Contact

City Manager's Office
- 541-388-5505
- sponsorships@bendoregon.gov

Membership and Sponsorship

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The City of Bend sets aside a budgeted amount of discretionary community funds each biennium to support local, community organizations in the promotion of capacity building events and programs that improve community outreach and education regarding City initiatives and Council Goals.

The discretionary community funds program operates within the parameters outlined in the Council Policy on Discretionary Funding/Sponsorship of Community Programs, Services and Events. Resolution 3037 adopted the policy, and Resolutions 3295 and 3348 updated the policy.

Tenets of the program include:

Provides funds to community partners in an equitable and accessible manner.
Promotes events and programs that build on the City’s outreach and education capacity and create and maintain an environment free of discrimination.
Provides a transparent application and vetting process.
Responsibly distributes City discretionary funds, providing a means for community organizations to benefit from the funds without creating a reliance on or expectation of City funds in order to host an event or program.

Recipients of sponsorship awards must either be an organization registered with the Secretary of State or an individual. Please note, individuals awarded a sponsorship will be issued a 1099 and the award may be taxable income under Federal IRS tax law. A valid W9 with the organization's EIN or the individual's SSN is required before a payment can be issued.

To request sponsorship for your organization's event or program, please complete the Sponsorship Request Form available below. Please note application deadlines outlined in the following section.

SPONSORSHIP REQUEST FORM

APPLICATION DEADLINES

The City of Bend Sponsorship Program conducts a bi-annual review of applications to ensure equal opportunity for organizations to access available funds throughout the fiscal year (July - June).

Applications received by March 31, 2025, will be considered for an award in April 2025.

Applications received by September 30, 2025, will be considered for an award in October 2025.

FUNDING CATEGORIES

The discretionary community funds program supports a variety of events and programs, most of which fall into one of the below categories.

OFFICIAL CITY EVENTS

Council has determined that certain events of community-wide interest, history, and value are “official” City sponsored events. These events are identified as the Holiday Parade, Juneteenth Celebration, Central Oregon Summer Pride, the 4th of July Pet Parade, Welcoming Week, and the Veteran's Day Parade. Funding for this events may include event permitting, staff costs, traffic control plans, and other costs related to the event as approved by the City Manager.

Please note, the 2024 Welcoming Week application window is now closed.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

Events hosted by local, community organizations promoting community outreach and education regarding City initiatives and Council Goals. Preference will be given to community-wide events with no participation barriers (e.g. entrance fees, limited capacity, etc.). Event sponsorships are a one-time payment with application of funds required to be used in support of the specified event.

COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

Programs and projects facilitated by local, community organizations promoting community outreach and education regarding City initiatives and Council Goals. Program grants are issued in accordance to a grant agreement with a specified Scope of Work outlining the application of City funds to achieve the program goals.