The Ford Family Foundation: Technical Assistance Grants

The Ford Family Foundation offers Technical Assistance Grants aimed at bolstering the capacity of organizations serving rural communities in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California. These grants, which can reach up to $5,000, support activities such as staff training, strategic planning, and consulting services. By enhancing internal capabilities, the foundation seeks to improve the effectiveness of nonprofits and agencies that focus on family, education, and community development, ultimately benefiting children and their families.

What we support
We look for projects rooted in Oregon and Siskiyou County, California that aim to make a difference in the lives of rural children, ensuring the family, educational and community supports they need to thrive.
Grants aligned with our Family impact area help strengthen connections between a parent or other primary caregiver and a child.
Current grant funding examples
Children’s mental health supportsParenting support programsDomestic violence programs and shelters for families with childrenChild abuse prevention and intervention programsSupports for children in foster careMaternal-child health programsTwo-generation family literacy programsFamily financial education and accessEarned Income Tax Credit access and utilizationScholarships for parents to complete their college educationStatewide networks and systems reform to support all of the above
Education
Grants aligned with our Education impact area aim to ensure that rural children have the supports and opportunities they need to succeed in their education. Our emphasis is on early childhood education, helping children start strong in their early grades, and preparing students for the transition from high school to postsecondary education or a career.
Current grant funding examples
Child care and early childhood educationEarly literacy programsFamily engagement in their children’s educationPrograms that support social-emotional learningYouth development and summer learning programsPrograms supporting students of color and marginalized populationsCollege and/or career preparation programsScholarships for aspiring low-income rural and urban students to attend and complete collegePrograms to support low-income, first-generation rural student success beyond high school
Community
Grants aligned with our Community impact area support conditions that help children and families thrive in rural communities. This includes focusing on their local economies, social capital, community visioning and planning capacity, and public gathering spaces.
Current grant funding examples
Community building and engagement effortsCommunity centers and convening spacesCommunity social service centers (Where direct youth programming is provided)Arts and culture centersLibrariesRural health centers (Federally Qualified Health Centers)Disaster resiliency planning and fire hallsCommunity economic development planning, feasibility studiesCommunity supports for entrepreneurs, including start-ups, business retention, and youth and women entrepreneursBusiness development services
Strengthen your organization’s internal capacity to make a positive impact with a Technical Assistance grant. These grants can be used to attend a conference, develop leadership expertise, engage in strategic planning or hire an outside consultant with specialized expertise.
Grant examples
Paying for staff members to attend a training or conference that builds their skills and capacity or hiring a trainer for your board and/or staffContracting with a consultant to develop a strategic plan, create a transition plan for outgoing leadership or set up new organizational financial systemsHiring a facilitator to carry out community engagement activities to inform your organization’s project or programContracting with a consultant to develop a capital campaign plan

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

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 legislationWe 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.