Nike Community Impact Fund Program
Benefitting communities where Nike employees live, work and play.
Application window: JANUARY 9 - FEBRUARY 15, 2025
The Nike Community Impact Fund was established at Oregon Community Foundation in 2010. Through this fund, Nike employees work with OCF to award at least $550,000 per year to nonprofits and schools in the Metropolitan Portland region, the Northern Willamette Valley and in southwest Washington to give youth positive experiences in sport and physical activity, and advance healthier, supportive and more inclusive communities.
Nike believes in the power of sport to unleash human potential and build community. It fuels this belief through Made to Play, its commitment to getting kids moving through play and sport so that they can lead healthier, happier and more successful lives.
The Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) takes a collaborative approach to grant making by partnering with Nike employees to participate in the grant-making process and directly impact the local communities where they live and work.
NCIF helps local organizations bring the benefits of sport to their communities, giving kids an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of quality play and active lives, and creating stronger communities where sports and physical activity are a highly-valued part of everyday life.
Funding Priorities:
- 75 Percent of grant awards support projects that promote sport or physical activity in the community.
- 25 Percent of grant awards support organizations and projects that address community challenges through innovative or proven community-based solutions.
Award Amounts:
Typically range from $5,000 to $25,000
To improve your competitiveness, please review the NCIF Program Guidelines and FAQs.
Eligibility
Applications are accepted from organizations that are a 501(c)(3) public charity, an IRC 7871 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe, or a government entity such as a school.
Organizations must be serving at least one of the following ten counties: Multnomah, Clackamas, Washington, Yamhill, Columbia, Linn, Benton, Marion, and Polk Counties in Oregon and Clark County in SW Washington.
Frequency of Application
- You may apply for one grant per NCIF funding cycle.
- You may receive only one grant per year from NCIF.
- If declined, you may resubmit the same project to NCIF only if key project components have been strengthened.
- Funding priority will be given to organizations who have not received a Nike grant in the past 36 months.
- Applying to NCIF does not preclude you from applying to other OCF grant programs.
Not Eligible for Funding
- Organizations which discriminate based on age, ethnicity/race, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, physical or other disability, or national origin
- Individuals (including scholarships, stipends, fellowships, and personal assistance)
- Group or individual travel
- Research projects
- Sponsorship of fundraising events
- Support for elite or private sports camps, programs, or teams
- One day events, unless the focus of the project is on program(s) leading up to a culminating event
- Endowments, memorials, budget deficits, or fundraising activities
- Religious organizations whose programs do not have a secular and community focus
- Lobbying, political, or fraternal activities
- Capital projects unless Nike’s award would be the final funding needed
- Projects and events that occur prior to a Nike grant award (refer to grant disbursement date)
Application Process
The next application window is January 10 - February 15, 2024.
Applications will be accepted through MyOCF. All application questions are available for review in a separate document.
Grantee Reporting
The following information will be due via email to OCF-NikeFund@oregoncf.org by one year after fund disbursement:
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Number of students/youth served during the funding period
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Any significant changes to the project since your application
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A story: be it large or small, please share an impact, something you learned or something that changed for participants.
If you have questions about reporting, please email us at OCF-NikeFund@oregoncf.org.
Assistance
For program information and assistance, please contact OCF-NikeFund@oregoncf.org.
If you have questions about the online grant platform, please contact grants@oregoncf.org.
You may use your own project budget layout, or download and use a suggested template.
The overview slide deck and the grant writing slide deck from the application information webinar held in January 2024 are available for reference.