A new position at Cave Junction’s Illinois Valley Resource Center and an update to a Grants Pass after-school program for kindergartners and first graders will receive a combined $50,000 from Oregon Community Foundation. A third grant, worth $25,000, will help the Grants Pass-based Mid Rogue Foundation buy a vehicle.
The three Josephine County nonprofits were among 259 recipients in the foundation’s fall Community Grants round, announced Nov. 9. The awards totaled nearly $5.3 million statewide and went to organizations serving all 36 Oregon counties. The foundation’s Southern Oregon region accounted for 24 grants totaling $485,500, including two additional awards for transportation and senior meal programs that operate across Josephine and Jackson counties.
The largest of the three awards to Josephine County nonprofits goes to the Illinois Valley Family Coalition. Its $30,000 grant will support a new community access program coordinator, a position intended to help residents reach services available through the resource center at 535 E. River St. in Cave Junction. The center operates a food pantry and offers showers, laundry vouchers, help obtaining Oregon identification cards and birth certificates, and referrals for housing and utility assistance. The Oregon Department of Human Services also operates its Cave Junction Self-Sufficiency office in the building. The hiring schedule and the coordinator’s specific duties have yet to be made public.
In Grants Pass, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Rogue Valley will receive $20,000 for its updated K–1 Club, the after-school program for children in kindergarten and first grade. The club operates at 203 SE Ninth St., where after-school hours are 2:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Scholarships are available. The club’s published 2025–26 schedule listed K–1 tuition at $200 a month. Families can check current rates and openings with the Grants Pass front desk at 541-479-1923. Details on the program changes and any additional enrollment spaces have yet to be announced.
The Mid Rogue Foundation’s $25,000 award is designated for a vehicle purchase. A separate $25,000 grant to Medford-based Living Opportunities will pay for vehicle purchases to provide transportation in both Jackson and Josephine counties.
Another $20,000 will go to the Southern Oregon Center for Community Partnerships in Central Point for commercial kitchen equipment for Food & Friends. The program delivers meals to eligible older adults and adults with disabilities and serves meals at senior dining sites in both counties. Its Josephine County office is at the Senior Resource Center in Grants Pass.
The next Community Grants application window opens Nov. 17 and closes at 5 p.m. Dec. 15. The spring 2027 round will offer one-year awards ranging from $5,000 to $40,000 for general operating expenses such as payroll, rent and utilities. Organizations that received a Community Grant in 2026 are ineligible for that round. The foundation will hold an information session at 1 p.m. Nov. 19 and expects to notify recipients and distribute awards in late April 2027.