The Roundhouse Foundation Grants

Supports essential building repairs and maintenance, construction or significant renovation of facilities, and acquisition or renovation of specialized vehicles. Building-maintenance grants may be up to $25,000, new-construction grants up to $100,000, and vehicle grants up to $25,000, with a vehicle-grant median of approximately $10,000. These category-dependent figures are not unconditional award bounds. Eligible applicants: Applicants must be IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits, government entities including special districts, or Tribal governments. Fiscally sponsored nonprofits may apply but must be actively pursuing 501(c)(3) status.; Every proposal, regardless of the applicant's location, must provide a clear and compelling benefit to rural Oregon.; The foundation seeks partners committed to rural Oregon that demonstrate broad community support; advance one or more interconnected focus areas; use innovation, creativity and collaboration; have clear goals and outcomes; plan thoughtfully; develop and apply racial-equity and DEI lenses; value community connections; demonstrate sound organizational stewardship; and want to engage with Roundhouse and its network as partners. It is especially interested in work involving rural economic resilience, access to services, catalytic new ideas, young people, varied lived experiences, rural landscapes, sustainable food production and distribution, or potential additional investment in rural Oregon.; The foundation rarely considers organizations that received a grant during the preceding 12 months or have overdue open reports, or multiyear commitments exceeding four years.; Ineligible requests or applicants include propaganda or efforts to influence legislation or elections; organizations outside the United States; faith-based organizations, including regional YMCA and Habitat for Humanity branches; private, independent, tuition-based or charter elementary or secondary schools; endowments; sports and athletic fields or facilities; unlawfully discriminatory institutions; organizations whose intense public scrutiny, litigation or other activity would conflict with the foundation's mission or values; unauthorized individuals; personal benefits, including college or university scholarships; loans, debt or operating deficits; and entities that are not qualifying public charities or government or Tribal entities.; The foundation will consider one Capital Program grant per organization per year, provided the organization has no other active grants with the foundation.; An organization with another open Roundhouse grant, including an outstanding report, or one that received a grant during the preceding 12 months must contact the foundation before applying.; Every proposal must fit the foundation's mission, vision, eligibility guidelines and focus areas. Strong proposals must provide a clear budget and detailed community and financial support.; A letter of inquiry is the first review step; aligned projects may subsequently be invited to submit a full application at an invited amount.; Vehicles owned and operated for municipal service, including school buses and city buses, are ineligible.. Geography served: rural Oregon, including Tribal communities. Deadline: Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) can be submitted in our online grants portal January – November 30..

Supports programming or collections development for eligible school and public libraries. A single school may receive up to $2,000, a school district up to $5,000, and a public library up to $5,000. These applicant-category-dependent figures are not unconditional award bounds. Eligible applicants: Libraries must be government entities, including special districts, Tribal governments, or 501(c)(3) nonprofits.; Applicants must serve rural or remote communities with populations under 40,000.; College and university libraries and county law libraries are ineligible.; An organization may apply for one collections grant or one programming grant per year.; A signed support letter from a library-district director, building supervisor such as a principal, or superintendent is required.; Libraries are encouraged to coordinate applications across their district or library system whenever possible.; Individuals, religious or faith-based organizations, private charter schools and political activity are ineligible.; The foundation generally cannot consider projects occurring within four weeks after submission.; Recipients must submit a brief final report no later than 12 months after the decision date.. Geography served: rural and remote Oregon communities with populations under 40,000; Tribal communities in Oregon. Published application deadlines: Application Period: June 1 – November 30, or until funds are exhausted for the budget year..

Supports food access by enabling eligible food pantries, senior centers, direct-distribution gleaners and backpack or summer meal programs to purchase fresh food from producers or retailers and grocers within Oregon or their local region. Food pantries, senior centers and gleaners may receive up to $6,000; backpack and summer meal programs may receive up to $2,500. These applicant-category-dependent figures are not unconditional award bounds. Eligible applicants: Applicants must be IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits or government entities, including Tribal governments.; Applicants must serve rural, remote or Reservation communities; metropolitan areas with populations of 40,000 or more are ineligible.; Food pantries and gleaners must be partner agencies of an Oregon Regional Food Bank and serve communities with fewer than 40,000 residents. The foundation will verify the partnership, and gleaners must distribute food directly to the community.; Senior centers must be associated with their regional Area Agency on Aging and serve communities with fewer than 40,000 residents. The foundation will verify the affiliation.; Independent entities unaffiliated with a Regional Food Bank may apply but must answer additional application questions.; Faith-based institutions are ineligible for Roundhouse funding.; Eligible entities may receive one Roundhouse Foundation grant per year through this opportunity.; Funds must be used to purchase fresh food from producers such as farmers, ranchers, dairymen or fishers, or from retailers or grocers within Oregon or the applicant's local region.; Recipients must submit a brief report no later than 12 months after the grant-decision date.. Geography served: rural, remote and Reservation communities in Oregon. Deadline: This application will be open January through November 30 or until all grant funds are expended..

