The Oregon Wine Country License Plates Matching Grants Program is now open and accepting applications. The application deadline is Sept. 15 at 5 p.m.

The grant timeline is as follows:

Learn more about eligible applicants, eligible projects and how to get started here.

Business Oregon has an open Request for Grant Proposals (RFGP) for the 2021-2023 Rural Opportunity Initiative (ROI) grant program. ROI is an initiative that works with rural communities to create environments that support entrepreneurs and small businesses. The RFGP opened in August and will close on September 20.  

ROI is designed to be inclusive and community driven. The program empowers local leaders to define and implement collaborative strategies that elevate the role of entrepreneurship in rural economic development work. It is ultimately about enabling entrepreneurs to create rural businesses that in turn bolster rural economies. The program provides financial support, innovative partnerships, network expansion, and access to business development resources to successful applicants. Grants are available for communities in different stages of building an entrepreneurial ecosystem. It can help communities get started, and help communities that are farther along scale what they’ve already built.

A detailed overview of the RFGP, funding process, application, and supporting resources are on Business Oregon’s Rural Opportunity Initiative web page.

Completed applications are due by 11:59 pm PST on Monday, Sept. 20, 2021.

Yesterday, the White House announced five key nominations. Oregon’s Council Member to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, Charles F. Sams III, was nominated to serve as Director of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Sams currently serves as a Council Member to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, as appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown.  Sams has worked in state and tribal governments and the non- profit natural resource and conservation management fields for over 25 years. Previous roles include Deputy Executive Director for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), Communications Director for the CTUIR, Environmental Health and Safety Officer/Planner in the Tribal Planning Office for the CTUIR, President/Chief Executive Officer of Indian Country Conservancy, Executive Director for the Umatilla Tribal Community Foundation, National Director of the Tribal & Native Lands Program for the Trust for Public Land, Executive Director for the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, Executive Director for the Community Energy Project and President/Chief Executive Officer for the Earth Conservation Corps. He is also a former adjunct professor at Georgetown University and Whitman College.

Sams is a resident and member of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and currently serves on the Oregon Cultural Trust and Gray Family Foundation.

Read the official White House press release here.