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

It’s an exciting time of year for us at Meyer — our Annual Funding Opportunity is now open! We relish the chance to learn about the interesting and passionate work our partners are doing to strengthen communities and ensure every Oregonian has a safe, decent and affordable place to call home.  

Details of our application process are available on our website, and general updates regarding the Annual Funding Opportunity are outlined in this blog by Candy Solovjovs, Meyer’s Director of Programs.  

Since we announced the first group of awards under the new Housing Opportunities portfolio, the Meyer housing team has been taking time to reflect on the process. We had a plan for how the process would go, and on the whole, it panned out as we expected. Where we saw reality diverging from our expectations, we knew there was room for simplification, clarification or both.   

We’ve also weighed the survey feedback from the 2016 applicants, who were frank in their assessments of what worked smoothly and, even more importantly, of what areas needed attention.

As a result, we have made changes to this year’s Annual Funding Opportunity. The changes are fine-tuning, rather than sweeping. Here are some answers to questions you might have about the changes:

 

Will Meyer’s goals for the Housing Annual Funding Opportunity change?

No. The core funding goals of Housing Opportunities remain the same:

1. Preserve and increase the number of affordable housing rental units.

2. Support the housing stability and success of Oregonians living on low incomes.

3. Strengthen the housing sector by building capacity, diversity, equity and inclusion, and collaboration.

You’ll see some refinements in the wording of the funding goals. We hope these will add emphasis and clarity about the types of proposals we are hoping to fund. Everything else from last year’s funding call stands.

 

What did we learn from last year’s Annual Funding Opportunity?

We funded 39 exciting projects in the 2016 annual funding call. In my November blog, I noted that the batch of proposals was extremely diverse, encompassing both solid and proven approaches and new, innovative efforts to address affordable housing needs across our three funding goal areas. The slate of awards reached many corners of the state, and over 20 percent of awards were made to organizations that were new to Meyer or had never been funded before.

We also learned of some challenges in our process, leading us this year to reconsider our process and seek clarification. Some observations from the Housing Opportunities team:

• We seemed out of sync with the state’s Local Innovation and Fast Track (LIFT) Housing Program. Many of the potential LIFT projects that applied to Meyer were early in the process, not quite fleshed out, and did not fare well in our funding.

• Several proposals under Goal 2 were challenged to show how they would, beyond an indirect way, lead to greater housing stability and success. For example, we saw proposals that would help people gain more income. This could translate into housing stability but only if the project was intentional in helping participants to overcome other housing barriers — and if it measured housing stability.

• It was challenging to align a project with complicated financing — especially those using tax credits — with our annual funding call. Some projects came in quite late and asked Meyer for “top off” funding, while others were quite early in the process.

• Our process did not take into account some of the more complicated mixed-use housing developments.

• Although many proposals included specific diversity, equity or inclusion (DEI) activities, few proposals were focused overall on DEI.

Incorporating what we’ve learned, what has changed in this year’s Annual Funding Opportunity?

 

Goal 1: Preserve + Increase the Number of Affordable Housing Rental Units

• At a basic level, we know Oregon has a chronic shortage of affordable housing, making support of both preservation and new development a crucial part of the portfolio’s goals.

• Because the initial batch of LIFT awards has been announced, we expect to see applications that are farther along and likely more competitive. Projects that were eligible for LIFT but were turned down last year are encouraged to apply again if their project has secured LIFT funding and they meet Meyer guidelines.

• We expect the uncertainty of potential federal tax reform to continue to have an effect on tax credits and to challenge current developments in the pipeline. To the extent possible, applicants to this goal area should anticipate and consider other plans for pulling together the necessary financing.

• We gave guidance last year that any mixed-use projects should seek Meyer’s support for just the affordable housing portion of a project. We will be more flexible this year and are willing to fund other aspects of a mixed-use project when crucial to project completion. If this situation applies to your project, you’ll want to have a conversation with our housing team staff.

Goal 2: Support the Housing Stability + Success of Oregonians Living on Low Incomes

• The description of Goal 2 was modified to focus on housing stability and success. To be most competitive here, projects should not be structured to help people succeed  generally, but rather to have a more direct connection to housing. We expect to see projects that propose to track or measure the actual experience of people to access or retain housing, advance toward housing stability or mitigate displacement pressures.

