Meyer’s Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) identifies housing advocacy as a key strategy for advancing a broader agenda around improving access to safe, decent and affordable housing around the state. Whether in the form of grass-roots organizing, policy research and analysis, coalition-building, or well-designed messaging, advocacy can help to draw attention to urgent housing challenges and elevate the conversation statewide and in local communities.

Meyer’s housing team recognizes that there is special urgency around housing issues across the state right now. The steep climb in housing costs has elected officials, community leaders and housing advocates scrambling for tools and solutions to ease the burden on low-income Oregonians, and the issue was front-and-center at the Legislature last session like never before.

This spring, Meyer announced the AHI’s third Request for Proposals to support community-driven public policy advocacy and community organizing aimed at expanding the availability of affordable housing to low-income Oregonians. We again invited proposals for up to two years, with eligibility broadly defined to include projects that increase the number and diversity of voices engaged in housing advocacy and that promote concrete policy and systems changes at both the local and statewide levels.

The Meyer housing team reviewed the 22 proposals received from across Oregon in response to the RFP, totaling almost $1.4 million in requests. Altogether, 12 grants totaling $717,000 over the next two years were approved.

 

This RFP allowed proposals under two categories:

 

• “Campaign Leader” grants of up to $60,000 per year for 1-2 years for focused and targeted efforts with a clear policy or systems change goal led by a strong coalition of partners with a credible plan to succeed

• “Advocacy Mobilizer” grants of up to $30,000 per year for 1-2 years, to support community organizing at an earlier stage of organizing than Campaign Leaders, or work focused on broader base-building, issue identification, etc.

 

The intent of the RFP was summarized in five specific outcomes:

 

• More effective and strategic housing advocacy and organizing in communities around the state and in the Oregon Legislature

• Increased support for affordable housing by policy-makers and the general public

• Measurable progress on local and/or state-level policies or systems changes that increase resources for affordable housing and/or reduce barriers to affordable housing access and development

• An expansion in the number and diversity of stakeholders and constituencies engaged in affordable housing advocacy across the state

• Effective, replicable models and strategies for organizations seeking to improve the effectiveness of their advocacy efforts

Consistent with Meyer’s focus on equity, the RFP criteria emphasized benefiting communities of color, culturally specific organizations, and underserved rural communities in both expected outcomes and in the design and implementation of projects.

 

Meyer is pleased to support these 12 projects:

 

CAMPAIGN LEADERS

1000 Friends of Oregon (Multnomah County)           

Portland for Everyone - $65,000

To support Portland for Everyone in mobilizing a coalition of advocates, community-based organizations, neighborhoods and local businesses that will urge Portland City Council to make inclusive and equitable land-use policy decisions that expand housing choice and availability

 

Oregon Opportunity Network (Statewide)    

Equitable Investments in Housing: Oregon Mortgage Interest Deduction Reform - $120,000

To expand and support a broad-based, progressive coalition, led by Oregon Opportunity Network and Oregon Center for Public Policy, to reform Oregon's mortgage interest deduction and investment in affordable housing statewide

 

ADVOCACY MOBILIZERS

CASA of Oregon (10 counties in eastern Oregon)      

Eastern Oregon Housing & Asset Building Network - $60,000

To establish a network of housing and asset-building providers in rural eastern Oregon to create a common agenda, shared measurements, continuous communication, mutually reinforcing activities and backbone support

 

Habitat for Humanity of Oregon (Statewide)

Empower and Mobilize Oregon Affiliates for Successful Local Advocacy -$40,000

To empower all 29 Oregon Habitat for Humanity affiliates to conduct successful local advocacy efforts

 

MACG Vision (Clackamas and Marion counties)       

Clackamas Mobilization - $60,000

To mobilize members of faith organizations and other housing advocates in Clackamas County and northern Marion County, including individuals directly impacted by the area’s housing crisis, to advocate for more resources and policies to support affordable housing

 

OPAL (Portland Metro)           

Southwest Corridor Coalition - $60,000

To build a lasting coalition led by low-income residents focused on equitable housing and community investments without displacement as the Portland region plans new high-capacity transit along the Southwest Corridor

 

Oregon Center for Public Policy (Statewide)

A Rent Assistance Program for Oregon - $50,000

To analyze and develop policy concepts for state-funded rent assistance to address the plight of Oregon families most at risk of becoming homeless

 

Oregon Food Bank (Statewide)          

Engaging New Housing Advocacy Voices from the Food Assistance World - $46,000

To increase the number and diversity of housing advocates by bringing the voices of clients, organizations and volunteers involved in food assistance throughout Oregon into the movement for affordable housing

 

Oregon Opportunity Network/Welcome Home Coalition (Portland Metro)

Welcome Home Coalition - $60,000

To mobilize advocates, volunteers and partner organizations to establish reliable, dedicated revenue sources in the Portland region to fund homelessness prevention, affordable housing and homeownership programs

 

ROSE Community Development (Multnomah County)           

97266 Housing Leadership Team - $60,000

To bring together diverse community members, to build leadership and power to fight against displacement in Portland’s Lents neighborhood, and to support and lead local housing advocacy initiatives

 

Street Roots (Statewide)        

Street Roots Rural Housing Reporting Project - $36,000

To develop dedicated reporting on rural housing issues to help bridge the rural/urban divide in Oregon and promote better understanding of issues communities across the state face and the common ground that all can rally around

 

Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services (Benton County)          

Housing Advocacy in Corvallis and Benton County - $60,000

To support a housing advocacy campaign that will engage diverse and underrepresented people in securing the resources needed to improve housing resources in Corvallis and throughout Linn and Benton counties

 

This slate of grants represents a diverse range of approaches from public policy research and analysis to grass-roots organizing to sophisticated and strategic efforts to influence statewide priorities and resources. Geographically, these grants include projects focused on some of Oregon’s most under-resourced and isolated counties, areas where activism and energy are really blossoming like Corvallis and Clackamas County, and statewide projects focused on bringing more of what Israel Bayer of Street Roots calls “unexpected messengers” — people speaking to housing issues whom one might not expect — to inform discussions around affordable housing needs and solutions.

