2022 Community Grants Program
Community Grants is no longer accepting applications for the 2022 cycle. To receive updates on 2023 guidelines and stay connected, please sign up for OCF In Community newsletter.
Program Guidelines, Application Questions, Applicant Resources, and additional FAQs
For more than 20 years, OCF’s Community Grants program, with strong support of OCF donors, has invested in strengthening the social fabric of our communities by responding to emerging and pressing needs facing all Oregonians.
OCF’s Community Grants program evolved significantly in 2021 as we mobilized to “meet the moment” of Oregon’s multiple community crises which compounded existing inequities and impacts on marginalized communities across the state, including but not limited to Black, Indigenous, Latinx, communities of color, low-income Oregonians, and under-resourced rural communities.
As we look ahead to 2022, we recognize the ongoing issues facing our state, and the unique role organizations continue to play in responding to emerging and ongoing needs. We aim to remain flexible and evolve our grantmaking approaches with new learnings as we work towards recovery and rebuilding in Oregon.
We believe that by prioritizing resources to those most impacted by social, economic and/or racial inequities, we can work to strengthen all communities. We seek to ensure all Oregonians have their basic needs met, have equitable access to opportunities and education, and feel safe and supported in their communities. We are working towards a healthier and stronger state in which we celebrate our diversity and cultural richness through a range of efforts, large and small, far and wide. Our 2022 approach continues to respond to the crises while working to address needs and inequities facing under-resourced, rural and marginalized communities, which although not new, have been exacerbated by recent events.
Please review the following information carefully as the types of funding available and other program details for 2022 differ from past years.
Program Goal
To support healthy, thriving and sustainable communities with funding awarded through an open, responsive grantmaking program that offers flexible types of support to organizations in response to community-defined needs. This program prioritizes communities in Oregon most impacted by social, economic and racial injustices and inequities.
Funding Priorities for 2022
We know that nonprofits’ funding needs will far exceed our limited grant dollars. While a broad range of nonprofits are eligible to apply, we will prioritize funding in support of the following populations disproportionately impacted by social, economic and/or racial injustices and inequities in Oregon (listed in alphabetical order):
- Black, Indigenous, Latinx and people of color
- Immigrants and/or refugees
- People experiencing disabilities
- People living on low incomes
- People living in under-resourced communities and/or communities lacking critical infrastructure
- People who are homeless/unsheltered
- People who identify as LGBTQIA+
- Survivors of domestic violence and/or child abuse
Application Details
IMPORTANT: We highly encourage applicants review the following information carefully prior to submitting a proposal:
- 2022 Community Grants program guidelines, which offers guidance including:
- OCF Review process and review criteria
- Most common reasons for a decline
- Proposing work with priority populations
- Reporting requirements
- 2022 Community Grants application questions
Please see the Frequently Asked Questions below for the latest guidance.
Applicant Resources and Support:
2022 Community Grants Applicant webinar
- The webinar was held on Friday, February 11, 2022. To view the recording, follow this link. You will find questions asked during the webinar answered by program officers here.
Want to discuss your proposal with an OCF Program Officer? See “Connecting with OCF staff” section below for more details.
2022 Cycle Timeline
We will offer ONE opportunity to apply for a Community Grant in 2022.
This year's application deadline was Wednesday, March 30, 2022 at 5 p.m.
Early Bird application deadline was 5 p.m., March 14. Organizations that applied before the Early Bird deadline will automatically be entered into a drawing for two $5,000 grants for general operating support.
Early awards/declines notifications: Small Grants (grant requests of $10,000 or less submitted by nonprofits with annual operating budgets of $250,000 or less) and proposals not moving forward in the process will receive the status of their application in Mid-June 2022
Site Visits: As part of the review process, some applicants with requests over $10,000 may be contacted to provide additional information through email or a site visit (potentially online) in June 2022.
Final award/decline notifications: All applicants will receive notification of their funding status by mid-August 2022.
Funds Available:
In 2022, Community Grants anticipates awarding at least $6 million. All eligible applications are shared with OCF’s network of donors to encourage additional funding for individual applications or generally to the program.
