Grant Resources and Opportunities

Helping to Bring Impactful Funding to Local Communities

Empowering local organizations to find the right funding & put their best application forward.

Funding opportunities are increasing at the state and federal level and it is essential that rural governments and organizations are ready and capable of winning those funds in order to perform meaningful economic and community development. In addition to federal and state grant programs, Lincoln County offers some great grant opportunities for local nonprofits and municipalities to do impactful community projects. EDALC seeks to share economic development grant opportunities with local organizations, assist the county in the facilitation of grant programs when appropriate, and educate and assist local organizations in grant seeking and writing.

Lincoln County 2025-26 Community and Economic Development Grant Program

Thank you to the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners for another successful year of Community and Economic Development Grants. EDALC is proud to partner with the county to facilitate this program and help support some wonderful local initiatives and projects.
In 2025 the county increased its funding for the Community and Economic Development Grand Fund from $130,000 to $185,000. This pool of funds was split into two different grant opportunities, two large IMPACT grants of $50,000 each and multiple smaller STANDARD grants with a maximum of $15,000 each from the remaining $85,000. The STANDARD grant awardees of the 2025-26 Community and Economic Development Grant are as follows:
$15,000 to Oregon Coast Aquarium – Amazon Exhibit
$15,000 to Agape Respite Center – Workforce and Reentry Stability Project
$15,000 to Discover Your Northwest – Community Partnership Accelerator
$14,920 to Oregon Coast Community College Foundation – Youth Career Exploration and Entrepreneurship Program
$9,155 to Central Coast Chorale – Coastal Voices 2026 Programming
$8,000 to Lincoln City – Brownfield Program
$7,925 to Lincoln City Sunday Market – Sunday Market Growth Project
IMPACT Grants were awarded to:
Northwest Coastal Housing – Olalla Meadows Housing Development
Habitat for Humanity of Lincoln County – Forest Lake Park Affordable Housing
The 2026-27 application window is expected to open in October 2026.

The Ford Family Foundation

The Ford Family Foundation supports rural community development by providing grants and other support for communities that have or want to develop an economic growth plan. They support projects and organizations that seek to increase the amount of sustainable rural businesses, the capacity of systems to support rural economic development, and the presence of long-term economic development planning for rural communities. To learn more about the Ford Family Foundation and their current funding opportunities, please visit their website here.

Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding

The Ford Family Foundation offers a “Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding” report, that was prepared by Sequoia Consulting, in order to identify and address some of the challenges rural organizations have had accessing public sector funds from the state and federal government. The study includes the data that were collected from rural nonprofits and organizations from across Oregon about their perceived barriers to fundings, as well as, recommended actions for overcoming those challenges. The report can be found here.

Oregon Economic Development Districts

The Oregon Economic Development Districts have developed a page dedicated to resources for Oregon’s rural communities to secure federal funding. This page contains the Pathways to Securing Rural Federal Funding Toolkit, which includes a federal funding opportunities list, a grant writer roster, a grant readiness assessment, and provides need-based mentoring for rural agencies through completion of the assessment. To learn more and access their resources, visit their page here. 

Quick Tips for Grant Writers

“Quick Tips for Grant Writers” is a helpful list of advice for grant writers to consider while applying for any type of grant. The tips were written by Jerry Miller with the Idaho Department of Commerce, who has experience in both writing and reviewing grants. To check out this important information, please click here or the image to the left.

Free Resource List for Rural Oregon Nonprofit Organizations

This list is the perfect place for nonprofits in rural Oregon to get started or learn more about finding, applying for, and winning grant opportunities. It includes free webinars, fundraising platforms, an online grant resources database, and many more educational and grant finding resources. Click here to access the Grant Resource List.