As part of our emphasis on shared learning and informing the field, Meyer will convene a gathering of advocacy grantees in late summer/early fall to build connections, compare notes and forge alliances.

 

— Michael

It seems fitting that the bulk of Meyer’s $936,460 in June grant awards support housing advocacy. At the same time those awards were made, Oregon’s 2017 legislative session was drawing to a close, offering some forward momentum to support affordable housing and unfinished business and remaining opportunities to create communities where every Oregonian has a safe, decent and affordable place to call home. At Meyer, we believe that housing is key to a flourishing and equitable Oregon and understand that public policy is the primary driver of housing equity.

Our June housing advocacy awards — 12 grants totaling $717,000 — were made following a request for proposals issued in February as part of our Housing Opportunities’ Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI). This is the third year of housing advocacy awards made through our AHI. These awards support community-driven public policy advocacy and community organizing aimed at policy and systems changes that will expand the availability of affordable housing to low-income Oregonians. While all of this year’s awards advance the same broad goal, they reflect a range of strategies and opportunities such as reforming Oregon’s mortgage interest deduction in support of more equitable public investment in housing, identifying specific needs and community-driven housing solutions in rural communities, and building capacity of people living on low-incomes , faith communities, social justice organizations and housing providers to engage as housing advocates, just to name a few.

Additional Meyer June grants support:

• Three key statewide conferences that build capacity of housing-related organizations — Neighborhood Partnerships’ RE: Conference and Oregon Opportunity Network’s fall and spring industry support conferences. Meyer funds will help to support conference participation by members of rural nonprofits, small budget organizations and communities  of color who would otherwise face barriers to attending.

• Conservation capacity and organizational resiliency of Greenbelt Land Trust, a nonprofit leader in the Willamette Basin and key partner in the Willamette River Initiative (WRI).

• Technical assistance to Children First of Oregon, an organization that works to create conditions in which all Oregon children thrive, in advancing internal diversity, equity and inclusion objectives.

• Participation of Oregon Environmental Council, Malheur Education Service District Region 14 and the Housing Development Center in Meyer’s Capacity Builders Learning Collaborative.

Finally, as part of Meyer’s commitment to advancing the national field of philanthropy, modest awards were made to the Council on Foundations for an upcoming summit on achieving equity in the workplace and to the Center for Effective Philanthropy, an organization that helps philanthropic funders better define, assess and improve their effectiveness and intended impact.

You can find a list of all of our June awards, here

In other Meyer news, we have completed Inquiry Application decisions for our 2017 Annual Funding Opportunity. This year — the second round under our new funding structure — we accepted applications through all four of our portfolios and had an enthusiastic response to the first open opportunity under Equitable Education. In total, we received 608 inquiries requesting more than $73 million. Nearly half (47 percent) were submitted to Building Community, over a quarter to Equitable Education (27 percent) and the remaining split evenly among Healthy Environment (13 percent) and Housing Opportunities (13 percent). For 16 percent of applicants — 99 organizations — this was the first application to Meyer and another 14 percent — 87 organizations — had submitted at least one application in the past but have not yet received Meyer funding. Nearly half the requests were for capacity building or operating support.

Following close review, thoughtful discussion, a bit of angst and some difficult decisions, we invited 213 applicants, with initial requests totaling over $27 million, to continue in the process. Organizations invited to move forward indicate that work supported by the requested Meyer grant dollars would include specific strategies designed to serve and/or benefit the following populations*:

• People of color (67 percent)

• Immigrants and refugees (37 percent)

• People living on low incomes (78 percent)

• People with disabilities (28 percent)

• People who identify as LGBTQ (19 percent)

In addition, 46 percent of applicants indicated that their proposal would benefit rural communities.

     *note that one application can serve multiple populations

As anticipated, proposals that rose to the top in our review process demonstrated a clear opportunity to advance Meyer’s portfolio goals and communicated a commitment to equity (both internally and externally), with some earlier on in their equity journey. Successful proposals demonstrated that their work was meaningfully informed by, engaged with and/or would be led by community. Most of these proposals also drew a connection between the organization’s work and broader policy and systems change. Finally, clarity about the role and importance of Meyer funds, a clear implementation plan, and organizational readiness were key considerations in our teams’ decisions and recommendations.

As always, we encourage applicants who were not invited to move forward to contact our portfolio staff for feedback and conversation. We also hope that if you submitted a request you responded to our applicant survey to help us identify how we can better communicate what we are looking for in proposals and to share your ideas about improving our processes. We made a number of changes last year in response to your feedback and continue to be open to and value your ideas.

