Grant Trends Shaping 2026 for Oregon's Nonprofits

We won’t sugarcoat it: nonprofits have always been expected to do more with less. Government spending, especially for social programs, has contracted over the decades, shifting the burden to organizations already stretched thin. 

Then came a global pandemic, which exposed our society’s deepest vulnerabilities. Demand for social services surged, while demand for arts and culture fell. For a while, pandemic-era funding enabled organizations to meet the demands of this new reality. But when that funding evaporated, many nonprofits found themselves overextended and underfunded. 

Today, Oregon’s nonprofits face three interconnected challenges: volatile government funding trends, increased competition for private foundation grants, and foundation overwhelm. 

A Shifting Government Funding Landscape

Federal budget cuts and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives have made long-term planning difficult––and have trickled down to the state and local levels, with Oregon and the City of Portland facing budget shortfalls. In 2025, the Nonprofit Association of Oregon (NAO) and the Coalition of Communities of Color (CCC) released a report detailing the impacts of federal funding cuts. 

The numbers tell a stark story: 84% of nonprofit respondents have experienced or anticipate government funding cuts. In response to this reality, many organizations report pausing programs, reducing administrative costs, and cutting staff. 

Nonprofits that were previously dependent on federal or state funding have begun knocking on foundation doors to fill the gaps. The problem is that private philanthropy was never meant to replace public funding, and private foundation grants account for only about 19% of annual charitable giving in the United States. 

Competition for Foundation Grants Has Exploded

According to Libra Forde, executive director of Women’s Foundation of Oregon, Oregon has “one of the highest numbers of nonprofits per capita in the country.” This has led to service fragmentation, organizational silos, and duplicate efforts. 

Add to this mix AI-powered grant-finding tools, and now nonprofits that previously lacked internal grant capacity have the tools to identify and apply for every possible foundation opportunity––even when they aren’t a strategic fit. The result? A flood of applications for an already limited funding pool.

Foundations Are Adapting to the Overwhelm

Foundations are responding to this pressure in different ways. Some foundations like Meyer Memorial Trust, are embracing an invitation-only approach that allows them to deepen impact through organizations they already know. Others, like The Collins Foundation, are trying to make their giving more equitable by making their process more accessible, dispensing with written proposals altogether. 

For those with open calls that are seeing hundreds of applications, some are turning to technology, whether it’s introducing grant portals or leaning on AI to vet applications. 

What Your Organization Can Do

Here are three strategic moves to position your organization for stability:

1. Assess Your Position

Start with your revenue portfolio. If grants are your primary income source, consider slowing or pausing new programming. How can you diversify revenue? Individual donors, earned income, major donors, donor-advised funds—what opportunities exist for your organization?

Next, take a look at your digital presence. Are your Form 990s up-to-date? Is your website reflective of the priorities and programs you emphasized in your grant applications? Do you publish impact reports? Funders are increasingly turning to these tools to make grant award decisions beyond what’s on your application. And with AI summaries making it easier than ever to synthesize your online footprint, your digital platforms can’t remain an afterthought.        

2. Budget for Uncertainty

When projecting your nonprofit's budget, account for uncertainty, reframing success to look like holding steady instead of aiming for growth. Model a best-case scenario, a worst-case scenario, and a realistic middle ground. When planning for grants, we recommend thinking conservatively about success rates and prospective grant amounts.   

3. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

Relationships with peer organizations can lead not only to coordinated service delivery and shared programming, but also collaborative grants. Likewise relationships with foundation funders can unlock general operating support and multi-year partnerships. But in both cases, relationships can only flow from genuine connection, not transactional outreach. 

[P.S. You don't need to be an extrovert to do this work!]

The Bottom Line 

These steps won't guarantee your organization's survival in a competitive funding environment, but they're a foundation for strategic positioning during uncertain times.

If you need a partner to help assess your grant fundraising strategy and build a concrete plan for moving forward, A to Be Partners is here to help you focus on what you do best: serving the communities you serve. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation call today.