Goal 3: Strengthen the Housing Sector by Building Capacity, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and Collaboration

• We described this goal last year as strengthening the housing sector by building capacity and long-term health. Yet the outcomes we were hoping to see focused on building capacity, fostering collaboration and increasing diversity, equity and inclusion across the sector. The phrasing of the goal now better aligns with the outcomes here.

• Meyer supported several projects with some DEI-focused technical assistance, but we also want to consider longer and deeper equity work. We will, therefore, be offering general operating support grants to organizations that do the majority of their work in affordable housing and have DEI strategies as a meaningful part of their work plans for the grant period. These grants are expected to be more competitive, and if you are interested, please carefully read the guidelines on general operating grants.

Once again, Meyer will be offering a series of general information sessions around the state. In addition, three Housing Opportunities Information Sessions will be conducted by phone March 24, March 31 and April 6. You can sign up for the Housing Information Sessions on our website. If you have questions around your specific project, feel free to contact us at questions [at] mmt.org (questions[at]mmt[dot]org) or 503-228-5512. We’ll route the questions to our team members for a prompt reply.

We were thrilled last year to receive a range of interesting, complex and creative proposals, and we have no doubt that this year’s proposals will be equally impressive. Know that your partnership is invaluable: Meyer couldn’t do its work if we didn’t have front-line practitioners sharing their experience, learning and perspectives.

We look forward to another opportunity to work with you in the coming year.

—Theresa

In early February, Meyer announced our newest portfolio, Equitable Education. After nearly a year of engaging stakeholders across Oregon, our clear vision has emerged:

Ensuring meaningful public education for all.

In service to this vision, the Equitable Education portfolio will focus on three key goals:

• Build a unified movement to advance equitable education: The underpinnings of any success is the collective mobilization of committed and unified individuals toward a common cause. This goal will support a broad-based movement for equitable education that mobilizes the power and potential of students, families, communities and organizations toward unified action, meaningful change and education opportunity for all.
• Create systems- and policy-level impact: Leadership, priorities and policies do not reflect the diversity of needs or the rich array of cultures and traditions that Oregon communities bring to support families and children. To create the system change needed at all institutional levels, this goal will support initiatives that demonstrate potential for positive policy- and systems-level impact in Oregon’s public education system.
• Improve student achievement and college and career readiness: Research and practice demonstrate that focusing efforts on key transitional moments can boost student achievement. This goal will seek to partner with communities, organizations and institutions that build, expand and innovate to support student success.

What we support

Equity is central to all Meyer grantmaking. Successful applicants will demonstrate a clear commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Through this lens, they have a vision and approach to analyzing and directly addressing current disparities so that all students in Oregon have the opportunity to obtain a meaningful public education.

Equitable Education portfolio investments will target increased educational opportunity and achievement in our priority populations, including:

• Underserved communities of color

• English Language Learners (ELL)

• Students living in poverty

• Students with disabilities

• First-generation postsecondary students

We will look for opportunities to support systems- and policy-change that shift the structural status quo and focus on institutional opportunities that prioritize a vision for equitable education. Portfolio investments will seek organizations and collaborations with a high capacity for positive educational results, vision and innovation, organizing and alliance building, change communications, and diverse, inclusive and effective leadership.

What we won’t support

Meyer values the essential work happening every day across the education continuum, but our goals point to encouraging system-level, innovative approaches. Universal, one-size-fits-all strategies are not a good fit for this funding call, nor are proposals seeking to substitute public education.

Although we maintain our portfolio’s multi-year commitments to early education through collaborative partnerships such as the Oregon Parenting Education Collaborative and the Early Childhood Funders Learning Circle, Meyer’s early education investments will focus primarily on supporting students during the transition between early education programs and kindergarten and preparing public schools to offer a smooth transition from home to school. Direct early education services will not be an area of investment at this time.

Meyer remains committed to higher education through a strong emphasis on supporting students successfully transitioning from high school, or equivalent, to postsecondary college or career training. Building or capital campaigns and strategies to address college completion will not be supported by this portfolio at this time.

