Proposals Sought for $13 Million in City Grants

With the start of a new budget year, two city-sponsored grant programs are collecting proposals from nonprofits that work with children and from grassroots groups with innovative ideas.
The Vision into Action grants program, is looking for proposals that advance the vision for Portland laid out in last year's visionPDX planning document. About 17,000 Portlanders took part in the project, laying out their ideas about what the city should look like in 2030. Projects can receive grants of up to $20,000 from a total pool of $102,500.
Grassroots projects and partnerships between two or more groups are encouraged. You don't have to be an organized nonprofit to apply for these grants. Projects organized and run by youth 21 and under, can apply for up to $2,000 from a special grant fund of $20,000.
Also seeking proposals is the Children's Investment Fund, created by Commissioner Dan Saltzman to improve the lives and prospects of children in the metro area. This year the fund plans to distribute about $13 million in grant funds. The grants will go to nonprofits working to support some of Portland's most disadvantaged children with services such as after-school programs, mentoring, child abuse prevention, and services designed to keep families together and help foster children succeed.
To find out more about the Vision into Action grants or to download an application visit the Vision into Action page on the city's Web site. Deadlines: Youth Grants, Feb. 9.  Community Grants, Feb. 19.
More information available at the VIA Community Grants Conference: Jan 29, 6-8 p.m. at the Center for Intercultural organizing, 700 N. Killingsworth Street.
Applications and information about the Children's Investment Fund grants are available online at the Children's Investment Fund web site. Culturally specific programs, programs that work with low-income children and families, and programs that serve East county, are encouraged to apply.  The closing date for proposals is March 2 for all categories except foster care, which closes March 9.
The Children's Investment fund is also looking for people with expertise in any of these areas to help read through the grants and give them ratings.  Call Mary Gay Broderick on 503-823-2947.
Get Your Questions at the Bidders Conference: Feb 3, at the Portland Building, 1120 SW 5^th Ave.,  Second Floor, 9-10 a.m.