2021 was a record-breaking year for the Community Grants program. We anticipate another high-volume year in 2022. Through our multi-step community volunteer review process, we seek to ensure a diverse range of perspectives are informing our decisions. We aim to fund a mix of proposals in communities across Oregon and anticipate funding organizations working in a range of fields and addressing an array of challenges.
Grant types and amounts:
In 2022, we will offer four types of funding through an open application process. All grants will be one year in duration.
|
Types of Funding |
General Operating Support Unrestricted funding to support an organization in carrying out its mission |
Capacity Building – To help strengthen and stabilize an organization’s governance, operations, internal culture and/or community relationships |
Project/Program To develop, adapt or expand programming to respond to community priorities (not intended to maintain an existing program as is) |
Capital To support small capital projects that will benefit priority populations |
|
Eligible Applicants |
Culturally specific organizations located anywhere in Oregon and of any budget size Rural-based nonprofits with annual operating budgets of $250,000 or less AND whose work aligns with OCF’s priority populations for this funding opportunity |
Open to all types of organizations |
Open to all types of organizations |
Open to organizations with capital projects with total costs of up to $500,000 |
| Funding Amount |
$20,000 average grant size Up to $40,000 in limited instances* |
$20,000 average grant size Up to $40,000 in limited instances* |
$20,000 average grant size Up to $40,000 in limited instances* |
$20,000 average grant size Up to $40,000 in limited instances* |
| Expedited Review of Small Grants $10,000 or Less | To increase accessibility for and responsiveness to small nonprofits, grant requests of $10,000 or less submitted by nonprofits with operating budgets of $250,000 or less (across all Funding Types) will be reviewed through an expedited process. We expect that funding decisions on these small grants will be made in mid-June. Applicants will be notified, and funding will be released shortly thereafter. |
Activities We Typically Won’t Fund in 2022
- Projects in individual schools
- Grants to subsidize participation (scholarships) or re-granting programs
- Purchases or activities that occur prior to grant decisions
- Deficit funding
- Funding for public entities to replace government dollars
- Lobbying to influence legislation (a particular bill)
- Scientific research
- Religious activities
- Annual fund appeals and contributions to endowments
How to Apply
- Review the Program Guidelines and Application Questions
- Online applications are accepted through MyOCF. Your organization will need to register and set up an account to apply.
- In 2022, the application window opened February 14, 2022 and applications were due March 30, 2022, at 5 p.m. If eligible, small grants will be decided upon in mid-June, and all other decisions made by mid-August 2022.
- Please note Renewal applicants (organizations previously invited to reapply to the Community Grants Program for continuation of funded activities) will be emailed instructions directly to reapply through a separate process.
Reporting Requirements
Organizations that receive a 2022 Community Grant award are required to submit a grant evaluation form at the end of the one-year grant period. Reporting information is located here and deadlines will be included in the award letter.
Connecting with OCF staff about your proposal
- Regional OCF Program Officers will be available for 30-minute meetings (one per organization) to support those interested in applying for the 2022 grant cycle.
- You are welcome to invite other staff or partners to join the call (3 people max is ideal) and will be able to list their names on the event.
- Depending on the volume of nonprofits seeking funding, staff may give priority to first time applicants if needed.
- To schedule a meeting with an OCF regional program officer, click on their scheduling link below. Select your preferred date, time and meeting location (zoom or phone). Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation along with a calendar appointment with the meeting information.
