Halfway nonprofit wins $20,000 grant for community projects

United Community Partners - Eastern Oregon in Halfway won a $20,000 grant from the Oregon Community Foundation, a boost that could help keep several local projects moving in Pine Valley and the Baker County Panhandle.

The foundation said its Community Grants Program is built to provide flexible general operating support for organizations serving Oregon’s most pressing needs, with this spring’s cycle prioritizing nonprofits that are culturally specific, culturally responsive or small rural. OCF said the program has supported nonprofits, Tribal organizations and government agencies in all 36 counties for 28 years.

For Halfway, that flexibility matters. United Community Partners says its mission is to help individuals and groups carry out projects that bring economic and social benefit to area communities. Its website says the organization is dedicated to the prosperity and advancement of Pine Valley and the Baker County Panhandle, and its current work already includes the Grace Gulick Community Track Project, Halfway Main Street Revitalization and Dark Sky Halfway community education.

The grant does not come tied to one named project, which makes it more useful for a small town where the biggest needs often shift from one month to the next. Funds like this can cover planning, coordination, volunteer support and other basic costs that can stall local projects before they ever reach a ribbon-cutting. In a place as geographically isolated as Halfway, that kind of support can make the difference between a project advancing and one waiting for another funding round.

The community track effort shows the scale of what remains ahead. UCP says the project carries a $610,000 fundraising goal, including $160,000 targeted for local fundraising. The new foundation money could help keep that campaign active while the group continues working on Main Street and dark-sky education efforts.

The grant also adds to a pattern of outside investment in the Halfway nonprofit. In June 2025, United Community Partners received $121,241, plus $51,961 in matching funds, through an Oregon Main Street Revitalization Grant to replace roofs on five Halfway businesses: Mamaste, Main St Tire, Merc, Halfway Sober and the Two-Color Building. Earlier, in December 2024, the group received a $15,600 Oregon Community Foundation grant.

OCF said $264,715 went to 17 Eastern Oregon organizations in the spring 2025 round, including $169,715 for 11 organizations in Union, Baker and Wallowa counties. For Halfway, repeated support for United Community Partners signals that grantmakers see it as a local vehicle for projects that might otherwise struggle to get off the ground.