Supports grassroots, innovative work and projects that may not need a significant budget, including opportunities to explore and test approaches that could be replicated for broader impact. Applicants must request between $500 and $2,500; the foundation rarely considers general operating or personnel expenses through this program. Eligible applicants: Applicants must be IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits, government entities including special districts, or Tribal governments. Fiscally sponsored nonprofits may apply but must be actively pursuing 501(c)(3) status.; Every proposal, regardless of the applicant's location, must provide a clear and compelling benefit to rural Oregon.; The foundation seeks partners committed to rural Oregon that demonstrate broad community support; advance one or more interconnected focus areas; use innovation, creativity and collaboration; have clear goals and outcomes; plan thoughtfully; develop and apply racial-equity and DEI lenses; value community connections; demonstrate sound organizational stewardship; and want to engage with Roundhouse and its network as partners. It is especially interested in work involving rural economic resilience, access to services, catalytic new ideas, young people, varied lived experiences, rural landscapes, sustainable food production and distribution, or potential additional investment in rural Oregon.; The foundation rarely considers organizations that received a grant during the preceding 12 months or have overdue open reports, or multiyear commitments exceeding four years.; Ineligible requests or applicants include propaganda or efforts to influence legislation or elections; organizations outside the United States; faith-based organizations, including regional YMCA and Habitat for Humanity branches; private, independent, tuition-based or charter elementary or secondary schools; endowments; sports and athletic fields or facilities; unlawfully discriminatory institutions; organizations whose intense public scrutiny, litigation or other activity would conflict with the foundation's mission or values; unauthorized individuals; personal benefits, including college or university scholarships; loans, debt or operating deficits; and entities that are not qualifying public charities or government or Tribal entities.; An organization may receive one Small Grant per calendar year and must have no other open grants with Roundhouse.; General operating and personnel expenses are rarely considered through the Small Grants process.. Geography served: rural Oregon, including Tribal communities. Deadline: Cycle: Application open January through November 30; new applications considered monthly..

Supports professional-development and technical-assistance opportunities that strengthen nonprofit partners' skills, talent and organizational capacity, including training or conference attendance by one staff or board member, consultants for organizational planning, and specialized equipment or software. Eligible applicants: Applicants must be IRS-designated 501(c)(3) nonprofits, government entities including special districts, or Tribal governments. Groups represented by fiscal sponsors may apply; fiscally sponsored nonprofits must be actively pursuing 501(c)(3) status.; Every proposal, regardless of the applicant's location, must provide a clear and compelling benefit to rural Oregon.; The foundation seeks partners committed to rural Oregon that demonstrate broad community support; advance one or more interconnected focus areas; use innovation, creativity and collaboration; have clear goals and outcomes; plan thoughtfully; develop and apply racial-equity and DEI lenses; value community connections; demonstrate sound organizational stewardship; and want to engage with Roundhouse and its network as partners. It is especially interested in work involving rural economic resilience, access to services, catalytic new ideas, young people, varied lived experiences, rural landscapes, sustainable food production and distribution, or potential additional investment in rural Oregon.; The foundation rarely considers organizations that received a grant during the preceding 12 months or have overdue open reports, or multiyear commitments exceeding four years.; Ineligible requests or applicants include propaganda or efforts to influence legislation or elections; organizations outside the United States; faith-based organizations, including regional YMCA and Habitat for Humanity branches; private, independent, tuition-based or charter elementary or secondary schools; endowments; sports and athletic fields or facilities; unlawfully discriminatory institutions; organizations whose intense public scrutiny, litigation or other activity would conflict with the foundation's mission or values; unauthorized individuals; personal benefits, including college or university scholarships; loans, debt or operating deficits; and entities that are not qualifying public charities or government or Tribal entities.; Only one request per organization will be considered.; Priority goes to previous Roundhouse grantees and to organizations whose missions concern Journalism & Storytelling; Arts, Culture & Heritage, including Libraries; Rural Fire & Emergency Services; or Food Banks, Food Pantries and qualifying partner agencies. Organizations aligned with these initiatives need not be previous grantees, and a qualifying partner agency must be affiliated with an Oregon Regional Food Bank.; The foundation generally cannot reimburse projects or programs that have already been funded or paid for.; Applicants must specify the opportunity and cost; identify participants and benefits to them, the organization and community; describe organization-wide benefits; demonstrate staff and board support; and connect the opportunity to the organization's mission, vision or long-term plan.; Technical-assistance applicants must upload supporting documentation such as a consultant's scope of work, a conference or training agenda, or an equipment quote. Staff professional-development requests require a support letter from an organizational supervisor, executive director or board member.; The foundation considers opportunities occurring up to 12 months after submission and generally cannot consider projects occurring within four weeks after submission.; Recipients must submit a brief final report no later than two months after completing the activity.. Geography served: rural Oregon, including Tribal communities. Deadline: Application Period: January – November 30, or until funds are exhausted for the budget year..