Join us

The education opportunity gap in Oregon has persisted for too long. We are committed to removing barriers through partnership with communities and organizations committed to building meaningful public education for all students. We invite you to take a deeper look at our funding goals and strategies and consider joining us in this important work. You can find the full funding opportunity here. The deadline to submit an Inquiry Application is 5 p.m., Friday, April 19.

We’ve organized a set of Applicant Resources to make the process easier. You’ll find additional information, tools and advice on topics ranging from diversity, equity and inclusion to Meyer’s definition of collaborations.

General information sessions will be held across the state as well as portfolio-specific conference calls if you’re not able to make a session. If you can’t attend either, please contact us at questions [at] mmt.org (questions[at]mmt[dot]org) or 503-228-5512.

— Matt

 

Meyer’s 2018 Annual Funding Opportunity opened on March 15, 2018 with Initial Applications due on April 18, 2018 at 5 p.m. Our team invites you to connect with us to learn more about these opportunities and Meyer’s priorities at in-person and virtual sessions.

Although we've completed our in-person information sessions for 2018, check out our virtual sessions with staff members from Meyer Memorial Trust’s Building Community, Equitable Education, Healthy Environment and Housing Opportunities portfolios to answer questions and share insights about our grantmaking.
 

Virtual Information Sessions

This series of virtual information sessions will be held by video to share information and answer questions about Meyer's 2018 Annual Funding Opportunity. In addition to a general session, each portfolio team will facilitate portfolio-specific virtual information sessions. RSVP information coming in February! 

COLLABORATIVE PROPOSALS INFORMATION SESSION

When: Monday, April 2, 2018

Time: 10-11 a.m.

Facilitated by: ALL PORTFOLIOS

RSVP: Here
 

BUILDING COMMUNITY

When: Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Time: 3:30-4:30 p.m.

Facilitated by: Building Community portfolio team

RSVP: Here

 

When: Friday, April 6, 2018 — (Special focus on arts initiatives)

Time: 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Facilitated by: Building Community portfolio team

RSVP: Here

 

EQUITABLE EDUCATION

When: Friday, March 23, 2018

Time: 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Facilitated by: Equitable Education portfolio team

RSVP: Here

 

HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

When: Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Time: 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Facilitated by: Healthy Environment portfolio team

RSVP: Here
 

When: Thursday, April 5, 2018

Time: 10:00-11:00 a.m.

Facilitated by: Healthy Environment portfolio team

RSVP: Here
 

HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES

When: Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Time: 3:00- 4:30 p.m.

Facilitated by: Housing Opportunities portfolio team

RSVP: Here

On Feb. 28, Meyer Memorial Trust will release a new Request for Proposals (RFP) through the Affordable Housing Initiative. We’re looking to support community-driven public policy advocacy and community organizing aimed at policy and system changes that will expand the availability of affordable housing to low-income Oregonians.

For the past three years, through AHI, Meyer has supported advocacy work through focused efforts. With this new funding opportunity, Meyer anticipates awarding up to $600,000 through two funding tracks:

• The Advocacy Mobilizers track will award smaller grants for organizing efforts in the early stages of mobilizing support.

• The Campaign Leader track will award grants to support more focused and/or fully developed campaigns that have an articulated strategy for changing a specific system or policy.

Each track is described in more detail in the RFP. Proposals for both tracks are due by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 5, 2017.

This RFP supports the Affordable Housing Initiative goal of promoting advocacy, policy and systems change to increase the availability of affordable housing.

We invite you to two upcoming information sessions about the RFP.

The first session is Thursday, March 2, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, and the second is Monday, March 6, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Please see the RFP for more details.

Please direct any questions to Michael Parkhurst via email at michael [at] mmt.org (michael[at]mmt[dot]org) or by phone at 503-228-5512.

—Sharon

Meyer’s Affordable Housing Initiative has always prioritized the distinct and urgent needs around affordable housing in rural Oregon. The stories of Oregonians living in manufactured housing are particularly moving, both because of their vulnerability to dislocation and because so many people live in older, substandard homes with few resources to address housing issues that impact their health, utility bills and basic housing stability.

Although we’re still interested in strategies for the cost-efficient replacement of older manufactured homes, Meyer has been persuaded by partners around the state to support repair programs helping low-income residents of manufactured homes with urgent repair needs, weatherization and accessibility improvements. By addressing urgent repair needs that homeowners can’t afford themselves, small grants and loans for crucial repairs can help homeowners avoid costly and difficult relocation, help people live in better comfort and health within a community, and even prevent homelessness.

