Barbara Emily Knudson Foundation
ActivePhilanthropy & VoluntarismFunds Individuals
About Barbara Emily Knudson Foundation
To promote education, health, and vibrant communities in Oregon by providing grants and scholarships to Oregon-based 501(c)(3) organizations and community colleges.
Focus Areas
educationscholarshipsartsanimal welfarehealthfood insecurityhomelessness and housingworkforce development / jobsveterans servicesenvironment / conservationdomestic violence preventioncommunity services
Who They Fund
college and postsecondary students (including those needing emergency aid)
About Barbara Emily Knudson Foundation
The Barbara Emily Knudson Foundation stands out for pairing Oregon community-college scholarships with emergency aid for students at seven colleges. That student-facing work is explicit in its scholarship programs, where selected students receive annual support and participating schools can also receive grants for student emergency funds to help students get through minor crises that might interrupt the academic year. Alongside that education track, the foundation makes invitation-only grants to Oregon nonprofits. Recent awards show a practical mix of housing stability, food access, youth services, animal welfare, and support for people with disabilities. Eugene Mission received $24,000 for general support, the largest recent grant listed, while Henderson House in McMinnville received $18,000 for general support. Other grants in the recent list include support for nonprofit organizations in Bend, Portland, Salem, and other Oregon communities, reflecting a locally focused funder with both student aid and community grantmaking built into its portfolio.
What Barbara Emily Knudson Foundation Funds
Education is central to the foundation’s structure. One scholarship program provides $5,000 per year to selected students at seven Oregon community colleges, with a focus on non-traditional students such as single parents, first-generation students, and displaced workers. A related program gives one scholarship to each of seven Oregon community colleges and adds support for student emergency funds. Beyond higher education, the foundation backs basic-needs work. Albany Helping Hands received $11,000 for general support, fitting its emphasis on housing and homelessness services. Food access also appears in the grant list: Gladstone Food Pantry received $8,000 for general support. The foundation also funds community-serving organizations such as Foster Club in Seaside, which received $10,000, and Portland Animal Welfare Team in Portland, which received $10,000.
How Barbara Emily Knudson Foundation Gives
Typical grants are small to mid-sized: the p25 is $1,000, the median is $2,000, and the p75 is $7,000. The recent grant list also shows larger awards up to $24,000, but most awards cluster below that level. Grantmaking is recurring rather than one-off in the student aid program, which awards scholarships to seven Oregon community colleges each year and also supports student emergency funds. The foundation uses both unsolicited scholarships and invitation-only nonprofit grants. For its Foundation Grants and Knudson Foundation Grants programs, the board identifies organizations to invite and applications are submitted through the foundation website or reviewed after invitation.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$181K
Total Assets
$6.2M
Total Revenue
$326K
Total Expenses
$285K
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $1K and $7K, with a median of $2K.
25th Percentile
$1K
Median
$2K
75th Percentile
$7K
Geographic Reach
Local2 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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