MyOCF

Reed and Carolee Walker Fund

Grants to support programs for people living on low incomes, especially children, in Jackson County.

Application window: January 2 - February 10, 2025 at 5 pm

This fund was established in 2003 by a generous bequest from Ashland residents Reed and Carolee Walker.

After assessing community needs and the donors’ intent, OCF established the following funding priorities for the Walker Fund:

To support people living on low incomes in Jackson County through:

  1. Mental health services for children
  2. Food, shelter, and other emergency assistance for children and families
  3. Substance use treatment for pregnant people and/or children and families
  4. Programming for children
  5. Food, shelter, and other emergency assistance for individuals
  6. Dental health services for children
  7. Otherwise address the focus of the Walker Fund

Only projects serving Jackson County are eligible.

Guiding Principles

  • We believe that creative and sustainable solutions come from people who work in partnership to address common needs and aspirations.
  • We give high priority to investments that create positive, substantive change and attempt to resolve problems at their source.
  • We recognize and respect Oregon's diverse regions and populations, and we seek to advance equity, diversity and inclusion through our programs.

KOBI Spirit of Community Moment: Reed and Carolee Walker Fund

This year OCF is celebrating its 50th anniversary by sharing stories about the spirit of generosity in Oregon. This is Part IX in a series from KOBI TV's "Oregon Community Foundation: Spirit of Community" series. View the series.

Application Process

FUNDS AVAILABLE

The OCF Walker Fund awards approximately $1.9 million annually to organizations serving Jackson County.

Grants range from $5,000 to $150,000.

TIMELINE

OCF offers one grant cycle for the OCF Walker Fund each year. Applications are open January 2, 2025 through February 10, 2025 at 5 pm annually.

2025 cycle information will be available by mid-December. 

All applicants will receive notification of their funding status by mid-May 2025.

APPLYING

Review the 2025 Program Guidelines, application questions, and rubric prior to applying. These documents contain important information on the scope of proposals sought, eligibility, application process, and review criteria.

Online applications are accepted through OCF’s online system.

GRANT TYPES AND AMOUNTS

The OCF Walker Fund offers grants for:

  • General operating support
  • Program support for ongoing, new, or expanded programming
  • Capacity building and organizational enhancement

Starting in 2023, the OCF Walker Fund will again offer multi-year grants. Grants can range from one to three years.

Applicants are encouraged to re-apply for funding as needed; there is no mandatory sit-out period.

Ineligible grant types include:

  • Capital purchases (construction, furniture, equipment, technology, etc)
  • Annual fund appeals
  • Endowment contributions
  • Purchases or activities that occur prior to grant decisions
  • Lobby to influence legislation
  • Religious activities

Generally, one application per organization per year is accepted. Large organizations with distinctly different program areas may submit more than one application per year; however, we encourage multiple requests to be combined into a single application when possible. If you have questions about multiple applications, please contact Amy Drake at adrake@oregoncf.org.

GENERAL ORGANIZATIONAL ELIGIBILITY

501(c)(3) organizations, Tribal entities and government entities are eligible to apply. Additionally, other types of organizations may work with a 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor. Applicants must submit formal paperwork confirming the fiscal sponsor relationship.

Organizations with an active OCF grant are eligible to apply. This includes active OCF Walker Fund grants and active Community Grants.

IMPORTANT: Organizations, except for religious organizations, must be registered with the Oregon Department of Justice in order to be eligible to apply for grants from OCF.

REVIEW

Applications are reviewed by an 8-person Advisory Committee made up of Jackson County community members and then reviewed by the OCF Board.

The Advisory Committee will review and score applications according to the Grant Review Rubric.

Criteria include:

For general operating support requests:

  • Impact on community served
  • Community served are meaningfully leading and/or engaged in planning and decision making

For Programming or Capacity Building requests:

  • Proposal and goals
  • Proposal impact on community served
  • Inclusion of community served on proposal planning and implementation
  • Proposal commitment to equity
  • Proposal budget

For all requests:

  • Alignment of programming and services to the organization mission
  • Commitment to equity
  • Support from community served
  • Commitment to learn and adapt
  • Effective financial oversight

Please see the rubric for detailed information about the review criteria.

Grantee Reporting

There are two different ways the OCF Walker Fund collects reports:

  • For returning applicants: progress reports are embedded in the OCF Walker Fund application. No other reporting is needed. For example, 2022 awardees who apply again in 2023 will fill out the progress report questions in the application and thereby satisfy reporting requirements.
  • For non-returning applicants: Amy Drake, Program Officer, will contact you for a verbal report meeting. This will occur approximately 14-15 months after the award is made. For example, 2022 awardees who do not reapply in 2023 will be contacted in July 2023.

Staff Assistance

OCF WALKER FUND

  • For questions on your proposed project, eligibility, or general questions about the OCF Walker Fund, please contact Amy Drake, Program Officer. 

 TECHNICAL

Walker Fund Grant Awards