Grant Programs (K-12 Education / Operating Support)

Grant Programs (K-12 Education / Operating Support) is sponsored by Miller Foundation. Provides funding for K-12 education activities and operational support in Oregon. The foundation emphasizes flexible funding that allows small organizations to keep programs running, support staff, and fund student enrichment opportunities.

K-12 Education | Miller Foundation Our K-12 Education grants support organizations working to create a more holistic K-12 education system that provides equal opportunities for all children. The Miller Foundation is currently engaged in a review of our education priorities and grant programs.

We are continuing to support education activities statewide; however, while we are engaged in this review process, we are unlikely to invest in education organizations that have never received Miller funding. 2027 Funding Priorities: while our LOI will remain open 24/7, education organizations that have never received Miller funding are unlikely to be invited to complete an application in 2027.

The minimum allowable annual operating expense for eligibility is $25,000. This excludes any expenses covered through in-kind. The Miller Foundation generally considers a 3-year average of an organization’s annual expenses (from completed fiscal years).

Please consult our Education page for details on the types of activities we fund, including K-12 support organizations and education systems change. Please be sure to review the list of activities that are ineligible for funding; we are not accepting grant requests for these activities. We do not currently accept requests from individual classrooms, school foundations, booster clubs, parent-teacher organizations, or school districts.

Specific eligibility considerations Eligible private schools are those where the majority of students attend tuition-free. We do not currently accept requests from special education programs or schools focused on a single diagnosis. For schools and districts participating in an active partnership with community-based partners to support students and families, we encourage the partner organizations (if otherwise eligible) to apply.

Charter and alternative schools are eligible to apply if the majority of their students belong to historically underserved communities. We do not currently accept requests from individual classrooms, school foundations, booster clubs, parent-teacher organizations, or school districts. Please be sure to review the list of activities that are ineligible for funding; we are not accepting grant requests for these activities.

Deadline and response time Inquiry Forms are open 24/7 and have three deadlines each year. We invite and accept applications three times annually. We will notify you three weeks after the inquiry form deadline if a full application is invited.

For 2027, grantees with a history of between 2-4 years of Miller funding are eligible to apply for 2 years of support. Grantees with a previous one-year grant should request another one-year grant. Our operating support grants typically represent between 3-5% of an organization’s annual operating expenses.

We consider an average of the organization's expenses over recent years. Here are typical examples of how our operating support grants are commonly funded: If an organization's annual expenses are under $1 million, then the grant amount would likely be up to 5% of those expenses. If an organization's annual expenses are between $1-2 million, then the grant amount would likely be up to 4% of those expenses.

If an organization's annual expenses are over $2 million, then the grant amount would likely be up to 3% of those expenses. For organizations with annual expenses of $5 million or more, please note our typical maximum for operating support grants is $150,000.

‍ A note to broader-missioned organizations: ‍ For those broader organizations working beyond K-12 Education activities: Our operating support grant amounts are based on the portion of your organization budget dedicated to K-12 activities. The Miller Foundation understands that funding general operations is the best way to help organizations thrive.

Our Standard Grant provides operating support to help organizations have maximum flexibility. Miller Foundation operating support grants can be used for a grantee's operating expenses. Examples: Programming, presentation, or exhibit expenses General business expenses Marketing, fundraising or technical support Addition of new paid staff We value your time.

To keep staff, grantwriters, and volunteers from applying for something we don't currently fund , please see the tabs below.

Arts / Arts Education Exclusions Activities that we do not currently fund include: ​​Capital purchase and permanently installed (non-movable) equipment Debt relief and endowment Religious institutions and programs significantly shaped by religious affiliation (with rare exceptions for religiously-affiliated schools providing tuition-free opportunities to specific student populations) Libraries or library foundations Colleges and universities ‍ Requests for individual schools or classrooms for in-school projects or programs (arts education courses, assemblies, school trips to performances, school clubs, field trips, art materials, or musical instruments) Adult education , including adult literacy programs and standalone adult arts education The Miller Foundation has collaborated with the Oregon Community Foundation and the Oregon Arts Commission to fund individual artists.

Specifically, we participated in funding the Artist Relief Program and the Artist Resilience Program as part of our COVID-19 response efforts.

Activities that we do not currently fund include: Museums whose primary focus is not art (except for culturally specific museums) Art therapy/arts programming in therapeutic settings Arts programming in residential or correctional settings Scholarships or tickets to performances After-school arts enrichment programs Recreational camps and summer programs Festivals , either single-focus or culturally specific, with the exception of festivals where the primary focus is art (film, music, visual art, literary arts, etc.) Activities that we do not currently fund include: Social service supports , including mental and behavioral health interventions, foster care and juvenile justice programs Physical education , including sports programs Environmental or ecology education , including gardening programs Special Education programs or schools focused on a single diagnosis After-school enrichment programs such as Boys & Girls Clubs Scholarships or tuition assistance Private schools with tuition-based, traditional models where most students pay tuition ‍ Pre-K/Early Learning classroom supports (we fund these only by invited initiative) ‍ Parenting or caregiver education (as distinct from school-based family engagement) Food and housing assistance for families ‍ Recreational camps and summer programs (except for programs addressing academic disparities or summer learning loss) Museums (except regional institutions with extensive K-12 education programming) Career pathways or workforce Development Higher Education institutions Permanent school personnel and activities that fall under public schools' core operating budgets School Foundations and school districts Create your account on our organization grants portal.

Take our Eligibility Quiz to see if you qualify. Apply for a grant if you're a fit!