Hometown Fund
Purpose
For decades, The Ford Family Foundation has invested in Douglas County through scholarships, grants, leadership programs and community partnerships. These investments will continue. The Hometown Fund is an additional $10 million investment over 10 years, aimed to support the momentum already under way in Roseburg and help attract others to invest in local, transformational projects. With these funds, we can support 501(c)(3) nonprofits, governmental agencies and tribal nations.
The Fund will support large scale, catalytic capital projects and related pre-development efforts; capital requests of up to $1 million and pre-development requests up to $75,000. And beyond funding, there may be other ways we can partner on these efforts. Reach out to us!
Introducing the Hometown Fund
Hometown Fund grant applications should be for projects that:
- Fall within Roseburg City limits; with special interest in the river corridor from Stewart Park Natural Area (near the duck pond) to downtown;
- Play a key role in unlocking a larger community vision, resources and transformation, making Roseburg a more vital place for all; and
- Demonstrate strong momentum, a viable funding plan, multi-sector collaboration and committed partners and a reasonable timeline.
Answers to questions we are hearing
Are you funding $1 million per year over 10 years?
No. We have flexibility on the pacing for how quickly dollars are awarded. We need to stay within the $10 million allocation but it does not have to (and likely will not) be awarded evenly across the 10 years. Our goal is to fund ready projects when they are ready. We will talk to you about timeline realities as part of the application process.
Are these grants first-come-first-serve?
No. Grants are based on how they meet the criteria. They will be provided to projects that are highly collaborative, with a viable plan, momentum underway and done in deep partnership. We hope that the availability of the Hometown Fund sparks ideas or provides more inspiration for programs already underway. But we know putting the pieces in place takes time. Let us know what you are working on and we can help you decide when to apply.
You say that you’re providing $1M for capital and $75,000 for pre-development. Are these numbers firm, or a guideline?
These are guidelines to help set realistic expectations regarding the scope of what we can do. We can talk to you about size of request as part of the application process.
What does "catalytic and collaborative" mean?
We are looking for a diverse set of partners from across sectors at the table who are informing the vision and contributing to the planning of the project. Projects funded by the Hometown Fund will be ambitious, visible and tangible signs of hope in the community. And if you are not a fit with the specifics of this fund, we will work with you to consider our other funding avenues.
Next steps
- Complete this form to tell us more about your project.
- Meet with Foundation staff after we’ve reviewed your form. (We’ll contact you!)
- If your project is a potential good fit for the Hometown Fund, we’ll give you a formal application. If it is not, we will talk to you about other funding opportunities.
Looking for other opportunities?
If you don’t think the Hometown Fund is right for your project, we invite you to explore our other grant opportunities.