Active Funding Requests
Last Updated: April 29th, 2026
The below are high level summaries of active ODFN funding requests listed newest to oldest by date of request. For access to our more detailed Funding Tracker, please contact us.
Request Directory
Click on a request to jump to that entry.
Climate and Wildfire Institute
Statewide
Request: $25,000
Climate & Wildfire Institute (CWI) and Grassroots Wildland Firefighters (GWF) propose the Wildland Fire Workforce Capacity Analysis Project—a first-of-its-kind effort to assess the wildfire workforce in Oregon and provide necessary data- and expert insight-driven policy recommendations to re-envision its future. This project will analyze Oregon's entire wildfire workforce capacity and needs. The results will equip the state with the insights needed to modernize wildfire workforce planning, improve safety and well-being, and strengthen community safety and resilience.
Seaside School District
Clatsop County
Request: $81,950
Seaside is a small resort town on the coast of Northwestern Oregon. The year-round population was 7,164 in 2023 and the number of people during the summer surges each year, due to the town being a popular destination for tourists. In 1964, on Good Friday, the town of Seaside experienced a tsunami after a 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Alaska, that caused $276,000 ($2.7M today) in damages to homes, cars and businesses. At that time, the population was 3,877, about half of what it is today. No lives were lost during the 1964 tsunami, however, the event did spur the town to begin learning about and taking precautions for the event of another earthquake and tsunami. The City of Seaside has designated five evacuation locations in the case of an earthquake and subsequent tsunami. While the Seaside School Complex is not one of those designated sites, it has been deemed to be outside of the inundation zone. In 2021, the Seaside School District completed construction of their new middle and high schools, which resulted in all school campuses being located in a higher ground location. This ensured that, in the event of a tsunami during the school day, children and staff would not be on a campus in the danger zone. It also created an ideal location for evacuation and reunification. The Seaside School District understands they will likely be an important hub in an emergency and is therefore seeking to be better prepared for a predicted three to four week delay in outside emergency services arriving to assist.
This grant request is to fund the purchase of a mobile water purification unit, which could be used by the School District after a natural disaster to ensure that any persons taking shelter on the campus will have clean drinking water. The unit in question has the ability to clean up to 3,000 gallons of water per day, and will be delivered to the School District in a fully contained and enclosed trailer that can be towed to any water source and used to fill clean water containers.
Rockwood Common
East Multnomah
Request: $80,000
Rockwood neighborhood of Gresham and surrounding communities of East Multnomah County. Rockwood is a neighborhood of persistent poverty, with over 90 spoken languages. Rockwood is underserved during smoke, heat, and extreme cold weather. There is no community space for residents and unhoused neighbors to seek refuge. Rockwood Common Tool Library is renovating 2,600 sq ft as a resilience site and lending library to provide relief, resources, and preparedness education in this community. Phase 1 is underway to repair our roof and move in our lending library. $80,000 is needed for Phase 2, to mitigate mold and prepare a classroom and temperature controlled third space.
Update from the United Way of the Columbia Gorge
Rowena Recovery recently published a milestones dashboard that provides a clear, visual snapshot of progress to date and how resources have supported the community.
The Executive Director of United Way of the Columbia Gorge has been actively involved in the Unmet Needs Roundtable, a key component of their recovery work. This forum ensures that resources are distributed both equitably and strategically. Disaster case managers present verified unmet needs from impacted households, which are then reviewed anonymously by a cross-sector group of partners. This collaborative process allows UW of The Gorge to prioritize assistance for those with the greatest need while maintaining careful stewardship of available funds.
Thanks to the funding received to date, meaningful progress has been made in supporting impacted households, primarily repairing septic systems. However, several critical needs remain. Most urgently, funding for disaster case management is projected to run out by June, despite continued and likely increased demand as the one-year anniversary approaches. In addition, there is an ongoing need for flexible funding through the LTRG to support individual assistance.
