Community Benefit Grants and Sponsorships

Community Benefit grants

St. Charles Health System has been contributing to programs that benefit the communities it serves since its inception. St. Charles makes it a priority to take care of medically underserved and disadvantaged populations throughout Central Oregon by funding community programs and projects that will improve population health and improve the social, economic and environmental conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age in a sustainable, cost-effective manner.  

Applications for funding are submitted to the St. Charles Community Benefit Department and vetted based on their alignment with St. Charles strategic priorities, identified need, impact on target population and other application qualifications. In order for a proposal to be considered for approval, applications must address one or more of the following priorities: 

• Improve access to health care services 
• Enhance the health of the community 
• Address health disparities or social determinants of health in response to an identified community need 
• Advance medical or health care knowledge 
• Relieve or reduce the burden on government or other community efforts 

Projects/programs unlikely to be funded:

• Organizations not serving Crook, Deschutes or Jefferson counties.
• Organizations without a 501-c3 tax ID
• Legislative advocacy groups, endowment funds, multiple-year commitments.
• Religious organizations, for the purpose of furthering a specific religious doctrine.
• Requests that benefit a specific person or family.
• Field trips or sports teams.
• Organizations that discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, age, disability, national origin or immigration status, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information or any other protected class or characteristic.
• Organizations that do not have a process in place to ensure that the event will remain free of offensive, hateful, discriminatory content and actions.
• Indirect costs for the program/project

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Available grants: 

Priority Grant

St. Charles' primary focus for 2023-2025 is reducing feelings of loneliness and social isolation while fostering a sense of belonging.

The purpose of this grant is to support organizations who are interested in creating opportunities for communities to connect in person, with a focus on older adults and youth. We hope to support grassroots events, projects, and programs that make Central Oregon more welcoming and ultimately help get us a step closer to becoming America's healthiest community, together. 

Application requirements: 

1. Funded projects must have multiple opportunities for engagement throughout the year. Examples include:
   • Movie night series
   • Pick-up sporting events (soccer, pickle ball, kickball, hockey, baseball/softball, volleyball, etc.)
   • Book clubs
   • Cooking class series
   • Walking/running groups
   • Monthly community dinners
   • Volunteer days
   • Cultural celebrations
2. Applications must highlight your plans to ensure that your target populations can participate. For example, finding central locations and include access to transportation services, like ensuring they are centrally located for target populations, translated marketing materials or interpretation services, when appropriate.
3. Funded organizations will be asked to track the following process metrics, in addition to your own outcomes.
   • Number of unique individuals
   • Number of new individuals attending occurrences after first event in the series
   • Number of people who attended in target population
4. Priority will be given to programs that focus on:
   • Older adults
   • Youth
   • Marginalized communities
5. Projects/programs unlikely to be funded:
   • Organizations not serving Crook, Deschutes or Jefferson counties.
   • Legislative advocacy groups, endowment funds, multiple-year commitments.
   • Religious organizations, for the purpose of furthering a specific religious doctrine.
   • Requests that benefit a specific person or family.
   • Field trips or PTA events.
   • Organizations that discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, age, disability, national origin or immigration status, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, genetic information or any other protected class or characteristic.

For specific questions related to this grant, please email [email protected] and someone from our team will be in touch.

Apply Online 

Basic needs grants 

In order to be considered for approval, applications must address one or more of the categories listed below.

• Focus on unmet needs in underserved and vulnerable populations 
• Provide clearly defined project description and population served 
• Be collaborative, involving partnerships with St. Charles Health System and other organizations 
• Reduce duplication of efforts 
• Demonstrate project innovation, in line with best practices and demonstrate potential impact 
• Use quality indicators to measure progress and outcomes, reporting results and sharing them widely to attract more resources 
• Plan for self-sufficiency, where appropriate

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IDEA Grant

Please reach out to St. Charles Community Benefit staff if you are interested in applying for an IDEA grant, [email protected].

The IDEA grant aims to support community partners who aspire to integrate IDEA best practices within their organization. This grant category is intended to help organizations implement the foundational principles of IDEA into their organizations to better serve their target population.

To be eligible to apply, organizations must meet the following criteria:

• Be a 501(c)3 nonprofit entity
• Demonstrate a direct focus on advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and acceptance within your organization
• Be able to clearly define the project and population served for the grant request
• Demonstrate project innovation, in alignment with best practices and the potential impact of the program

Proposals can be submitted at any time and requests are reviewed three times a year in February, May and October. October grants will be funded in the following year. 

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