We are excited about the innovation, collaboration and community, policy and systems change aspirations embedded in the proposals we received. The commitment to and enthusiasm for building community, increasing housing opportunities, cultivating a healthy environment and creating an equitable education system are both inspiring and palpable. We continue to be humbled and inspired by your work and the possibilities ahead of us — and we are deeply grateful for your partnership in shaping an Oregon where all who live here can truly thrive.

— Candy

 

Partnership, in its many forms, is infused throughout Meyer’s program strategy. One way this shows up is in how we weave in grant dollars to support our partnership work to strengthen the broader nonprofit and philanthropic fields.

Meyer’s May grant awards, totaling $93,650, include some excellent examples of the ways in which our grantmaking supports our partnerships, collaborations and sector connections. They also reflect the understanding of our founder, Fred Meyer, that when given thoughtfully, even small amounts of money can accomplish great things. As you can see, each May grant award is $26,000 or less.

• In late May, a packed room of folks from social justice organizations and funders (including Meyer staff) convened to take stock of the changed political environment and to explore ways we can work together to strengthen our community’s capacity for justice. Somewhat unique in its formation, the event was co-created by a small group of nonprofits, Meyer and other partnering funders. Meyer was pleased to provide Western States Center, which served as a key event organizer, with a small grant of $1,750 to help support the logistical costs of the gathering. We are looking forward to the next steps as the partnership moves toward action!

• We are also excited that, for the first time, Meyer is providing grant support ($12,000) to the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), an organization that is known for its social justice leadership and advocacy and specifically for pushing philanthropy to do more for those who are marginalized, underserved and disenfranchised.

• NCRP is a strong proponent of grantmaking practices that resonate with Meyer’s values and funding approach: dedicating a significant percentage of funding to strengthen marginalized communities; making multi-year grants; offering operating support and capacity building grants; funding advocacy, organizing and civic engagement; demonstrating transparency in disclosing information; and paying out more than the standard 5 percent of foundation assets in grants. In fact, its research and recommendations to philanthropy were a meaningful resource during Meyer’s recent organizational redesign. As the importance of NCRP’s work and message are elevated within the current political context, we are especially pleased to join its network of philanthropic supporters to influence the field of philanthropy.

• And speaking of advocacy, grantmaking practices and convening, we are grateful to be partnering with Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington, the Nonprofit Association of Oregon and the Alliance for Justice (AFJ) to build the capacity of nonprofits and funders to engage in policy advocacy through workshops in the fall. As Meyer has increased its work in the advocacy space — both through our grantmaking and amplifying our voice in support of issues we care about — we have appreciated the excellent guidance and resources that AFJ offers. If you are not familiar with AFJ or want to deepen your organization’s engagement in systems change, I encourage you to check out their Bolder Advocacy initiative (that’s right - they offer free technical assistance! And services in Spanish!). And look for the upcoming Nonprofit Association of Oregon and Grantmakers of Oregon and Southwest Washington workshops. We are thrilled to once again help bring AFJ to Oregon through this $7,500 grant.

• Finally, I want to highlight a $26,000 grant awarded to Rural Organizing Project to support the efforts of rural communities to defend and protect immigrants and refugees impacted by deportation activities. This grant was made as part of the new Oregon Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative, which addresses critical and time-sensitive issues facing immigrants and refugees. Organizations can apply through Meyer, MRG Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation and The Collins Foundation using this shared application. You can learn more about this innovative collaborative and why funders decided to work so closely together in Sally Yee’s blog and Kimberly Wilson’s interview with the participating funders.

Over the coming months, we will continue to share about our programmatic work, grantmaking and beyond. In the meantime, you can find a list of our May grant awards on this PDF.

 

Kendall Clawson, Executive Director of the American Leadership Forum of Oregon, responds to the prompt, "What makes you do this work?" during a convening of the Building Community portfolio’s Leadership Development and Learning Collaborative.

April was a busy month at Meyer as we completed statewide outreach for our 2017 annual funding opportunity and our program team began digging into the 607 inquiry applications we received in response to our annual funding call. Applicants can expect to hear in mid-June about whether they are invited to submit full proposals.

But our annual funding opportunity is just one piece — albeit a big one! — of Meyer’s strategy. We continued to make other grants in April, awarding 18 grants totaling more than $792,000 to advance our vision of a flourishing and equitable Oregon. Through these investments, Meyer partnered to establish a rapid response fund as part of the Oregon Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative work, invested in model watersheds under our Willamette River Initiative and supported field convening and learning. These awards continue Meyer’s commitment to social change, collaboration, innovation, diversity, equity, inclusion and responsiveness in this policy environment that is hurting our neighbors, friends, co-workers and community.    

You can view the full list of April grant awards here. And here’s a little bit more context about what Meyer funded in April:

Healthy Environment

In our Healthy Environment portfolio, Meyer made seven awards, totaling $708,479, through our Willamette River Initiative to support model watershed organizations working to improve habitat, flow and water quality in key Willamette River tributaries. These grants were made to local watershed councils in Benton, Linn, Lane and Polk counties and the Bonneville Environmental Foundation as part of Meyer’s long-term support of the Willamette Model Watershed Program. So many things about the Willamette River make it a cornerstone of a flourishing and equitable Oregon: cultural practices, salmon, drinking water, recreation, jobs and the spiritual renewal of nature, just to name a few. You can learn more about Meyer’s 10-year Willamette River Initiative, its tributary strategy and grantees here.