City of Cascade Locks
Hood River County
Request: $400,000
A landslide occurred near Ruckel Falls that is blocking the Historic Highway State Trail, and no agency has the funding to address.
During the December rain event, the hillside above the Historic Highway State Trail slid and covered the Trail in ~12 feet of material (mud, rocks, trees) over 100 yards wide. The slide was likely exacerbated by the 2017 Eagle Creek Fire, as many of the trees that burned during that event are now starting to fall and bring down rocks and other debris.
The landslide is currently blocking the Historic Highway State Trail between the Eagle Creek Trailhead and Cascade Locks.
It’s near Ruckel Creek, and around 100 yds of the trail is covered roughly 12 feet deep at the peak.
The Historic Highway State Trail is jointly managed by ODOT and OPRD through a maintenance agreement, but this is beyond what OPRD can do on their own. ODOT can only conduct maintenance on ODOT ROW, given they’re using State Highway Trust Fund dollars.
Oregon’s 29 Rangeland Fire Protection Associations
Oregon’s Eastern Counties
Request: $232,000
The Rangeland Fire Protection program is seeking $232,000 in private funding for RFPAs to purchase tires and wheels, one of the single largest expenses shared by all RFPAs and with the biggest impact on safety and effectiveness. Although tires are a focus, RFPAs have many other needs as well. The average annual operating budget of an RFPA for fiscal year ’26 (FY26) was $25,000, through a combination of local, state and federal funding. The three primary sources of funding are self-imposed membership dues (average $6,000/RFPA), the federal Volunteer Fire Capacity Grant (maximum $10,000/RFPA) and reimbursement for liability insurance by the State of Oregon (average $5,000/RFPA) followed by local donations, fundraising and other grants (average $4,000/RFPA). 16 of the 29 RFPAs applied for the VFC grant in 2025. Volunteer time and expertise is a barrier to applying for the VFC grant and other grant opportunities for many of the RFPAs. As of 2025, tires are no longer an eligible purchase with Volunteer Fire Capacity Grant funds.
Wheeler County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD)
Wheeler County
Request: $45,000
Wheeler County had an unprecedented wildfire season in 2024, like many other areas. A total of approximately 147,675ac burned (~14%) amongst 7 separate mega-fire incidents, not including the smaller fires responded solely by local volunteers. Funding through this proposal will be used for the high-priority need of purchasing forty Bendix King (BK) Radios to be immediately used across fire response agencies in Wheeler County. Some of these agencies currently have used/refurbished BK radios, while others do not have any – solely relying on basic radios that are sometimes unprogrammable/unclonable at remote incident command areas. BK is the standard radio utilized by emergency response persons. The particular model SWCD is looking at is known for its extreme durability in harsh conditions, long battery capacity, and field programming/cloning ability. Each radio costs approximately $1,000 and WCSO has a contractor who programs radios on an as-needed basis and has agreed to program all 40 radios for a flat fee of $500. Wheeler SWCD will be the fiscal and administrative sponsor for the project for a flat rate fee of $5,000.
Village of Rowena, Inc
Wasco County
Request: $100,000
Village of Rowena, Inc. is a community-led nonprofit coordinating long-term recovery efforts following the Rowena wildfire of 2025. They serve as a boots-on-the-ground coordination hub supporting residents—particularly underinsured and uninsured households—as they navigate cleanup, rebuilding, and recovery. They are planning a large-scale hazard tree mitigation effort in partnership with Team Rubicon, with deployment scheduled for early April. This effort is a critical first step toward enabling safe rebuilding, as many properties remain inaccessible or unsafe due to fire-damaged trees. Future plans include: debris management and biomass removal; temporary and permanent utilities (power, water, septic systems, wells); site preparation for rebuilding; navigation support for insurance, grants, and permitting; and ongoing coordination. Funds will go towards volunteer operations, equipment and debris management solutions, and community coordination infrastructure.
