Now accepting applications for 2020 Metro Central Community Enhancement Grants
Do you have ideas about how to enhance your community?
Metro has generated nearly $300,000 available in community enhancement grants for Northwest Portland neighborhoods to build vibrant communities, protect clean air and water, maintain healthy ecosystems and improve regional equity while advancing Metro’s strategic plan to advance racial equity. OregonMetro.Gov/MetroCentralGrants
The grants are awarded annually through Metro’s Community Enhancement Program. They are funded by a $1 surcharge on each ton of waste at the Metro Central Transfer Station, located off of Highway 30 in Northwest Portland. The grants benefit the neighborhoods of Forest Park, Cathedral Park and Linnton; the Northwest District Association and the Northwest Industrial Area; and an area directly adjacent to the St. Johns Bridge.
Applications
Applications are due by midnight, Friday, Sept. 13, 2019. Metro only accepts applications via the online system ZoomGrants™. Please register, login and submit your application by midnight, September 13, 2019. Follow this link to get your account started and begin your application.
A committee of local residents review and select projects to fund. Grants up to $50,000 have been awarded. They typically cover one year (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2020). Grants requesting up to two years to complete will also be considered.
Optional info session
Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
Metro Regional Center, 600 NE Grand Ave., room 370 A & B.
Contact Eric Crandall at 503.797.1662 or Eric.Crandall@oregonmetro.gov.
What types of projects get funded?
Successful proposals strongly meet one or more of the following program goals:
- Benefit youth, seniors, low income persons or underserved populations
- Improve the appearance or environmental quality of the community
- Reduce the amount or toxicity of waste
- Increase reuse and recycling opportunities
- Rehabilitate or upgrade real or personal property owned or operated by a nonprofit organization
- Preserve or enhance wildlife, riparian zones, wetlands, forest lands and marine areas, and/or improve the public awareness and the opportunities to enjoy them
- Improve or increase recreational areas and programs
- Improve safety
See here for a list of granteesfrom the 2019 grant cycle.
Who may apply?
Individuals, community groups, neighborhoods, nonprofits, schools and school groups, government agencies, faith and service groups with nonprofit or other tax-exempt status. Projects must occur within the target area (see map). Use this interactive map to see if your project falls within the target area boundary.
For more information
For more details on eligibility criteria, download the 2019 grant application handbook, at the bottom of the Metro Central Enhancement Grant web page under “Related Documents”: OregonMetro.Gov/MetroCentralGrants
Translation and interpretive services are available upon request at no cost to you.