Grants Awarded Main Page
2025 Grants
2025 Funding Focuses:
- Arts & Culture Focus: The Foundation will provide support for nonprofits that foster Asian art and culture. Examples include Asian cultural festivals, music and dance, Chinese and Japanese gardens, museums highlighting Asian art, and educational programs on Asian or Asian American history. Priority will be given to organizations that are inclusive to the general public and foster a greater understanding and appreciation for Asian art and culture. Grant awards may be for general operating support or for specific programs and will be in the range of $10,000-$15,000. The Foundation will consider both one-year and two-year funding requests. Priority will be given to nonprofits serving communities in Oregon's Willamette Valley and in California's Bay Area. The Foundation awarded two-year grants in 2024, no additional grants were awarded in 2025.
- Environment: The Foundation is committed to supporting work that enhances wildlife connectivity by awarding two-year grants. Our goal is to ensure the health and sustainability of wildlife populations affected by habitat fragmentation due to the disruption of their continuous ecosystems. We aim to foster a resilient and connected ecosystem through these targeted efforts, promoting biodiversity and ecological health. The Foundation awarded two-year grants.
- Education: The Foundation intends to award grants for paid internships at nonprofits for 1) students enrolled in community college, four year college undergraduate and/or college graduate school or 2) "young professionals" defined as a person who graduated from community college, four-year college undergraduate, or college graduate school within the last two years. Grants distributed in calendar year 2025 may be utilized for calendar year 2026 internships as needed. These internships must provide an above minimum wage stipend. The internship experience should include enrichment opportunities which should include skill building, visibility into nonprofit management, peer networking, professional seminars, capstone project/report, etc. Average size grants in this area of focus are $8,000-$12,000 per internship. You are welcome to request funding for more than one internship in an application if you have previously received funding from the Foundation. Please note that grant recipients who received awards from us in this focus area each year for the last 3 consecutive years (2022, 2023, 2024) are not eligible for a grant in 2025. You will be eligible to reapply in 2026.
- Health & Human Services: The Foundation is committed to supporting elders living in our communities by encouraging self-sufficiency and aging in place. We awarded two-year $20,000 grants (payouts of 2024: $10,000; 2025: $10,000) to organizations. We fund both projects and general operating support. Funding is focused on housing specifically around aging in place: Home modifications for accessibility and home maintenance; Assistance with household tasks; Affordable permanent housing; Collaborative partnerships that advocate for age-friendly communities.
Grants Awarded in 2025
arts & culture
- ASIAN ART MUSEUM, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Y1 2024: $10,000 Y2 2025: $10,000). For general operating support. Inspiring new ways of thinking by connecting diverse communities to historical and contemporary Asian art and cultures through a world-class collection, exhibitions, and programs.
- MUSIC WORKSHOP, PORTLAND, OR. $30,000 (Y1 2024: $15,000; Y2 2025: $15,000). To expand the K-8 music education culture series "Music from the Continent of Asia." Music Workshop empowers teachers to engage, educate and inspire their students through high-quality, culturally responsive music education.
- PORTLAND CHINATOWN HISTORY FOUNDATION, PORTLAND, OR. $20,000 (Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000). For general operating support and 2025 Lunar New Year support. Their mission is to collect, preserve and share the stories, oral histories and artifacts of Portland’s Chinatown as a catalyst for exploring and interpreting the history of past, present and future immigrant experiences.
- PORTLAND JAPANESE GARDEN, PORTLAND, OR. $24,000 (Y1 2024: $12,000; Y2 2025: $12,000). For general operating support The Garden's mission is to bring the ideals of Asian gardens to the world: art of craft, connection to nature, experience of peace.
- TAKOHACHI, INC., PORTLAND, OR. $30,000 (Y1 2024: $15,000; Y2 2025: $15,000). For capacity building support for staffing and program expansion. Preserving traditional Japanese music and dance. Takohachi seeks to educate and entertain as they perform throughout the Portland area at schools, festivals and cultural events.
education
- Fall 2025 awards TBD
environment
- FRIENDS OF THE COLUMBIA GORGE, PORTLAND, OR. $80,000 (Y1 2025: $40,000; Y2 2026: $40,000). For the Turtle Haven Preserve. Turtle Haven is a 64-acre property in the Western Gorge, nestled between Dog Mountain and Wind Mountain and bordered by U.S. Forest Service land. The preserve is characterized by its rich biodiversity, featuring mixed deciduous forests, permanent ponds, seasonal pools, intermittent streams, and the year-round flow of Collin’s Creek, making it a vital wildlife haven.
- NORTH COAST LAND CONSERVANCY, SEASIDE, OR. $40,000. (Y1 2025: $20,000; Y2 2026: $20,000). General operating support.
- PACIFIC FOREST TRUST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA. $80,000 (Y1 2025: $40,000; Y2 2026: $40,000). For various wildlife connectivity projects in the Sisikiyou Crest region linking the Cascade Siskiyou National Monument to the Rogue-Siskiyou National Forest, Mt. Ashland Demonstration Forest, Education outreach for underserved youth, and Southern Oregon Wildlife Crossing Coalition work.
- PENINSULA OPEN SPACE TRUST, PALO ALTO, CA. $80,000 (Y1 2025: $40,000; Y2 2026: $40,000). For the planning phase of the Upper Pajaro River Valley wildlife connectivity project.
- SOUTHERN OREGON LAND CONSERVANCY, ASHLAND, OR. $40,000 (Y1 2025: $20,000; Y2 2026: $20,000). For outreach and education and outreach of the recently purchased Colestid Bear Gulch Preserve.
- THE NATURE CONSERVANCY IN CA, SACRAMENTO, CA. $50,000. A one-year grant for the Point Reyes National Seashore transformative project.
- WESTERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER, EUGENE, OR. $80,000. (Y1 2025: $40,000; Y2 2026: $40,000). For wildlife corridor work.
health & human services
- Community for Positive Aging, Portland, OR. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for general operating support.
- Friendly House, Portland, OR. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant to support the Elder Pride Services program.
- Hood River Valley Adult Center, Hood River, OR. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for general operating support.
- Legal Assistance for the Elderly, San Francisco, CA. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for general operating support.
- Meals on Wheels People, Portland, OR. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for general operating support.
- Sebastopol Area Senior Center, Sebastopol, CA. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for general operating support.
- Shanti Project, San Francisco, CA. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for the Pets Are Awesome Support program.
- Store to Door, Portland, OR. Y1 2024: $10,000; Y2 2025: $10,000. A two-year grant for general operating support.
DISCRETIONARY
- Fall 2025 TBD
JOHN LAM FUND
- Fall 2025 TBD