Justice for
All Oregonians
Requires Rest
and radical dreaming
Women's Foundation of Oregon supports communities, programs, and individuals that improve the lives and opportunities of women and girls. We do this through direct grants, research, and policy advocacy.
What we do
Grants
We raise and distribute unrestricted funds that support dreaming, cultural power-building, and rapid response for justice workers in Oregon.
Research
We fund pioneering research that values storytelling and dreaming. WFO is reimagining research as collective visioning.
How to get involved
WFO is powered by everyday action and commitment from people like you. We invite you to earn some BRAGGING RIGHTS:
Our funding and work runs on collective giving. Collective Giving means the small players are changing the game.
why we exist
WFO makes space for Oregon justice workers to dream the solutions to our most pressing problems.
Solving our biggest problems and building a just world involves so many people and resources. Rather than make tough choices about which projects to fund and which fights to join, we are a foundation that is doing it differently.
WFO believes that those closest to the challenges are closest to the solutions and the dreams that can change the stakes. So we provide funding, space, and a framework where justice workers on the front lines can pause. Rest. Find healing. Find space to dream. When we dream, we rediscover the vision. And sometimes, that light illuminates the exact path we couldn’t see before.
wfo in action
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WomenFirst Transition and Referral Center - Dream Big Grant Award
2023 - $100,000 - PORTLAND
Our “Dream Big Vision” is to expand upon our successes in peer mentorship, recovery, and transitional housing by opening a new after-hours center for Women in recovery, called Let’s Connect. All of our work at WomenFirst is directly informed by the women we serve–Black Women and Women of Color who tell us they are in desperate need of a safe, culturally-specific, substance-free, positive environment where they can socialize with other women who understand what they are going through.
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Triple Threat Mentoring - PORTLAND WOMEN/GIRLS HEALTH AND SAFETY GRANT
2023 - $20,000 - PORTLAND
We will use these funds to further community safety by providing our mentees with employment and programming opportunities throughout the summer months. Our programming during the summer months includes career exploration trips, college tours, activities where our mentees get to be kids against, as well as STEAM programming through our partnership with NE STEAM Coalition and the Community Violence Prevention Alliance. We believe consistent engagement is crucial for the well-being of the girls we serve, especially in the summer months when their days are not filled with school and sports.
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Wild Diversity
2023 - $20,000 - PORTLAND
Wild Diversity is increasing the number of BIPOC women and girls who see the outdoors as a place for them. We accomplish this by: BUILDING COMMUNITY through outdoor adventures, day and weekend trips, and workshops; PROVIDING RESOURCES through outdoor skills building workshops, our gear library and community partnerships; and DECOLONIZING OUTDOOR SPACES through diverse leadership development training and centering our communities needs above all else. We apply a community-centered design model to all our programming. Meaning, we design our approaches, adventures, and curriculum around the needs of some of the most marginalized communities (particularly BIPOC women).
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Women's Crisis Support Team
2024 - $10,000 - GRANTS PASS
The Immediate Impact Grant is critical for WCST Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocacy Services and the isolated communities we serve in northern Josephine County, particularly Sunny Valley and Wolf Creek. With this grant, WCST can swiftly respond to the urgent need for increased staffing, allowing us to dramatically enhance our outreach efforts in these severely underserved regions. These communities are plagued by extreme isolation, poverty, and a severe lack of resources, all of which create formidable barriers to safety for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
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Girls Build
2024 - $10,000 - PORTLAND
With the Immediate Impact Grant, Girls Build can work with our partner, Bradley Angle House to complete the building of the fence around their playground. The playground is currently blocked off with caution tape and cannot be used by the families that live there. This places them in unsafe situations, as they have to go to the park in order to play outside. Leaving the facility to play at the park puts them at greater risk of seeing their abusers, and prevents them from fully relaxing during playtime.
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Rahab's Sisters
2024 - $10,000 - PORTLAND
Through our Community Dinners, Events, and Resources, we provide a critical low-barrier entry-point for other essential services. Guests enjoy restaurant-style dinners, crafts, open-mic nights, and receive harm-reduction supplies, legal support, and health testing from various local organizations. Our Drop-In Boutique allows guests to choose clothing and supplies at no cost in a supportive environment, while our Community Health Program (CHP) offers gender- affirming case management, navigation, and care towards housing stability.
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Daisy CHAIN
2024 - $10,000 - EUGENE
Securing this grant will allow us to continue delivering services that over 80% of our clients report they would not otherwise access, such as free music and movement classes for preschoolers, peer doula support for pregnant and parenting individuals with substance use disorders in camps and shelters, and home visiting doula and lactation services for Spanish-speaking families in their native language.
