Grant Payments by Direct Deposit (ACH)
As part of ongoing efforts to streamline grant payment systems, the Oregon Community Foundation is pleased to offer direct deposit (also referred to as ACH, or automatic clearing house) payments on some grants.
ACH payment allows your organization to receive funding in your bank account the same day transactions are approved. That means no checks, no waiting on the mail to arrive, and no lag time between when you receive funds and when they can be put to work. All you need to sign up is information about your organization's bank account, a bank letter or voided check, and access to email.
Below are some common questions we receive about ACH payments. These questions will help you understand what to expect from opting in to direct deposit payments.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Your organization's "ACH contact" will receive an email message notifying them that an award has been deposited into your organization's account. Usually, the contact person for an organization is the Executive Director, Board President, Finance Director, or Development Director.
- As our capacity grows in administering direct deposit, we will be able to send additional automated emails. This feature will allow you to select up to three members of your organization in addition to the grant contact to receive a notification of deposit. We will notify you when this feature becomes available.
During our ACH pilot, emails will be sent in addition to physical award letters:
- The grant contact will receive an email with information such as the grant amount and purpose of funding.
- The ACH contact mentioned above will receive an email when a payment is deposited into your account. This email will contain basic information about total the amount deposited.
- The grant contact will receive a physical letter with further details about donors and reporting requirements. This letter should be retained for reporting purposes.
Grants are deposited as a lump sum. For example, if your organization is receiving two grants at the same time, one for $5,000 and one for $10,000 you would receive one deposit in your account of $15,000. For this reason, it is especially important that you retain a copy of the grant award email which specifies the amount and purpose of each grant.
OCF is currently piloting direct deposit across all OCF grant types. Fill out the form linked above to start the process for your organization.
OCF takes great care to ensure the information that was submitted is truly connected to your organization. As a result, processing times may vary. We hope to start providing grants to your organization as soon as possible, but it may take up to a few weeks, depending on volume. In the meantime, grants will continue to be distributed to your organization via check. Your award email will alert you to which type of payment you will receive that week.
Have questions about ACH?
Feel free to reach out to Melissa Adelman, Director of Grants Management.