In addition to these Initiative grants, Meyer awarded $16,000 in Healthy Environment funds to the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians in support of convening, relationship building and collaboration among Oregon Oregon tribes and environmental and social justice organizations.

Building Community

In the first quarter of 2017, Meyer awarded 32 grants to organizations selected to be part of leadership development and capacity-builder learning communities. These cohorts are working to build equity and inclusion at community and policy decision-making tables through leadership development and to strengthen the broader social sector by integrating diversity, equity and inclusion within organizations. Through these cohort experiences, organizations will come together to lift up collective wisdom and to share and build knowledge to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. In April, Meyer invited four additional organizations to engage in these learning convenings, awarding each of them a $10,000 grant to support their participation.

Learn more about our Leadership Development and Capacity Builder programming here.

Meyer-Directed Awards

Meyer continues to make mission-aligned grants beyond our portfolio-specific awards in response to timely opportunities and needs. In April, we made seven Meyer-directed awards totaling $28,000. Awards included $15,000 to support Meyer’s partnership with the MRG Foundation, Collins Foundation and the Oregon Community Foundation to establish a rapid response fund as one component of the Oregon Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative. This collaborative is building on a history of partnership in support of immigrants and refugees, including past grantmaking related to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy. You can learn more about the collaborative here and here.   

Remaining funds supported convening and learning, including grants to support grassroots social justice organizations in raising funds in the context of movement building, to inspire and equip social change agents inside grantmaking organizations, and for dialogue about pressing civil rights issues and bridging divides in Oregon.

— Candy

Meyer's 2017 Annual Funding Opportunity closed on April 19, and a quick crunch of the numbers starkly illustrates the gap between philanthropy and need in Oregon.

By-the-numbers

Meyer received 606 inquiry applications under our community, education, environment and housing portfolios, totaling $74 million.

Meyer expects to award $17.1 million under the funding opportunity, about 23 percent of what was requested. That gap is why Meyer invests in strategies that expand and deepen the impact of our grantmaking.

Most of the requests, 284 inquiry applications totaling $31 million, came under the Building Community portfolio, which works to further the vision that Oregonians can achieve their full potential, have a voice in decisions that affect them, and engage in and help build vibrant communities. The portfolio will invest $4.8 million toward that vision this year.

The Equitable Education portfolio saw the second largest request, with 166 requests, for a total of $23 million. This portfolio will invest $5.2 million through the funding opportunity to help Oregon students to realize their goals of increased academic achievement with the absence of disparities at all levels of the education continuum.

Nonprofits made 80 inquiry applications under Meyer's Healthy Environment portfolio, totaling $8 million. In all, Meyer will invest approximately $3.3 million through the portfolio to advance the vision of nurturing a resilient natural environment, while supporting the well-being of Oregon’s diverse cultures and communities.

And finally, 76 organizations applied for $11.7 million in funding under the Housing Opportunities portfolio. The portfolio will invest approximately $3.8 million this year to open doors to opportunity and strengthen communities through safe and affordable housing.

What comes next?

Meyer uses a two-step application process for our annual funding opportunity: Inquiry Applications and Full Proposals.

Beginning in mid-March, Meyer welcomed inquiry applications from eligible organizations seeking to advance one of our portfolios' goals. (You'll find a sample from the Building Community portfolio here). After the deadline of April 19, Meyer's inquiry applications review process normally takes approximately 65 days.

After reviewing Inquiry Applications, Meyer invites the most promising applicants to submit a full proposal. Meyer will notify organizations in mid-June whether or not they are invited to submit a full proposal. If invited, organizations will have three weeks to submit a full proposal, due in July. A sample preview of the full proposal application and questions is available at https://mmt.org/portfolio/community/full-proposal-questions.

After reviewing proposals and following up either in person or over the phone, Meyer anticipates making final award decisions by the end of 2017, with funding available to organizations in early 2018.

Questions? Check out our list of frequently asked questions at www.mmt.org/apply/applicant-resources/your-questions. Or contact us at grantops [at] mmt.org (grantops[at]mmt[dot]org) with questions about GrantIS.

— Kimberly

In the midst of our exciting 2017 annual funding opportunity, Meyer Memorial Trust continues to make awards to organizations driving equity solutions in Oregon.

Since January, Meyer has made 106 grants totaling more than $8.8 million to 100 nonprofit organizations, including nearly three dozen under our fall Nonprofit Social Sector RFP and nine under the Affordable Housing Initiative’s Rural Manufactured Home Repair RFP. We’re excited that all of these awards support social change, innovation, diversity, inclusion, leadership and capacity building, along with equitable practices and outcomes.

View the full list of grant awards by viewing this PDF. And, as always, you can view our full awards database here.

Here’s a little bit more insight into what we've funded so far this year:

Building Community throughout the Nonprofit Social Sector

In Meyer’s Building Community portfolio, Meyer made 37 awards totaling nearly $3 million to organizations changing systems and improving conditions for communities of color, people living in poverty, and other marginalized populations. Awards included 32 grants to organizations that applied under our fall Nonprofit Social Sector RFP for leadership development and building capacity of capacity builders.