Central and Eastern Oregon
Baker, Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Jefferson, Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla, Union, Wallowa Wasco and Wheeler Counties
Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Burns Paiute Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
- Cheryl Puddy (Bend office): https://calendly.com/cheryl-puddy
North Coast
Clatsop, Columbia, Lincoln and Tillamook Counties
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
- Eva Miller (Portland office): https://calendly.com/evamiller_ocf
Northern Willamette Valley
Marion, Polk, and Yamhill Counties
Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde
- Deb Vaughn (Salem office): https://calendly.com/dvaughn-ocf
South Coast and Southern Willamette Valley
Benton Coos, Curry, Douglas, Lane and Linn Counties
Coquille Indian Tribes, Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians, Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Indians
- John Moriarty (Eugene office): https://calendly.com/jmoriarty-ocf
Southern Oregon
Jackson, Josephine, Klamath, and Lake Counties
Klamath Indians
- Amy Drake (Medford Office): https://calendly.com/amyedrake
Metro Portland
- Clackamas County and Multnomah county organizations A-K:
- Washington County and Multnomah county organizations L-R:
- Hood River County and Multnomah county organizations S-Z:
Statewide
- Carly Brown (Portland office): https://calendly.com/carly-brown
Frequently Asked Questions
Starting February 14, apply for a grant by visiting OCF’s website and submitting an application through OCF’s online portal. Register an account with the portal before applying. Before submitting a request, please read over important information on the program page, including the guidelines and the list of questions we ask in the application. Grants will be no more than $40,000, and average grant sizes will be around $20,000.
Email us at grants@oregoncf.org and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.
501(c)(3) organizations, Tribal entities and government entities are eligible to apply. Additionally, organizations may work with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor to submit an application. Applicants must submit formal paperwork confirming the fiscal sponsor relationship with their application.
Please note: Fiscal sponsorship materials will not be accepted past the grant deadline of March 30, 2022.
- Reintroducing capital grants for organizations with capital project budgets at $500,000 or less
- Increasing the operating budget maximum for rural organizations eligible for General Operating Support to $250,000 (up from $100,000 in 2021). All culturally
- specific organizations of any operating budget size, in any geography remain eligible.
- Creating consistent award amounts across all four grant types - $40,000 maximum award and average award size of $20,000.
- Conducting an expedited review and early distribution of funding for small grants $10,000 or less from organizations with operating budgets under $250,000
- Communicating decline notification early for all applications not moving forward in the process.
A single cycle in 2022 ensures all available funding is distributed earlier in the year (by August 2022). In addition, it provides opportunities for OCF to have deeper engagement with organizations before and after the open application period. In 2022, OCF will engage with communities in new ways to build trusting relationships, support OCF’s strategic planning, envision the longer-term strategy for Community Grants, and inform new programming that complements existing efforts. We are eager to listen, learn and respond to the needs emerging, while maintaining the role and impact of the longstanding Community Grants program.
An average Community Grant is around $20,000. Most grant awards will range between $5,000 - $30,000. In limited situations, we will consider requests up to $40,000 for efforts that very closely match Community Grant funding priorities, benefit priority populations and clearly demonstrate the feasibility, role, timeliness, and impact of an OCF grant of this size.
The deadline for the 2022 cycle is 5:00 p.m. on March 30th. If your application is submitted by the Early Bird deadline of March 14, 2022 at 5pm, then your organization will be automatically entered into a drawing for one of two $2,500 grants for general operating support. (Early bird winners will be notified in late March.)
Applications from small organizations (with operating budgets of $ $250,000or less) that request a grant of $10,000 or less will be notified in early June 2022.
Grant decisions on requests of $10,000 or more will be made by the OCF board in early August 2022.
We are working to be flexible in our approach in 2022 to better support organizations by adapting or “right sizing” the review process for smaller funding requests (10,000 or less) from smaller budget organizations ($250,000 or less). We are aiming to learn if this expedited support allows these organizations to respond quickly and nimbly to the emerging or pressing needs facing communities across Oregon. This expedited review process allows us to notify applicants (approved and declined requests) and award grants by mid-June rather than August. More information regarding our notification process can be found in the Community Grants Program Guidelines under Timelines and Process.
All eligible organizations based in or primarily serving Oregon are eligible to apply. OCF organizes Oregon into eight geographic regions, each including several counties and tribes. We welcome proposals from statewide organizations, or those serving multiple regions.
Central Oregon: Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson, Sherman, Wasco, and Wheeler counties and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.