Vale Rangeland Fire Protection Association (RFPA)
Malheur County
Request: $15,000
Pledged: $15,000
Update on a previous funding request: Vale RFPA received a previous grant from ODFN for $40,000 which was intended to be used for the purchase of a dozer to use for rangeland firefighting, and the purchase of new tires for fire trucks. Upon receipt of the funds, the dozer in federal surplus was no longer available, Vale RFPA immediately started inspecting and replacing tires and bad wheels on our fire trucks. After replacing all of the unsafe tires and wheels they still have $20,000 remaining funds for the purchase of a dozer and have been searching for months to find a piece of equipment that is safe enough for fighting fire and within budget. Dozers that are acceptable for fire use are in the $30-50k range, which leaves Vale RFPA searching for additional funds to purchase a dozer before the 2026 fire season.
Baker Resources Coalition (BRC)
Baker County in Northeast Oregon
Request: $4,700
Baker Resources Coalition is seeking sponsorship for one of six interns who will work on hand-based fire mitigation for properties within the Face of the Elkhorn WUI. Properties range from 5 to 20 acres and are typically owned by those with little or no background in forest management, or knowledge of their responsibilities under OR Senate Bill 762 which focuses on reducing wildfire risk through defensible space requirements, among other things. BRC has provided hand mitigation services for the past four years to vulnerable properties. Additional funders like Wallowa Resources and Powder Basin Watershed Council are providing supporting funds for additional interns.
Row River Valley Water District
Dorena, OR in South Lane County
Request: $50,000
After the atmospheric river hit the valley in December 2025, the water intake was overwhelmed with debris causing the water district to lose water for 103 households. Residents had no water for several days and then were on a Boil Water Notice. Locating and repairing the plug of debris costs $50,000 and was completed thanks to many volunteer hours. Row River Valley Water District applied to FEMA but were told that Lane County did not meet the threshold of damages needed to activate a FEMA response. They are raising funds to reimburse their unexpected costs.
Clackamas County Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (CCVOAD)
Clackamas County
Request: $263,761
Pledged: $85,000
Recovery from the December 2025 atmospheric flooding in Clackamas County is ongoing and evolving. In February, the CCVOAD was receiving approximately one new case per day, with needs expected to increase as recovery shifts into longer-term rebuilding, including insurance gaps, uninsured repairs, and rebuilding cost.
Through a coordinated Long-Term Recovery framework, CCVOAD prioritizes serving households that are most vulnerable and least able to recover without assistance.
Identified needs to date include: Infrastructure damage, including a washed-out access road that has left two homes inaccessible; Household needs, including heating support and secure storage for personal belongings, one case involving an elderly resident; Temporary housing due to unsafe or uninhabitable conditions, including two cases involving elderly and disabled individuals; Cleanup and debris removal, including one case where a resident is physically unable to complete the work themselves; Operating expenses to support staff coordinating recovery efforts.
Update (April 29): The remaining gap is currently estimated at $10,000–$20,000, though the final amount is still being determined. This case involves a private access road issue that is affecting 3 residents and preventing 2 of them from reaching their homes. The individual we are assisting has also sustained significant damage to their home, and recovery efforts through his insurance are being delayed as a result.
The CCVOAD is now coordinating with OEM to follow up on a few long-term recovery gaps that have only recently been identified. Many households are entering the rebuilding phase, which often brings insurance gaps as well as the need for debris mitigation ahead of wildfire season.
Society of St.Vincent De Paul La Pine Oregon Conference
South Deschutes County,
North Klamath County
Request: $10,000
The Society of St. Vincent de Paul in the City of La Pine supports the very low income and rural population in the surrounding areas with food, hygiene essentials, warm clothing, and other necessities. Their premier program is a Propane Voucher service to support households during the freezing months–most households require 3 to 4 vouchers per winter, valued at $17 each. Their request is to sustain and expand the Propane Voucher program to prevent residents from suffering through freezing temperatures with no access to heat. Propane delivery is combined with food delivery and case management to save lives and efficiently and effectively support needy households.