Leadership development

As part of our program restructuring, we committed to continuing our support for programs that develop and support leaders and networks from Oregon’s diverse communities. We believe that powerful institutions continue to struggle for authentic engagement with marginalized populations and that positions of power remain limited or unsustainable for people of color, immigrants and refugees, and other marginalized populations. Through our leadership development strategy, we aim to build equity and inclusion at community and policy decision-making tables. Salem Keizer Coalition for Equality, for example, was awarded an $85,000 grant to organize, train and empower Latino Spanish-speaking parent leaders on social justice in education and civic representation. In all, we made 22 awards totalling $1.5 million to advance leadership development.

Building capacity builders

Meyer also made awards investing in strategies that support capacity builder core work, advance equity and effectively strengthen the broader social sector. With Meyer’s focus on equity, it has become clear that organizations need capacity building services such as generalized training and consultation to integrate diversity, equity and inclusion strategies within their organizations. These grants will support this. The Coalition for Community Health Clinics, for example, was awarded $136,000 to provide technical assistance to 14 member clinics to design and implement equity-focused community health improvement strategies within health care settings. In all, we made 10 grants totalling $1.4 million to build the capacity of organizations that help build the capacity of others.

Learn more about our Leadership Development and Capacity Builder awards here.

Nurturing a Resilient Natural Environment

In our Healthy Environment portfolio, Meyer made 13 awards totaling $140,500 to organizations that are advancing equity throughout the state, and five awards, totaling $513,215, to organizations improving the health of the Willamette River, the watershed that more than two-thirds of Oregonians call home. Among those grants was a $15,000 operating support grant to Crag Law Center, which provides free legal services and low-cost legal aid to protect wild places, climate and livable communities across Oregon, and a $20,000 grant to Ecotrust for an effort to recruit and train diverse community members for careers in the green workforce.

Advancing Affordable Housing Opportunities

In our Housing Opportunities portfolio, Meyer has made 25 awards this year totaling nearly $2.8 million to organizations exploring innovation, supporting systems change and leveraging resources to meet the housing needs of all Oregonians. All of the awards but one, a $125,000 grant to Mercy Corps Northwest, for a center that helps formerly incarcerated individuals find their way back to stable lives, were made under two Affordable Housing Initiative strategies:

Manufactured Housing

Last fall, Meyer asked nonprofits and housing authorities to submit plans to build the capacity of rural manufactured home repair programs. With a strong field of proposals, Meyer funded nine projects totaling $630,000 over two years and across the state. Umpqua Community Action Network in Josephine County was awarded $100,000, for example, for home repairs in its 50-space manufactured home park in Roseburg, to be maintained as permanently affordable housing, prioritizing households with children. Read more about that batch of grants here.

Sustaining Portfolios

Meyer’s Sustaining Portfolios Strategy couples flexible funding with technical assistance to help ensure the long-term sustainability of Oregon’s existing affordable housing. In the last two years, Meyer has awarded two-year grants to 19 organizations through two rounds of funding. Six grants awarded in February, totaling $380,975, provided a third year of funding to organizations in the first group of grantees, such as Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation in The Dalles and Farmworker Housing Development Corporation in Woodburn.

Advancing Equitable Education

Meyer made 7 awards totaling $1.4 million to continue our support for equitable education while we have developed this portfolio. See our new framework for equitable education in this blog post from portfolio director Matt Morton.

Meyer-Directed Awards

Beyond our portfolio specific awards, Meyer occasionally makes grants to respond to timely needs and opportunities during these changing times. This winter, we’ve made 15 such awards, totaling $930,000, including grants awarded in March to Catholic Charities and Lutheran Community Services Northwest, to provide emergency bridge funding to maintain critical refugee resettlement services.

— Candy

Wajdi Said, president and co-founder of the Muslim Educational Trust, leads a conversation with Meyer Memorial Trust staff and trustees, including Dahnesh Medora and Board Chair Charles Wilhoite.

At Meyer, we ask our grantees to engage with communities most impacted by disparities. And we value the wisdom our grantees develop about the work they do and the people they serve.

When we launched our new portfolio-based funding model last year, we knew we would want to shine a light on that collective wisdom. Drumroll ... Introducing Meyer’s Nonprofit Sector Learning Collaboratives and our first cohort of Leadership Development and Capacity Builder grantees!

Last November, we called for proposals to facilitate the development of leaders and organizations providing capacity building services to other organizations. I’m overjoyed to announce those grantees. The breadth of the organizations we’re funding through these two funding streams is exciting because the grantees represent all our portfolio priorities in education, housing, the environment and community building. And we were pleased that the percentage of Meyer applicants from rural communities, 30 percent, was the same percent of rural-based grants that we awarded.

Meyer had originally allocated $2.3 million for the Leadership Development and Capacity Builder grants in 2017. But because of the strength of the applications and opportunities to partner with organizations that really aligned with the funding goals, we’re awarding a total of about $2.9 million over two years.

Leadership Development: $1.5 million awarded through 22 grants

Why?

Socially based inequities are complex. Leadership development provides Oregonians with more connections, skills and resources to address areas of inequity that matter most to them. That’s the short game. The longer game is to build the power of people in communities that have not been represented in the traditional halls of power.

Many service organizations work with general populations. But organizations that are culturally specific are often made up of people from their target service community and provide services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate. That can lead to better outcomes for communities that are facing the greatest disparities. And leadership development capitalizes on the collective wisdom in communities while reducing reliance on a single leader who may come and go. The idea here is to spread out the leadership knowledge and leadership skills.

