The Zinnia Grant

The Zinnia Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation 091898
Amount: US $250,000 - US $350,000
Last Updated: January 20, 2026

Summary

The Zinnia Grant is a competitive funding opportunity aimed at making a significant impact in Oregon organizations. It typically awards between $250,000 and $350,000 annually for a three-year term. Eligible applicants must have an operating budget over $1M and a proven track record of previous grants. This grant emphasizes a commitment to equity and is designed to streamline the application process for organizations aligned with the foundation's mission.

Overview

The Zinnia Grant We launched the Zinnia Grant in 2023 after recognizing a desire to invest more deeply in our most aligned partners. The hope was — and continues to be — that we are able to identify organizations with whom we have partnered for many years, or who are uniquely and exceptionally aligned with our values, and meet together to understand how we can best support the work at hand. The Zinnia Grant is named for the favorite flower of Marie’s daughter, Gert Boyle, whose generosity transformed the size and scope of the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation in 2019. Gert’s generous spirit and purposeful investments in community inspire us as we engage in this particular program. More so than any of our other grant programs, the Zinnia Grant is very relational. We hope that much of our learning and discussion takes place in person, preferably over meals, with opportunities to explore big dreams, reflect on challenging realities, and build relationship. A competitive program, the majority of nominees are unfortunately not chosen for consideration. Recognizing this, we have designed a self-nomination process in lieu of a formal application. This positions us to leverage past awards and ongoing relationship to understand the scope of your work, while still asking for relevant updates. We encourage eligible organizations to pursue this grant, as many times as is desirable, and thank you for your interest in this opportunity.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. This grant is typically for organizations with whom we have partnered many times, though especially those with the capacity and ability to leverage substantial funding. In particular, we require the following:Your organization has partnered with the Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation (received funding) at least twice, though ideally more.Your organization has a history of receiving and managing one or more $200,000 gift/grant(s) in the last five (5) years.Your organization provides demonstrable direct service to one-hundred and fifty (150) or more individuals annually.Your organization maintains an operating budget of $1M+ annually

Ineligibility

We do not consider the following requests for any applicant for whom the following applies: Fiscally sponsored organizations Sectarian, faith-based, or religious organizations whose principal activity is for the primary benefit of or prioritizes their own members or adherent, including faith-based organizations whose mission or programs proselytize or preach traditions of a given faith or belief system; Institutions, who — in policy or practice — discriminate against persons because of their race, ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, ability, socioeconomic status, age, or other marginalized identities; Organizations that exist for the purpose of propagandizing and/or for influencing legislation and elections; Individuals unauthorized to act on behalf of a qualified tax-exempt organizations; Individuals for their personal benefit Additionally, we do not: Support endowments or the investment of grant-awarded funds, such that we expect awarded dollars to be leveraged during the grant term assigned; Permit the use of grant dollars to pay off debts unless explicitly authorized to do so (uncommon)