The Ford Family Foundation: Good Neighbor Grants

The Ford Family Foundation's Good Neighbor Grants aim to support rural communities by providing funding for essential programs and services. With a focus on family support, educational success, and community building, these grants help ensure that families have access to necessary resources. Grants can be used for emergencies, capital projects, and community events, with amounts up to $25,000 available. The Foundation prioritizes initiatives that foster collaboration and sustainability within the community.

They’re called Good Neighbor grants for a reason. Good neighbors help each other, learn from each other and lift each other up.
Good Neighbor grants are designed to support the initiatives that matter in your community in a way that works for your organization, including unforeseen emergencies that interrupt programming or services. We fund both program and capital requests.
For Good Neighbor Grants, applicants should note the following:

• 25% committed before applying (in-kind can play a role but strongest requests have other funding at the table)
• Can request up to 1/3 for programs/operations and up to 50% for capital
• Clearly need to see the community at the table where services will be provided
• We also look for a clear plan in place for sustainability
• You will typically hear back from us in six to 10 weeks
• Grant amount: Up to $20,000
• Grant examples
• Emergency repairs to essential equipment at a food bank, library, fire hall or other community service provider
• Updates to facilities at a beloved community gathering place, including ADA accessibility and technology

Community events such as celebrations, clean-ups or summer festivals (Events and celebrations must be free to the public and multi-day or annual, such as a music or art series.)
New or special programs for the children and families in your communities
Basic needs for vulnerable children and families
Feasibility studies for economic development projects (e.g., business incubator, makerspace, commercial kitchen)

Eligibility

The Ford Family Foundation supports a wide range of organizations, with most of our grants awarded to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, governmental agencies and tribal nations.Our grantees are largely based in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California, but we occasionally fund organizations from other states if the beneficiaries of their work are the people or communities in our region and their initiatives align with our funding priorities.The geographic focus of the proposed project should be largely (60% or more) for the benefit of residents of rural Oregon and Siskiyou County, California.We define “rural” as communities with populations of 35,000 or less and not adjacent to (or part of) an urban or metropolitan area of 50,000 or more.The organization should be up to date in filing final reports for any previous grants from the Foundation.If the organization has received funding from the Foundation within the previous 12 months, please check with the Foundation’s staff before applying again for support.

Ineligibility

We do not make grants to individuals (except through programs where recipients are chosen by a grantee institution).We do not make grants to organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, ability, gender, religion or any other protected status.We do not fund debt retirement, reserve accounts or endowments or to help defray deficits.We do not support efforts to carry out propaganda, proselytize, influence elections or affect legislation.Examples of what we don’t fundAdult-only mental health or substance abuse treatmentHousing, transportation or other basic community infrastructure like water treatment, sewage or lightingGeneral K-12 workforce and professional developmentMedical facilities when connected to a larger profit-based systemMuseums without a focus on children or strong outreach programsRoutine K-12 school curriculum developmentDebt retirement or operating deficitsEndowments or reserve fundsPropagandizing or influencing elections or legislation