About First Story
First Story is a nonprofit lender dedicated to creating affordable homeownership opportunities for under-resourced families across the Northwest, empowering them to build financial stability and break the cycle of generational poverty.
Focus Areas
Affordable housingHomeownershipHousing financeCommunity developmentFirst-time homebuyer education
Who They Fund
low-income individuals and households
Funding Style
direct serviceprogram grantsbasic needs assistance
Topics
poverty alleviationfinancial assistance
About First Story
First Story’s latest filing shows a lender using grants alongside its homeownership work: one 2025 grant of $171,500 went to a Bend-based public charity, far larger than any of the other recent awards. That pattern sits within a broader program centered on affordable homeownership for under-resourced families across the Northwest, where the foundation offers move-in ready homes and an affordable loan product for qualified individuals and families. The loan is structured as zero-down and zero-percent interest for 30 years, tying grant support to a long-term housing-finance model rather than one-time aid. The recent grants list also shows smaller awards to organizations in Spokane Valley, Prosser, Eugene, Bend, and Pasco, which suggests a grantmaking footprint that reaches community-based low-income assistance groups in multiple Northwest locations. First Story’s public charity status and its reported focus on housing finance, first-time homebuyer education, and community development fit that pattern: it is not only funding services around housing stability, but also supporting the infrastructure that helps families move into ownership. The result is a funder defined by affordable homeownership, lending, and related assistance for low-income households.
What First Story Funds
Affordable housing sits at the center of First Story’s work. The foundation’s active program provides move-in ready homes and an affordable home loan for qualified individuals and families in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, linking housing production with financing. Housing finance is a second clear theme. First Story’s loan structure is zero-down and zero-percent interest for 30 years, which places long-term affordability at the center of its homeownership model. Community development and first-time homebuyer education also appear in the foundation’s stated focus areas. Those priorities align with its work for under-resourced families and with grant support for low-income assistance organizations such as St Vincent DePaul Lane County for low-income assistance. The foundation’s beneficiary focus is low-income individuals and households, and its grant taxonomy includes poverty alleviation, housing stability support, food security, utility and emergency aid.
How First Story Gives
First Story’s recent grants are highly uneven in size: the 25th percentile is $6,000, the median is $8,500, and the 75th percentile is $10,000, with a much larger $171,500 award at the top of the list. That distribution points to a structure in which a single major grant sits alongside a cluster of smaller community awards. The foundation is a public charity, not a fund that supports individuals, and it does not make program-related investments. Its active program accepts unsolicited requests.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$215K
Total Assets
$24.3M
Total Revenue
$4.8M
Total Expenses
$2.5M
Geographic Reach
Regional2 states funded
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
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