Meyer received 50 proposals for leadership development, totalling $3.1 million. Forty-five percent of the grantees serve the Portland area and 12 serve culturally specific populations.

Grantees for leadership development include Communities United for People/Enlace, a statewide-organization serving women, especially women of color impacted by violence, criminalization, climate change and immigration issues; Momentum Alliance, serving youths from marginalized communities in the Portland area; and EUVALCREE, serving Latinos in rural Malheur County.

Two to highlight include a grant for $80,000 to help the American Leadership Forum bring urban and rural leaders together to create genuine dialogue and leverage relationships that bridge the urban-rural divide that can keep Oregonians apart.

Another $80,000 grant, to the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis, will help build the leadership skills of teens working to advocate for better policies and relationships with local law enforcement.

Capacity Builder: $1.4 million awarded through 10 grants

Why?

A central tenet of Meyer is equity. So we asked ourselves: What will that mean for organizations that are early in their journey to embody equity in their ranks and programs? And where will they get the support they need to meet us along the way? The answer is to support capacity builders with grants and collective learning.

Capacity building grants traditionally help strengthen what nonprofits do. These Capacity Builder grants help strengthen management support organizations that help nonprofits be more effective. You could say these grants support those capacity builders to strengthen their own equity chops and their services to be more effective in helping the nonprofits they work with get — and get better at — equity.

Meyer received 36 proposals totalling $4.3 million.

Two to highlight include a $88,195 grant over two years goes to Northeast Oregon Economic Development District — which serves nonprofits in Union, Wallowa and Baker counties — to help embed diversity, equity and inclusion into their trainings and to provide ongoing support to the organizations they serve through facilitating DEI discussions.

Another two-year grant is a turn on the saying: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime. The $147,178 grant to Oregon Health & Science University’s Evaluation Core Unit helps train small nonprofits serving marginalized communities to evaluate their work through research, collection and analysis of their data — and to provide them with a complete evaluation of their own work.

We’re asking all of the Leadership Development and Capacity Builder grantees to participate in learning collaboratives: one year for leadership development, two-years for the capacity builders. Over the course of their grant periods, we’ll host Learning Collaboratives through a series of meetings: three for Leadership Development grantees, four for Capacity Builder grantees.

Our Learning Collaboratives are intended to serve as an opportunity for grantees and Meyer staff to lift up collective wisdom to share and build knowledge to advance diversity, equity and inclusion work. With facilitator support, participants will be encouraged to reflect, plan and, to some extent, take action. All the grantees will have a chance to learn from experts in the field and will have a voice in informing how Meyer might fund these types of work in the future.

These collaboratives will help Meyer model best and promising practices among leadership development and capacity builders to advance DEI in Oregon.

— Carol

I was once a grantwriter. And this time of year, during the month when Meyer’s annual funding opportunity is open, I feel the pain of grantwriters.

Grantwriters are tasked with figuring out how to write the most compelling application possible in fewer than 2,000 words and convince a funder that a particular project is worth investing in. Coupled with funders’ selection criteria and processes, which are not always clear and can even seem arbitrary, the application process can feel downright frustrating.

One of Meyer’s values is transparency, and we strive to be open about our grantmaking and decision-making criteria. That’s why we organized in-person and virtual information sessions and created a new section on our website to share useful resources for applicants. I hope these tips help make applying for Meyer funding even easier.

Eligibility vs. alignment

Many organizations are eligible to apply for Meyer funding, but not all of them will be in alignment with our goals.

Eligibility means that the applicant fulfills certain requirements, such as having tax-exempt status and meeting our nondiscriminatory policy. Eligibility is a paved road — you’re either on it or you’re not.

Alignment, on the other hand, is more like a hiking trail — sometimes the path is clear; sometimes it’s harder to see. To show us that your project or proposal is a good fit with Meyer’s portfolio goals, you’ll want to demonstrate not only that the work you’re proposing to do directly ties to our desired outcomes but also that you have a strong analysis of how this work is (or is committed to be) rooted in equity and inclusion.

To get an idea of the projects we might fund, check out what each portfolio funded last year. Building Community’s list is here, Healthy Environment’s is here, and Housing Opportunity’s list is here. The Equitable Education portfolio begins making grants this year.

Read about our funding priorities, grant types and amounts

For some organizations, choosing a portfolio will be easy; for others, it might be a bit more difficult. If you’re in the latter category, spend some time reading about the different portfolios and decide which of their goals your work aligns with most closely. If you still have questions after looking at the portfolios, feel free to email us at questions [at] mmt.org (questions[at]mmt[dot]org) or visit Meyer’s frequently asked questions page.

In the Inquiry Application, you will have an opportunity to choose one — just one — portfolio goal and up to two outcomes your proposed work will help to achieve.

To read more about the types of funding available, please click here.

Use plain language

When talking about your work, don’t assume we know what you do, who you are, or what communities you serve. Answer each question fully and in as plain a language as you can, providing examples if appropriate, and avoiding jargon and acronyms if at all possible.

Check out the cardstack above for an example organization and program description for “Awesome Organization.” It can be a bit of a Goldilocks situation to find the sweet spot of clarity and simplicity.

Connect your work to root causes and systems-level impact

For your proposal to be competitive, you’ll want to make a strong connection between your programs and services and the root causes of the problem you want to address.

