September 9, 2025 3:40 a.m. 

Five years after the Labor Day megafires devastated parts of Oregon, 11 nonprofits are receiving new funding to help communities continue to recover and prepare for future disasters:

The Oregon Community Foundation has announced $120,000 in new grants from its Disaster Readiness and Response Fund, to help organizations in areas impacted, including Douglas County.

An OCF release said the fund is an initiative that emerged from the 2020 wildfires. It provides rapid response grants for immediate recovery and supports preparedness that helps to build more resilient communities. As a collective giving fund, anyone can contribute to it. An earlier fund to support wildfire recovery after the 2020 fires distributed $10.8 million over several years.

OCF Director of Statewide Community Programs and Disaster Resilience Kim Koenig said, “The fires of 2020 changed Oregon forever – but they didn’t define us”. Koenig said, “Oregonians came together then, and we’re coming together now to prepare for the future. We’re not just remembering what happened five years ago. We’re reimagining how Oregon shows up for each other long into the future”.

Among the organizations receiving assistance is Glide Revitalization, which is getting $10,000 to help with its work.