Last fall, Meyer released a Request for Proposals to build the capacity of rural manufactured home repair programs, and we encouraged nonprofits and housing authorities to submit proposals for up to $50,000 per year for up to two years (no more than $100,000 total). With a strong field of proposals, Meyer funded nine projects totaling $630,000 over two years:

ACCESS (Jackson County) $50,000
Benton Habitat for Humanity (Benton County) $100,000
Community Action Team (Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties) $50,000
Community in Action (Harney and Malheur counties) $100,000
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County (Lincoln County) $30,000
NeighborImpact (Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties) $50,000
Neighborworks Umpqua (Douglas County) $100,000
Umpqua Community Action Network (Josephine County) $100,000
Yamhill County Affordable Housing Corporation (Yamhill County) $50,000

The nine grants cover a wide swath of rural Oregon, from the coast and southern Oregon to the central and eastern part of the state. In each case, the proposals described in detail the need for this work in the community, how the agency would carry out repairs, and how the agency would prioritize which households were assisted (most commonly, seniors, people with disabilities and households with veterans were defined priorities). Each program actively seeks out ways to leverage other resources, including donors and volunteers, weatherization funds and other local resources. In most cases, Meyer funding will help programs reach homeowners who can’t be assisted with other, less flexible funding.

We know that these grants will only address a fraction of the statewide need. We intend to document the impact of this work and hope to demonstrate the value of these programs to other funders, public and private. We believe that small repairs can make a huge difference in rural Oregon.

Support for Housing Stability

Last fall, the Network for Oregon Affordable Housing (NOAH) was awarded a two-year Meyer grant to support a statewide steering group including public, private and nonprofit partners wrestling with supporting long-term affordability and housing stability in manufactured home parks. We are pleased to see them take on this important convening and coordinating role and will be interested in their progress identifying opportunities, resources and supportive policies to maintain manufactured homes as an affordable housing option for Oregonians.

For more information, contact Rob Prasch at NOAH: 503-223-3211

After nearly a year of planning and engagement, we are excited to announce the launch of Meyer’s newest portfolio, Equitable Education.

In early 2016, Meyer staff began engaging stakeholders across Oregon, including educators, education advocates, parents, community partners and former and current grantees. Much of what we heard came as no surprise: Oregonians are deeply passionate about education and the future of our state. However, despite the high value placed on education, Oregon’s public education system faces significant challenges that we believe present us with new opportunities for innovation, partnership and community participation.

A vision for Equitable Education in Oregon

Our vision for Equitable Education is that all students have an opportunity to access meaningful public education. We believe Equitable Education offers Oregon students an opportunity to realize their goals of increased academic achievement by removing the disparities at all levels of the education continuum: Students enter school ready to succeed, are reading at benchmark by third grade, are on track for graduation when they enter high school and graduate high school with a plan for postsecondary and career success.

In service to this vision, the Equitable Education portfolio will focus on three key goals.

• Build a unified movement to advance equitable education

• Create systems- and policy-level impact

• Improve student achievement and college and career readiness

Building a unified movement to advance Equitable Education

The underpinnings of any success is the collective mobilization of committed and unified individuals toward a common cause. Quality public education in Oregon is our promise to current and future generations. Improving student achievement, postsecondary completion and career readiness must occur throughout the state, not just in resourced pockets or single communities. Oregon faces deeply entrenched and complex education issues and requires thoughtful, community-based collaborative approaches to ensure all students have access to an excellent education.

Under this goal, Meyer will support a broad-based movement for equitable education that mobilizes the power and potential of students, families, communities and organizations toward unified action, meaningful change and education opportunity for all.

Creating systems- and policy-level impact

Public education institutions, policies and leaders are not meeting the educational needs of all students in Oregon and do not reflect the diversity of needs or the rich array of cultures and traditions that communities bring to support families and children. To create the system change needed at all institutional levels, Meyer will partner with communities and organizations to build the capacity to affect change by supporting initiatives that demonstrate potential for positive policy- and systems-level impact in Oregon’s public education system.