To continue with our previous example, improving access to chocolate is a worthy cause in its own right, but Awesome Organization’s proposal would be significantly more competitive if it demonstrated that it not only addresses the immediate need of the community, i.e. access to delicious chocolate, but that it is also thinking about what creates that immediate need (in this case: lack of farmer training and access to capital — especially for farmers from underserved communities), and how the organization can effect long-lasting change (in this case: providing low- or no-interest loans to farmers to keep chocolate affordable, and addressing barriers to access to both connections and spaces for innovation for farmers and chocolate makers).

Some additional tips

Create or update your profile in GrantIS, our online submission platform, with plenty of time and consider that:

• The setup takes a few days.

• If you already have a profile, you’ll need to certify that your organization’s information is correct.

• New this year: You’ll need to add your executive director or CEO’s start date.

• If you are applying through a fiscal sponsor, the process can take additional time.

Right-size your ask

Familiarize yourself with the range of funding amounts in your chosen portfolio. In determining whether your request is “right-sized,” we will consider your project size, project complexity, project budget, organization size, and what other funding you’ve secured.

Prioritize conveying key information in the body of the application

We receive such a high volume of requests that — as much as we would like to — we may not be able to read attached materials we have not specifically requested. Equity demands that we give all organizations the same amount of time and attention.

Let us know if you’re experiencing challenges

If your organization is going through a major change or has experienced some challenges recently, note it in your application and explain how the challenges might impact your project.

Write clearly and concisely, but don’t sacrifice meaning

If your friends or next door neighbors can’t understand what your organization does or what your proposal is about, we probably won’t either.

If you’re not funded, ask for feedback

If you are not invited to submit a full proposal this time around, we encourage you to contact us so that we can go over your Inquiry Application with you and discuss our perspective on what you can consider when submitting your next application.

We are looking forward to reading about the great work you are all doing and meeting some of you at the information sessions. In the meantime …

Here’s wishing you a productive grantwriting season!

— Violeta

Last year, as part of Meyer’s newly restructured grantmaking programs, we launched the first set of opportunities under the Building Community portfolio. We were excited and heartened by what we saw! We learned about how organizations across the state are working to support marginalized populations and prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion.

This year as part of Meyer’s 2017 annual funding opportunity, the Building Community portfolio is investing $4.8 million in grant funds. We will begin accepting Inquiry Applications on March 15, with a deadline of 5 p.m. April 19, that advance one of the following portfolio goals:

• Invest in strategies that dismantle inequities and create new opportunities to advance equity.

• Support efforts to encourage and strengthen civic engagement and public participation in democratic processes.

• Support arts and cultural initiatives that create inclusive communities.

Learning from 2016

The Building Community portfolio received more than 400 applications as part of the 2016 annual funding opportunity, and it was able to provide funding to 68 grantees. A few characteristics of last year’s grantees:

• 26 percent were focused in rural communities, 10 percent worked in both rural and nonrural communities and 28 percent were doing work at a statewide level.

• 25 organizations received project grants, 21 received capacity building funds, 20 received general operating support and two received capital funding.

• 10 percent were organizations with annual operating budgets of $200,000 or less.

• Four organizations were first-time applicants to Meyer.

• The average grant size was $113,000.

Most applications we received were compelling, but the ones that were competitive shared similar characteristics:

• They focused on historically marginalized populations. The Building Community portfolio has a special interest in people of color, people living on low incomes, women and girls, crime/abuse survivors, indigenous peoples and tribes, immigrants and refugees, the elderly, people with disabilities and LGBT people.  

• They considered how direct services were tied to broader systems or root causes. It’s important to consider how a direct service or program (e.g., domestic violence counseling) is part of a broader context or connected to other issues that address the root causes requiring the service.

• They employed strategies that were clearly informed by the intended audiences or those that would be most impacted by the proposed activity. Consider in what ways are the intended audiences for your work included in creating plans? Do they have some opportunity to influence what you do?

• They considered diversity, equity and inclusion as part of broader strategies to improve and sustain organizational health (e.g., operations, policies and procedures, finances, staffing).

Changes in 2017

This is the second round of annual funding in Meyer’s new grantmaking programs. We received positive feedback from applicants and grantees and have made a few changes to try to make the process as clear and straightforward as possible. Past applicants may notice a few changes this time around.

• We’re asking more questions about how an organization is informed by the population it seeks to serve. Our application aims to understand how your work and your organization as a whole is informed by the people you seek to impact.

• Knowing that the process of preparing an application requires a considerable amount of time, we have tried to be clearer about work that is not a good fit with Building Community. You’ll find a list of examples of what does not fit in the funding opportunity materials.  

• One of the most common questions we received in the application process last year was about grant size. This year, we have tried to provide more specific details, including the average grant size from last year (listed above) and how this relates to grant type (e.g., capacity building, operations, project and capital).

• Of the 68 grant awards provided last year, two were for capital requests and each of those two was for less than $100,000. This year, we will again consider a limited number of capital requests. These requests will need to show a direct and compelling connection to improving conditions for priority populations and need to demonstrate how diversity, equity and inclusion considerations both informed the project and will be assessed moving forward.

• One starting point for gauging where organizations are on their pathway to prioritizing diversity, equity and inclusion is by collecting demographic data. This year we have created more resources and tools in a new Applicant Resources section of our website to provide more help with demographic data collection.

• We have been clearer about what we mean by “equity.” Our Applicant Resources also includes more information to help applicants think about how equity takes shape, both externally through programming and services and through internal operations.

