Grant applications
Pre-proposal applications are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 15, 2022.
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Program grants
An information session was held on Jan. 11, 2022
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Sign up for an optional one-on-one opportunity to discuss grant ideas on Jan. 27 in the morning
Capital grants
An information session was held on Jan. 13, 2022
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Sign up for an optional one-on-one opportunity to discuss grant ideas on Jan. 25 in the morning
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Oregon has a long history of leadership when it comes to preventing waste and promoting recycling. Metro is in a unique position to invest in and support innovation in the local reuse and recycling economy and help businesses and communities succeed.
Metro’s Investment and Innovation grant program supports for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and colleges and universities involved in reducing waste through repairing, reusing, recycling, composting or preventing food waste in the greater Portland area.
The main goal of the program is to strengthen local efforts to reduce waste, make better use of the waste that is produced and help foster economic opportunities for people who have been left out of the benefits of the garbage and recycling system, particularly communities of color.
The program:
- Offers grants to for-profit businesses, nonprofit organizations, and colleges and universities involved in reducing, reusing, recycling or composting materials that may otherwise be discarded as waste.
- Focuses on strengthening the reuse, repair, composting and recycling systems in greater Portland, as well as reducing environmental and health impacts in the local manufacturing and use of products.
- Helps achieve the goals of the 2030 Regional Waste Plan, the blueprint for improving the garbage and recycling system in greater Portland.
- Advances Metro’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by investing in projects that benefit communities and workers in the garbage and recycling system, and increases access to services for underserved residents.
- Awards grants through a competitive solicitation process and recommendations by review committees.
2022 Investment and Innovation grants
Metro will accept pre-proposal applications from Jan. 3 to Feb. 15 for program and capital grants. Program grants between $10,000 and $100,000 can be used to support personnel costs, materials and supplies, and equipment. Capital grants between $50,000 and $500,000 can be used to support larger infrastructure improvements and equipment. Metro expects to award up to $2 million total in program and capital grants in the 2022 cycle. Funding priorities include recycling infrastructure, reuse and repair, and food waste prevention and rescue. The proposal handbooks include detailed information about eligibility, proposal requirements and the review process.
Previous grant cycles
Since 2018, Metro has awarded nearly $8.5 million in grants to local businesses and nonprofit organizations in greater Portland. These grants have leveraged more than $18 million in additional private investments in projects that reduce waste and generate benefits from the region’s garbage and recycling system.
2018-19 Investment and Innovation grants
2019-20 Investment and Innovation capital grants
2019-20 Investment and Innovation program grants
2020-21 Investment and Innovation program grants
Investment and Innovation program evaluation
In 2021, Metro evaluated the first three years of the Investment and Innovation program to assess how well the program is meeting its goals of reducing waste and advancing racial equity. The evaluation report summarizes the impacts of grant-funded projects and highlights grants with significant environmental and racial equity outcomes as case studies. The evaluation provides transparency and accountability for the program work to date.