For Community Partners

Page Overview: Funding Opportunities | Trainings | Networking & Educational Opportunities | Advocacy

United Way of Lane County brings people and resources together to move Lane County from surviving to thriving. One way we do this is by strategically investing grant awards into local organizations who serve our most vulnerable communities, from providing basic needs to creating long-term solutions to big, systemic challenges. 

On January 28, 2026, we will open our new grant cycle and begin accepting Letters of Inquiry for Community Support and Community Transformation grants.

Community Support & Community Transformation Grants 

Our Community Support and Community Transformation Grants are funded through the generosity of donors and selected by a panel of community volunteers. These grants are multi-year commitments to local agencies, and annual awards are contingent on the results of United Way of Lane County’s fundraising campaigns.  

This page will be updated in early 2026 when the total amount of funds available for this next grant cycle is confirmed. 

Community Support grants are a two-year investment of $5,000 to $20,000 per year, and can be used for general operating support, program delivery, or collaboration between two or more organizations working in partnership.  

Community Transformation grants are a two-year investment of $50,000 to $75,000 per year. These awards are intended to foster and support broader, long-term strategic approaches to find innovative solutions to, and/or prevent, big challenges that impact Lane County communities. We aspire to specifically support cross-sector, multi-agency collaborative efforts that are operating with a common agenda, shared measurements, and a backbone organization. Learn more about the Collective Impact Model. 

Both Community Support and Transformation awards support Lane County agencies and organizations whose work supports United Way’s strategic vision of helping people move from surviving to thriving and whose efforts align with one or more of the following Impact Areas (see How to Apply pages below for detailed descriptions and intended outcomes of each Impact Area): 

1. Healthy Community 

2. Youth Opportunity 

3. Community Resiliency 

We prioritize opportunities to invest in local organizations and programs that are intentionally serving one or more of our priority populations – communities of color, LGBTQIA2S+ communities, people living with disabilities, rural communities, and Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) households. 

Both grants are a two-step application process that begins with a Letter of Inquiry due February 23, 2026. Applicants that are invited to submit a full proposal will be notified in March. Funding will begin on July 1, 2026.  

To learn more, visit our How to Apply pages for the Community Support and Community Transformation grants. 

To stay up to date on funding opportunities, please sign up for our newsletter. 

To learn about grants funded in past cycles, view previously funded grant awards.

To stay up to date on funding opportunities, please sign up for our newsletter.  

We are not offering training opportunities at this time. If you wish to be notified about future training opportunities, please email Emily Moore, Director of Community Impact, at emoore@unitedwaylane.org.

Volunteer Coordinators Network:

The Volunteer Coordinators Network (VCN) is dedicated to fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among individuals involved in volunteer management across Lane County. Its purpose is to create a supportive environment that encourages Volunteer Coordinators and their counterparts to share strategies, best practices, and skills, and provide a space for shared learning. VCN seeks to break down silos, develop a deeper understanding of the county's diverse community needs, and promote a collective impact approach to enhance the effectiveness of volunteerism for the betterment of Lane County. 

Each meeting is focused on different topics related to volunteer coordination, with a myriad of speakers and presenters throughout the year. To join this network of comradery and support, email Colleen Hackett, Volunteer Engagement Manager, at chackett@unitedwaylane.org. 

Human Service Forum:

2024 Update: regular Human Service Forum programming is on pause for 2024 as we evaluate the needs of nonprofit partners around convening, technical support, capacity building, and advocacy efforts, to determine if the recent format of Human Service Forum programming was serving these needs.

United Way of Lane County hosts the Human Service Forum, a community of practice for leaders of Lane County social service agencies to strategize and connect across our sector. These meetings offer the chance to discuss challenges and brainstorm solutions in our work, share helpful resources, seek and share advice, identify opportunities to collaborate, and more. The Human Service Forum email list is also a way to stay updated about United Way of Lane County resources for community partners, funding opportunities, events, and more.

To learn more and to join the Human Service Forum email list, please email Emily Moore, Director of Community Impact, at emoore@unitedwaylane.org.

Advocacy Resources for Lane County Nonprofit Organizations and Agencies

Annual Legislative Breakfast:

2024 Update: United Way will be using this year as an opportunity to evaluate the Legislative Breakfast and whether its current format is best serving the advocacy needs and desires of our partners.

Rather than hosting a single event this year, we will be hosting a series of regional listening sessions for partners around the county to gather feedback on things like: 

• What partners need / want from a meeting with their elected officials

• What levels of government (state, county, city council, etc.) partners are most interested in engaging with and why

• Levels of comfortability navigating conversations with elected officials

• Levels of interest in trainings about nonprofit advocacy, legislative processes, and related topics

Each year, United Way brings together local elected officials and nonprofit leaders to discuss policy impacting communities we serve. Nonprofits are able to ask questions, share needs, and identify concerns and gaps that are important to our collective work. If you work with a Lane County nonprofit and would like to receive information about this event each year, please email Emily Moore, Director of Community Impact, at emoore@unitedwaylane.org.