Get More Information

We are committed to being transparent about what we seek in an application. Over the next month, Meyer staff will be traveling the state to share information about the 2017 opportunity across all four of our portfolios, including Equitable Education, Healthy Environment and Housing Opportunities. A list of information sessions can be found here. The Building Community team will be hosting three webinars where we will provide more details about this portfolio and and respond to specific questions.

Of course, you can also check out our new Applicant Resources page with more information. And feel free to contact us at questions [at] mmt.org (questions[at]mmt[dot]org).  

— Dahnesh

I am pleased to announce our 2017 annual funding opportunity. Through this opportunity, Meyer will invest approximately $3.3 million to advance our vision of nurturing a resilient natural environment, while supporting the well-being of Oregon’s diverse cultures and communities.

On March 15, the Healthy Environment portfolio begins accepting Inquiry Applications — with a deadline of 5 p.m. April 19 — that advance one of the following portfolio goals:

1. Support efforts that mutually achieve community well-being, economic vitality and environmental stewardship.

2. Ensure that environmental impacts and benefits are equitably distributed among communities.

3. Support a movement for a healthy environment that is effective and relevant for all Oregon’s diverse communities.

4. Ensure that natural systems are healthy and able to adapt to changing conditions and long-term impacts.

This is the second round of annual funding for our portfolio in Meyer’s new program structure. In December, we announced the first 47 grant awards out of a robust pool of 160 inquiry applications. These grants support a broad range of forward-thinking efforts for a healthy environment in rural and urban communities across Oregon. Projects include testing and scaling new strategies for protecting and restoring ecosystems while also supporting thriving communities. They also include efforts to give voice to more communities in shaping local and state-level decisions for clean air and water. Our aim with these awards is to bring diverse organizations together for change.

 

What’s different from round one?

For the current funding opportunity, we have provided more guidance about what makes a strong proposal and improved the process.

Last year, we rolled out a lot of changes all at once: brand-new portfolios with specific goals and outcomes and new funding guidelines; a newly overhauled application and data management system for collecting proposals; new staff at Meyer navigating a brand-new system for reviewing proposals and much, much more. That was a lot of new, and last year’s funding process was a bit of a roller coaster ride: thrilling, suspenseful and exhilarating, both for the Meyer team and for all the nonprofits that climbed aboard with us.

For 2017, we have made improvements. In the survey we conducted after the 2016 grant process closed, you asked us to “provide more clarity about the type of proposals that fit best” and to “simplify the application as much possible.” Using these comments as our guiding principles, we made some crucial refinements. Here are the highlights:

1. Expecting measurable environmental impact. In the application we request that applicants identify the measurable environmental impact their proposal aims to deliver. Last year, many requests did not make this clear and thus were not successful in securing funding.

2. Identifying what doesn’t fit. We recognize that preparing an inquiry application for Meyer requires a considerable investment of time and resources by an organization. We looked at which requests were most competitive last year and which  ones weren’t. We found that some types of projects consistently did not line up well with the outcomes we are working toward. This year we are providing a list of what doesn’t fit specific to this funding opportunity to help guide you.

3. Clearer direction on what amount to request. This year, the request amounts for the different grant types are more consistent across all the portfolios. We’ve also provided more guidance on what amount to request by sharing the average size of 2016 grants. Last year, requests tended toward the high end of the funding ranges, but we can actually only fund a few of those.

4. Operating support candidates are very specific. Operating support grants will continue to be focused on a limited set of organizations. In addition to the 2016 parameters, which remain the same, we also expect that organizations seeking operating support will demonstrate diversity, equity and inclusion leadership in the context of their community and specific field (e.g. freshwater conservation, marine conservation, climate change, etc.). Please contact us to discuss whether your organization is a good fit for operating support.

5. Demographic data collection update. Of all the parts of the application that we tried to improve, this was probably the toughest. By its very nature, collecting demographic data is complex and fraught with challenges. To help you navigate some of these challenges, we have organized resources and tools into a new Applicant Resources  page to support your efforts. In the revised inquiry application, we request a modest number of summary demographic data points that are relevant to Meyer’s equity mission. We will not require applicants to submit the separate demographic data spreadsheet that we used last year.

6. More on what we mean by equity. During last year’s funding opportunity process, we fielded many questions from potential applicants about diversity, equity and inclusion in rural Oregon. This year we are hosting two webinars with leaders of three rural-based organizations — Lomakatsi Restoration Project, Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center and Rogue Climate — to share their experiences with advancing equity in their work in rural Oregon. They will answer your questions about how to get started and where to go next. In addition, our new Applicant Resources page includes tools and resources to help you understand how we think about and assess diversity, equity and inclusion in the context of organizations’ internal operations and their mission and programs.

You’ll probably find evidence of other tidying and small tweaks to move us forward. And we look forward to further refinements after round two as we gain experience with the new portfolio and work more closely with you — all the great organizations working hard for a healthy environment in our state.  

 

Getting more info

If you’d like to discuss the 2017 Healthy Environment Annual Funding Opportunity and your proposal plans, please participate in one of the upcoming Info Sessions or contact us at questions [at] mmt.org (questions[at]mmt[dot]org). Make sure to also review Candy Solovjovs’ recent blog announcing the 2017 Funding Opportunity, which offers guidance and tips relevant to all the portfolios.

Our work together is now more important than ever. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your ideas and questions.

— Jill