Improving Student Achievement and College and Career Readiness

Meyer seeks to keep student needs at the center of the Equitable Education portfolio’s focus, partnering with communities, organizations and institutions that build, expand and innovate to support student success. This goal also supports cross-sector collaborations between businesses, industry and employers and education and community-based organizations to prepare students for meaningful careers.

Meyer will invest in and support strategies and partnerships that improve Oregon student achievement at key benchmarks by prioritizing initiatives that eliminate disparities and close gaps in education opportunities and outcomes.

Our priorities

In a flourishing Oregon, Equitable Education means that each student — regardless of race, ethnicity, family income, geography, disability or language — has the opportunity to succeed in school.

Investments in the Equitable Education portfolio will reflect a mix of rural and urban grantees that offer, through an equity lens, a vision and approach to analyzing current disparities and directly addressing how to eliminate those disparities so that all students in Oregon have the opportunity to obtain a meaningful public education.

Investments will be targeted toward priority populations, including:

• Underserved communities of color

• English Language Learners (ELL)

• First-generation postsecondary students

• People living in poverty

• People with disabilities

In rural communities, the Equitable Education portfolio seeks to support projects designed to improve outcomes for priority student populations experiencing disparities in education opportunity and achievement.

In addition to targeting communities experiencing educational disparities, the Equitable Education portfolio will work to engage these communities, and the organizations and institutions that serve them, in convening, collaborating, decision-making and other portfolio-related activities.

Join us

The education opportunity gap in Oregon has persisted for too long. As the Equitable Education portfolio maintains Meyer’s 34-year tradition of aligning philanthropic investment with the capacity of local communities to address important issues, we are committed to removing barriers through partnership with communities and organizations committed to building meaningful public education for all students. We invite you to take a deeper look at our funding goals and strategies and consider joining us in this important work.

— Matt

The Building Community team received more than 400 applications from the first funding call under Meyer’s new grantmaking structure (please take a look at Candy Solovjovs’ blog post which describes this in more detail). After months of careful review and many difficult decisions, we are excited to announce 65 grants under the Building Community portfolio, totalling $7.4 million over three years.

From raising up Latino voices in Oregon’s North Coast region to supporting an inclusive arts community among people with disabilities in Portland, the quality and breadth of work underway across Oregon that supports an equitable state for all impressed us.

In many respects, this was a very competitive pool of applications. Applicants that were advanced past the initial letter of inquiry phase were able to show a link between their strategic goals and the goals of this funding opportunity.

Although the full slate of grantees — viewable here — includes a broad range of projects, several themes did emerge.

Many grantees responded to Meyer’s interest in addressing systems change. Some organizations — including the American Civil Liberties Union, Oregon Justice Resource Center, Partnership for Safety and Justice, Red Lodge Transition Services and Central City Concern’s Flip the Script Project — are trying to address inequities in the criminal justice system, for example.

In other cases, the work was less about a specific issue area and more about understanding interconnectedness with others within a system to become more effective advocates. A number of grantees — including  Oregon Center for Public Policy, Rural Organizing Project, State Voices, Unite Oregon and Western States Center — promote equity and fundamental change by addressing a range of issues and employing a variety of tactics.

Recognizing that solutions to complex social issues cannot be created and carried out without community input and participation, a number of grantees are intentional about applying what they learn from those they serve. Groups such as The Next Door, Inc. in Hood River and the Health Care Coalition of Southern Oregon in Medford utilize innovative approaches to addressing health equity by relying on the lived experience and wisdom of community members.

By directly involving people with disabilities in program design and implementation, groups such as Families and Community Together, PHAME Academy and On-the-Move Community Integration are creating different paradigms that challenge notions of equity and inclusion. To amplify the voices of low-income families, grantees such as Multnomah County and Central City Concern/TANF Alliance are creating new programs aimed at achieving equitable outcomes while also influencing the way in which government services are delivered and received.

What these and all Meyer’s grantees and applicants show us is that the nonprofit sector is rich in solutions and passion and not shying away from addressing vital needs. Sincere thanks to all the time and intent put forward by applicants to the Building Community portfolio.

In an effort to continue to meet those needs, we are excited to jump back into grantmaking with two new opportunities designed to bolster the strength of the nonprofit sector through leadership development and support for capacity builders across all our portfolio areas. Both opportunities are open until December 7.

