Adapting to Crisis Response

Nonprofits and community-based organizations continue to face incredible hardship due to COVID-19, even as they are stepping up to do more in a time of crisis.

At the onset of the pandemic, OCF moved swiftly to support these partners: extending grant and reporting deadlines for current grantees, releasing funding restrictions, and giving organizations the flexibility to move funds from the grant purpose to general operating support as needed. Several major programs, such as OCF’s Community Grants Program, paused as we focused our efforts to increase the amount of funding available for COVID-19 response.

The entire Foundation shifted to meet the demand:

• Our expedited review and approval processes moved funds into weekly community grant distributions.
• Our new virtual platforms shared community needs with a robust donor network in real time.
• OCF’s grantmaking was strengthened through our key role in supporting the public sector: advocating for the allocation of state and federal relief dollars to communities disproportionately impacted by the crisis and administering public dollars for specific community-led response efforts.

Adapting to COVID-19 crisis response has taught us pivotal lessons that continue to shape our thinking about philanthropy’s role in Oregon.