grant from OCF is going to allow us to continue to build the base of our community leadership development program while integrating an intergenerational lens and gearing our program to youth as much as to adults. In cultivating a strong Latino leadership base in the Columbia River Gorge, we hope to change the realities of social and environmental injustice in our communities through advocacy and education,” said Ubaldo Hernandez, director and Founder of Comunidades.
Curry Child Abuse Intervention Center: $20,000 Community Grant
The Curry Child Abuse Intervention Center, based in Gold Beach, is renovating an existing building into the new Wally’s House Children’s Wellness Center, which will provide mental and behavioral health support for Curry County families and children. This grant will go to support the new center.
“OCF’s Community Grant support for Wally’s House will help build a new Children’s Wellness Center in Gold Beach. The Wellness Center will be a place of healing where child victims of abuse in Curry County will access the help they need to recover from the trauma they have experienced,” said Jackalene J. Antunes, executive director of Wally’s House.
Daisy C.H.A.I.N. (DC): $30,000 Community Grant
DC works throughout Lane County to support reproductive and parenting experiences of marginalized communities. This grant will provide more bilingual health workers, improve postpartum mental health and lactation services, and invest in paid on-the-job training for bilingual doulas.
“This grant will help Daisy CHAIN expand bilingual doula outreach and programming to support pregnant, birthing, and postpartum native Spanish speakers in Lane County. This outreach will address significant gaps in services and barriers to health care that exist for our Latinx community. We couldn’t be more proud of this work and the relationships we’re building,” said Stephanie Amargi, grants manager, DC.
Every Child Central Oregon (ECCO): $25,000 Community Grant
Every Child Central Oregon works in partnership with the Department of Human Services. This grant will establish a diaper bank. Last year, ECCO distributed more than 50,000 diapers, but with a diaper bank, ECCO will be able to double the amount of diapers they provide to the community.
“This grant is pivotal for our organization, enabling us to supply essential diapers to thousands of children in foster care and their supporting families, addressing a critical need in Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Moreover, it kickstarts our registration with the National Diaper Bank, a significant step that will amplify our reach and collaboration with numerous local non- profits, ensuring that all at-risk and underserved children have access to free diapers. This will not only improve child health but also bolster the economic resilience of families in our community,” said Melissa Williams, executive director Every Child Central Oregon
Many Hats Collaboration (MHC): $20,000 Community Grant
MHC creates theater performances in the Portland area which reimagine music and movement onstage. Specifically, this grant will allow MHC to work with commissioned Deaf playwright Monique Holt, actors, artists and a team of ASL interpreters to explore how to make music, movement and text captivating for the deaf and hard of hearing and hearing audiences.
“This grant will allow us to foster the creation of a new play written by a Deaf playwright in collaboration with a team of d/Deaf/Hard of Hearing and hearing theatermakers. This live multimedia performance will be created through an innovative design and performance development process to invent new ways of looking at accessibility and aesthetics in service to a deaf-centric theater piece. The work will speak directly to d/Deaf/HoH people through ASL and captioning, rather than as an ASL translation of a play in English about hearing characters.
Hearing audience members will gain an increased exposure to d/Deaf/Hoh community members and increased awareness of how everyone’s audience experience is different, depending on their access,” said Many Hat’s Artistic Director, Jessica Wallenfels.
Nehalem Bay Health District: $30,000 Community Grant
The Nehalem Bay Health District is the smallest health district in Oregon. In May of 2023, voters approved a $10.25 million bond measure to fund a new community-based Nehalem Bay Health Center, pharmacy and a new rehabilitation facility (Nehalem Valley Care Center). With this $30,000 grant, the Health District can carry out a comprehensive community engagement strategy, including hiring a consultant to conduct outreach within the community, which will help inform the design of the new facilities.
“The generous support of the Oregon Community Foundation will help ensure the new health center we are constructing and the skilled nursing facility we are renovating will meet the health and senior care needs of the entire community. The Nehalem Bay Health District — the smallest in Oregon — will utilize its OCF community grant to build capacity and improve engagement with Latinx, senior and low-income communities in order to improve and expand community- based health and senior care. On behalf of our board and the entire community that has generously supported these health care improvement efforts we say — thank you, Oregon Community Foundation,” said Marc C. Johnson, president of Nehalem Bay Health District.
Outgrowing Hunger: $30,000 Community Grant
This grant will support the East County Food Hub in the Portland-metro area, and provide immigrant, refugee, and BIPOC farmers access to broader markets. The grant will be used to hire a consultant to conduct a community needs assessment and formally begin the process of designing a new food hub facility to serve 40 BIPOC immigrant and refugee farmers.
“This support will create an outsized impact by providing our coalition with the missing critical piece of a much larger project. We have been discussing a formal food hub in east Multnomah County since 2012, and have been building partnerships and streams of support to that end for a decade. At this point, we have commitments to support occupancy, equipment, emergency food purchases, transportation, cold storage, and facility improvements. This grant will provide the staff time and support we need to thoughtfully assemble these resources into a project which truly meets the needs experienced in the community,” said Adam Kohl, executive director of Outgrowing Hunger.
Soaring Heights Recovery Homes: $20,000 Community Grant
Inspired by a previous OCF Community 101 grant with the students at Stayton High School, Soaring Heights Recovery Homes is now the recipient of their first Community Grant. This award will support building improvements to The Oriole House for women transitioning to a substance free, self-supporting life.
“The Oriole House for Women is central to our mission of providing safe, secure and structured housing for individuals transitioning to a substance free, self-supporting life. The $20,000 award from Oregon Community Foundation is more than just building repairs to The Oriole House; it is about providing a welcoming place for women to rebuild their lives and family,” said Eric Rasor, executive director of Soaring Heights Recovery Homes.
About OCF’s Community Grants Program:
For more than 25 years, and with strong support from donors, the Community Grants program has invested in community livability and vitality by listening and responding to people closest to innovating opportunities they want to advance.
As the state has evolved and grown, so too has the complexity of issues facing so many Oregonians. Compounding these challenges is a history of systems that have not benefited everyone equitably. OCF recognizes this reality, and as such, the 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 the best.
About Oregon Community Foundation:
Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) was founded in 1973 with a big mission: to improve the lives of all Oregonians through the power of philanthropy. In partnership with donors and volunteers, OCF works to strengthen communities in every county in Oregon through research, grantmaking and scholarships. In 2022, OCF distributed more than $180 million, supporting 3,500 grantees and awarding more than 3,000 scholarships. With OCF, individuals, families, businesses, and organizations create charitable funds that meet the needs of diverse communities statewide. 2023 marks OCF’s 50th anniversary. Since its founding, OCF has distributed more than $2.2 billion in community investments, including grants to 10,850 nonprofits and 53,375 scholarships to students. Individuals, families, businesses and organizations can work with OCF to create charitable funds to support causes important to them.