Eastern Oregon: Baker, Gilliam, Grant, Harney, Malheur, Morrow, Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties
Metro Portland: Clackamas, Hood River, Multnomah and Washington counties
North Coast: Clatsop, Columbia, Lincoln and Tillamook counties
Northern Willamette Valley: Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties
South Coast: Coos and Curry counties
Southern Oregon: Jackson, Josephine, Klamath and Lake counties
Southern Willamette Valley: Benton, Douglas Lane and Linn Counties
At this time, no. All 2022 grants will be one year in duration. We plan to resume multi-year opportunities in 2023.
Yes, organizations serving the general population and/or not providing social services are eligible for support. We will want to understand how your requested activities or organizational mission address community-defined needs, work to ensure access or support for priority populations and are guided and informed by those you intend to serve. The following are recent examples of successful applications that fall into one of these categories:
- An arts center in La Grande will revitalize and strengthen a variety of arts programming for 500 rural, K-8 youth who have lacked offerings during the pandemic by hiring a part-time youth programs coordinator.
- A symphony will expand access to individual music instruction for low-income Eugene/ Springfield and Bethel students in grades 6-12.
- A land trust whose efforts include addressing the water crisis in the rural town of Port Orford will hire a contracted finance officer to increase the executive director’s time to work on projects and fund development.
Yes. Any organization who received funding from OCF in 2021 is eligible to apply for any new or evolving efforts that align with our funding priorities. Please note that organizations may apply to the program only once in 2022.
Those invited to apply for a Community Grant renewal award in 2022, are not eligible to apply. You will receive information about the renewal process separately.
No. Organizations who were invited to reapply for continued funding in spring 2022 will not have to fit the new framework. You can request support for the same activities for which you were invited to reapply. Instructions for reapplying will be emailed directly to renewal applicants in December.
Organizations who have previously been invited to reapply to the Community Grants Program in the spring 2022 cycle will have the opportunity to modify their request, although OCF cannot accept adjustments to the specific dollar amount for which organizations were invited to reapply. Should organizations wish to modify or broaden their request, the application should state clearly how your organization could continue to generally meet the purposes of the original grant awarded. Decisions on spring renewal applications will be made in early May 2022.
Due to highly limited resources, we are restricting operating support requests to organizations who serve communities who have experienced historical underinvestment due to systems, practices, and policies. OCF aims to provide general operating support to communities who have been historically underrepresented in OCF's grantmaking, both in terms of requesting and receiving funding, and those who have not had the same level of access to outside sources of funding.
If your organization’s most urgent need is operating support and you don’t fit the criteria, we encourage you to share your needs with donors by submitting information through the Organization Profile Form tool on our website. This form is not a grant application, but a tool to help OCF collect information on needs that can be shared with donors.
Applications qualify for expedited review if they meet these two criteria: 1) grant requests of $10,000 or less; and 2) submitted by nonprofits with annual operating budgets of $250,000 or less. For more further information, refer to the 2022 Community Grants Program guidelines under section Application Review Criteria.
An organization that is culturally specific meets the following criteria:
- The organization’s mission, activities and outreach all intentionally focus on a population that has experienced significant bias or discrimination due to their race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, immigrant/refugee status, or national origin;
- The organization’s staff, board and volunteers reflect the population they serve;
- The population being served recognizes the organization as specific to their community; and
- The majority of members and/or clients are from the specified community, such as African, African American, Asian and Pacific Islander, Latinx, Native American, immigrant and refugee, LGBTQI+, disability community, etc.
We define a rural-based organization as one that focuses on a community 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.
Under-resourced communities have high proportions of low to moderate income residents and generally receive below average services and financial resources from government sources. Many, but not all, of them comprise an above average number of people of color, immigrants, and/or geographically-isolated individuals. People earn lower incomes due to many factors, but they often have been negatively impacted by social and economic marginalization. Some communities have been intentionally disenfranchised by decades of redlining and/or economic disinvestment that limits access to resources and services, devalues physical assets, and weakens community anchor institutions. Others may experience geographic isolation that results in limited investment in critical infrastructure such as medical facilities, internet connectivity and transportation. Combined, these conditions create what we refer to as under-resourced communities.
Your application will be accessible to OCF donors regardless of request type or size. We also encourage you to share information with donors by filling out the Organizational Profile Form on our website. The latter is not an application but does allow you to share your organization's needs with donors.