In the aftermath of this recent election, we are as committed as ever to promoting equitable outcomes for all Oregonians. Our work continues.

— Dahnesh

It’s a wrap!

Eight months after Meyer launched new grant programs in April, the first official funding round of the Healthy Environment portfolio is complete. We know that many of you are curious about how it all played out — and not just in the Healthy Environment portfolio but in the other new portfolios as well. To read more about that, please check out Candy Solovjov’s blog.

Before I share some reflections on the Healthy Environment portfolio grants batch, I need to acknowledge that I started drafting this weeks ago and am struggling to situate it in the aftermath of the election. It’s impossible for me to not acknowledge that the results have fanned the flames of racial bias, white privilege, sexism, misogyny and other forms of oppression that are deeply entrenched in our nation’s dominant culture. It’s also impossible to ignore that this same extractivist mindset not only systematically harms certain groups of people more than others, but it also drives the depletion of nature and degradation of environmental health.

When I consider where Meyer and its equity mission sit within this context in Oregon, I see one of our roles as speaking up for the values of inclusion and opportunity for all. It’s also our responsibility to support and amplify the efforts that aim to uproot all types of oppression and extractivism, and particularly where these intersect, that operate in communities across Oregon. We must support efforts to unify our communities. This takes long-term commitment and vigilance.

Today, more than ever, there is a troubling shadow over the outlook for progress on environmental protection and conservation. Clean energy policies and climate agreements may be repealed or defunded. We may see rollbacks on clean air and water protections as well as efforts to undermine the progress we have made on public lands management and protection efforts. Progress toward self-governance by Oregon tribes associated with protecting first foods and natural resources may be at risk. Organizations that have made steady progress blocking the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest and fossil fuel transport by rail may soon be facing new expansion proposals.

Despite this, Oregon groups will still forge ahead on climate justice and clean energy solutions at the state and local levels as well as conservation and protection of environmental health. Diverse interests will continue to gather at collaborative tables to tackle a range of ecosystem restoration and management challenges. We and the organizations we have the privilege of supporting understand that the big issues we are tackling are not won or lost during a presidential or congressional term. We take the long view, and we are resolved to move forward.

A key intention behind Meyer’s new Healthy Environment portfolio is to better connect the foundation’s support of a healthy environment with its equity mission. The portfolio’s vision, goals and strategies, which were informed by the hundreds of individuals who participated in the survey and listening sessions we did in 2015, reflect this intention. However, when we launched our new programs last spring we didn’t know how nonprofits would respond or what sorts of proposals we would get.

So what did happen?

First of all, we received a mountain of requests — 160 Healthy Environment inquiry applications requesting over $21.7 million — that aimed to advance the portfolio’s goals. After the inquiry stage, 56 applications moved forward, and we ultimately funded 47.

Based on what you submitted, we can see that you heard us. We said that we wanted to bolster work that simultaneously supports healthy natural systems and the health and vitality of all of Oregon’s diverse communities. Your proposals reflected this.

What did we fund?

If I were to try to summarize what characterizes the work that was most successful in securing funding, I would call it “change work.” As Doug Stamm wrote in his announcement of the new funding approach, “inequity is a pernicious obstacle to the flourishing and equitable state Oregonians deserve.” This means that the status quo isn’t working, so we must direct our energy and our resources toward change — changing hearts and minds, changing how we operate, changing institutions and changing systems. And we must double down on this work now more than ever.

Breaking it down further we saw some clusters of change-focused work that acknowledge this context.

We are pleased to make so many grants that align with the portfolio’s goals for environmental justice and diverse environmental movement goals, both of which sit at the center of the portfolio’s vision. Although there are a relatively small number of organizations in Oregon that define their work as being focused on environmental justice, we made a number of grants that support place-based work to advance environmental justice in both rural and urban communities as well as in state policy. These include efforts that are led by and designed for the benefit of communities of color and other populations experiencing disparities. They are tackling issues such as climate justice, forest workers rights, air toxics reduction and more. In addition, we made several grants to support planning for the integration of environmental priorities into the work of organizations whose missions focus on social justice.

