Overview
The Reed & Carolee Walker Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation was established in 2003 by a generous bequest from Ashland residents Reed and Carolee Walker. The fund is a permanent endowment with earnings to be used exclusively to support programs for the needy in Jackson County, Oregon.
Walker Legacy Grants: Improving the Health and Wellbeing of Children in Poverty
The program generally awards multi-year grants of $25,000 or more per year. Priority interests include children’s dental health, children’s mental health, and substance abuse treatment for pregnant and parenting adults. Grants are awarded to organizations with a history of success that are prepared to demonstrate measurable results. In addition, preference is given to collaborative efforts, those that show a creative use of community resources, and those that intervene early or at crisis points.
Walker Responsive Services Grants: Meeting Basic Needs
This program awards one-year grants of $25,000 or less. High priority are programs that provide food, clothing, shelter, and other emergency services to individuals and families. Funding also is available to schools, clubs and other organizations for enrichment programs for children in need. Preference is given to collaborative efforts, those that show a creative use of community resources, and those that make it easy for clients to receive assistance.
Please note changes to the application process for the Walker Fund.
Application Process
The application process has changed. The pre-application phase has been eliminated, so anyone interested in applying for new or renewal funding will submit a full application.
Online application system opens November 20 and closes January 10 (5 p.m.) each year. Grant decisions are made in early May.
Application Directions
The Walker Fund program now uses an online application system. It will open annually on November 20 and close at 5 p.m. on January 10. You will need to register for an online account to complete an application. Registration requires that you enter basic information about your organization, including its tax ID (Employer Identification Number). An online application tutorial is available and you may review the grant application questions before creating an account.
Immediately upon completing your online registration, you may begin your grant application if you wish. Your information will be stored in the system, so logging into the system in the future simply requires that you enter your email address and password.
When you are ready to begin, please visit the online application system. If you already have some or all of the answers to the application questions in an electronic document, you may cut and paste your text into the online application. Also, you do not need to complete the application in one sitting. You may answer some of the questions, save your work, close out of the system, and then return to it another day to add to your work.
Applicants to the Legacy program must upload a completed evaluation matrix. Here are directions and a template for the Legacy evaluation matrix.
Reporting on Grants
Progress reports are due on January 10 (approximately eight months after the grant award) for all grants. In addition, a final report is due August 1 for multi-year grantees who have finished their final year. Grant award letters contain specific information about reporting requirements. Links to the two report forms are here:
Progress Report Form (January 10 deadline)
Final Report Form (August 1 deadline)
Once you have completed your report form, please email it to grants@oregoncf.org. If you have any questions about the reporting system, please contact Michael Achterman at 503.227.6846 or machtermand@oregoncf.org.
Medford Office, 541.773.8987
Amy Cuddy, Program Officer for Southern Oregon - acuddy@oregoncf.org
Portland Office, 503.227.6846
Megan Schumaker, Program Officer for Community Grants & Funds - mschumaker@oregoncf.org
Melissa Hansen, Associate Program Officer & Lead Grants Administrator - mhansen@oregoncf.org
Michael Achterman, Program Associate for Grants - machterman@oregoncf.org