Please visit our Immediate Impact Fund pagefocused on COVID-19 and/or the Wildfires for more information. 

Women’s Foundation of Oregon 2019-2020 Giving Project Grant Guidelines and LOI Questions

Thank you for your interest in applying to the Women’s Foundation Giving Project grantmaking cycle! The Women’s Foundation of Oregon is prioritizing using a Reproductive Justice framework for this year’s Giving Project grants of up to $10,000. Additionally, the Women's Foundation of Oregon will be piloting grantmaking to non501c3 individuals and groups (501c3 organizations, select 501c4 organizations, and organizations that are fiscally sponsored are still eligible - this is an additional alternative we are piloting). 

Please read the history and focus areas of reproductive justice to find out if you may be a fit for our our grantmaking this year. And scroll down further to learn about our two paths to non501c3 funding. 

The History of Reproductive Justice

While this work has been happening long before its institutionalization by Black, Indigenous, People of Color, queer and trans people, disabled people, Reproductive Justice, as a term, originated with a collective of black women who gathered in Chicago in 1994, and culminated in the creation of Sistersong, a “national, multi-ethnic RJ movement.” SisterSong defines Reproductive Justice as "the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities." 

Why Reproductive Justice?

RJ as a movement building and systems change strategy aligns with the following principles:

• Analyze power systems. 
• Address intersecting oppressions. 
• Center the most marginalized.
• Join together across issues and identities.

A Reproductive Justice framework centers communities working, building, and organizing at the intersection of multiple oppressions. 

Reproductive Justice Grantmaking Priority Areas

Here are a few (but not all) priority areas:

• Organizations led by and for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities
• Organizations led by and for queer & trans* communities
• Rural communities outside of the Portland Metro area and I-5 corridor
• Organizations collaborating with BIPOC and/or queer & trans* communities in a non-tokenizing way (for more information on tokenization, see here)
• Organizations focusing on systems change as part of their mission & values
• Organizations working with an understanding of integrated/connected social justice movements (for example, environmental justice, economic justice, disability justice)

If you are unsure if your program or organization aligns with our priority areas, please reach out to our Grants Program at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions.

Grantmaking to individuals and groups who do not have 501c3 status

This year as part of our annual grantmaking tied to the Women’s Foundation Giving Project pilot, we are piloting grantmaking to groups and individuals who do not have 501c3 status or are not fiscally sponsored.

We are committed to the vision of resourcing those most impacted by gender inequities, and recognize many service providers and community leaders often work outside of the 501c3 model.

This is a pilot year for this exciting evolution in our grantmaking approach, since making grants to non501c3 individuals and groups is an uncommon practice. We thank you in advance for your patience and partnership. The non501c3 grantmaking process will take more time for both potential grantees and for the Women’s Foundation, so please reach out to our Grants Program at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

TWO PATHS TO NON501c3 FUNDING

If your organization or group is not registered as a 501c3 or is not fiscally sponsored, there are two possible avenues for you to be funded.

Applying as an individual: If you are an individual seeking support, your grant will be a stipend for a particular project or body of work. You will need to provide community references in your application. This individual stipend will be considered taxable income. The Women’s Foundation will issue a 1099 form to both the stipend recipient and the IRS at the end of the tax year in which the grant was received.

Applying as a non 501c3 group: If you are a group or collective, your grant cannot be used for general operating support. Instead, specific details on how the grant will be used for a project, event, or other need will be required. Additionally, you will need to provide community references and will need to participate in a more thorough and frequent reporting process (including a categorized budget) for your work. This is called an expenditure responsibility process.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Grants Program at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with any questions.

IF YOU Submitted an LOI, Thank you! you will hear from us soon.

Our grants are designed for general operating support. Since we are a smaller foundation, we aim to support organizations and programs whose use of the funds would provide considerable impact for their work. For a list of previous grantees and how they utilized our grants, please visit our Grantmaking page.

If you don’t represent an organization or program, you can help us by forwarding this survey to your favorite organizations that serve women and girls in Oregon. We can't wait to hear from them! If you have questions or want to go over our current criteria, please contact our Grants Program at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..