The largest number of applicants requested support for work to advance the portfolio’s triple bottom line goal. We wanted a broad entry point for many organizations doing work for a healthy environment in communities across Oregon, and this goal helps create this doorway. However, we also noted that the highest percentage of applications that were declined fell under this goal area because many projects did not demonstrate a strong connection to our priorities. The most successful applications demonstrated clear environmental, social and economic impact — not based on their organization’s mission or values but based on the outcomes of the proposed work to be funded. Proposals that demonstrated measurable impact in all three areas were most successful.

The first round of portfolio grants also support a range of policy and systems change efforts focusing on water, air and land conservation at the local and state levels. Applicants are using a number of proven approaches — grassroots organizing, coalition building, strategic communications and participating in key policy making committees — to advance policy and systems change for healthy environment improvements. There are examples of organizations trying to take advantage of timely opportunities or a unique context for change and others who are doing the time-consuming, but oh-so-necessary, work of ensuring that newly adopted policy is actually implemented.

To advance change, we must innovate and try new ideas. There are a number of grants that are testing new approaches or scaling up new programs that deliver on the goals of the Healthy Environment portfolio.

We were not surprised to receive a number of applications that requested support for diversity, equity and inclusion training and planning. The environmental field lags behind in equity as compared with many other fields in the nonprofit sector, and there is a clear need for this foundational work to get started. 

These are a few of our initial reflections about this first round of grants and the kind of work the new Healthy Environment portfolio was designed to support. We hope that you will check out Meyer’s awards database to gain more insights as you consider future applications. We know that we will learn more as we work with this first set of grantees and support new ones in the future. We welcome your reflections, ideas and questions.

— Jill

We are thrilled to share the Housing Opportunities portfolio’s grant awards for the 2016 funding round. All 39 awards support our vision for every Oregonian to have a decent, safe, and affordable place to call home. And all align well with our equity mission, either by working to reduce the disparities faced by marginalized people, supporting vulnerable populations or strengthening the many dedicated organizations working to bring stable housing to every Oregon community.

Beyond those common elements, we see the batch of awards as extremely diverse. It contains both solid and proven approaches and new, innovative efforts to increase stability and success for residents and address affordable housing needs. Some awards centered on bold approaches and others much more subtle.

Before looking at the grantees, we’ll explore a few notable themes evident in this batch of awards:

Equity is most prevalent in the populations served

The projects in the Housing Opportunities batch are all aimed to reach people living on lower-incomes. Our requirement was generally 60 percent area median income, but many projects reached populations at much lower-incomes, from zero to 40 percent  area median income. The capital projects reached a variety of vulnerable populations and those most affected by the housing crisis: seniors, people with severe physical, developmental or behavioral disabilities, foster youth, pregnant and parenting youth, formerly incarcerated people, veterans and people of color. Other projects are designed to serve formerly homeless families and individuals, survivors of sexual assault and Latino seniors.

This funding batch also reaches several culturally specific organizations and some other culturally responsive organizations serving predominantly communities of color.

Equity also showed up in how projects are carried out.

All capital projects reflected a commitment to use minority-owned, women-owned and emerging small business contractors. (See more in our blog, Focus on Contracting). And where projects needed help to secure minority contracting, technical assistance support was awarded. Similar technical assistance was awarded for some projects that included equity components or for which we saw that equity training would be an important step for the organization.

Some goal areas reflected better geographic diversity of applicants than others

Most of our larger capital projects are concentrated in the seven largest municipalities in the state, and only one reaches outside of the I-5 corridor. Smaller and more rural communities were better reflected in our Goal 2 and Goal 3 areas. We were less successful in reaching some more remote parts of the state, including eastern Oregon, Tribal reservations and many parts of the coast. In the coming months, we will investigate methods to better reach more rural and tribal communities.

We saw several common themes emerge across the thirty-nine awards:

• Awards cover a wide range of the housing stock continuum. From those exiting homelessness into supportive housing, rental housing, manufactured housing and single family homeownership options.

• The awards reflected energy and creativity around finding and retaining housing in a tight market. Several models of housing are reflected in this batch, such as house sharing, tiny houses, accessory dwelling units and intergenerational housing.

• Projects often straddle systems of care. Housing is often paired with other significant systems of care, including child welfare, foster care, domestic violence, mental and physical health, or civil and criminal justice.

• Leverage opportunities are prevalent. Many projects directly leverage large public investments, which often come from restricted funding sources (e.g., tax increment financing that must be spent on capital in a certain neighborhood region) and philanthropy can play a role in helping to fund the staffing and support services needed to deploy such funds.

• Several projects center on evaluation and data. These are often structured as pilot programs, prototypes or demonstration projects that are designed to give tracking and evaluation data to support future funding from public sources or other private sources.

• Grants went to both new and experienced organizations. Nearly a quarter of the awards — 23 percent — were made to organizations that had never before received Meyer funding. This batch also includes our first award to a for-profit housing developer. Pacific Crest Affordable Housing LLC, based in Bend, is contributing much needed affordable housing development capacity in central Oregon.

• The influence of the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI) is clear in this batch. AHI’s strategies include funding advocacy, access to private market units, broader systems alignment and larger-scale preservation work through targeted investments. Those efforts continue parallel to this funding opportunity. Several projects here either deepen, further or complement the work of initial investment made in AHI. We expect to see the continued interplay of AHI and the statewide housing work.

Summary of awards

The 39 awards were spread across the three overarching goals of the Housing Opportunities portfolio:

Goal 1: Preserve and increase the number of affordable housing rental units

We anticipated that this goal would receive the largest demand for grant dollars and it did. Of the nine awards made, three are for preservation of existing affordable housing units, many with federal rental subsidies attached (Human Solutions, Caritas Community Housing Corporation, Catholic Community Services Foundation). Collectively, these projects will result in a total of 123 units of preserved affordable housing stock.

The remaining six awards support new housing development for very vulnerable and high priority populations (Housing and Community Services of Lane County, Pacific Crest Affordable Housing oregon, Bridge Meadows, Neighborhood House, Luke-Dorf and Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives). A total of 282 new units are expected to be added to the state’s housing stock in part because of these awards.

Goal 2: Support the stability and success of affordable housing residents

This pool of awards reflects a wide variety of approaches to accomplish the goal of increasing resident stability and success:   

• Four awards are aimed at removing a barrier to housing and/or employment or building up assets that can lead to housing and/or advancement: Oregon Law Center, Housing Works, ASSIST and Casa de Belen;  

• Several awards involve individuals and families that are transitioning from homelessness into permanent housing with supportive services: Portland Homeless Family Solutions, New City Initiative, REACH Community Development and Multnomah County;

• We saw awards aimed at supporting specific priority populations to access and retain housing from El Programa Hispano Católico, Bradley Angle and Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation;

• Hiring a staff position that can focus on housing retention was central to three more awards: Deschutes United Way, Yamhill Community Action Partnership and Housing Authority of Jackson County; and

• Both Native American Youth and Family Center and Florence Habitat for Humanity propose to make critical home repairs and weatherization upgrades to mitigate displacement of low-income homeowners.

Goal 3: Strengthen the housing sector by building the capacity and long-term health of housing organizations

Two awards under this goal have equity prominent in the project design. California Coalition of Rural Housing’s will build diversity in rural housing organizations with an internship program and Community Partners for Affordable Housing seeks consulting to build a resident advisory committee for its properties. Other awards contain equity components, such as diversity, equity and inclusion training for staff and board.

Three culturally-specific organizations seek assistance to build capacity and strategic vision, either after a major transition in the organization (Farmworker Housing Development Corporation) or to leverage large public investments (Self Enhancement, Inc. and African American Alliance for Homeownership).

Several more awards aim to build capacity in very specific and strategic ways within an organization: Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East, ROSE Community Development, SquareOne Villages, NeighborImpact, Habitat for Humanity of Oregon, Fair Housing Council of Oregon and ShelterCare. The award to Network for Oregon Affordable Housing will staff a collaborative effort to address manufactured housing issues.

For an overview of all 151 awards Meyer made this month, please see this blog by our Program Director, Candy Solovjovs.

Final words of gratitude

In the end, we are very pleased with how this group of awards aligns with Meyer’s equity mission and vision of systems change. Each grant stands well on its own, with special characteristics and different approaches to advance our goal areas. And together, they complement and accentuate each other, providing many opportunities for us to see leverage, innovation and learning play out. We appreciate the feedback you’ve given so far and look forward to hearing from all applicants in Meyer’s upcoming survey. We can wait to see how the work of our partners will contribute to an equitable and flourishing Oregon.

—Theresa