Central Oregon—As resources from the massive federal coronavirus response package known as the CARES Act come to an end on December 30, NeighborImpact is taking stock of how those have affected the Central Oregon landscape. In just 10 months, local nonprofit NeighborImpact has spent $9.6 million in CARES Act funds providing coronavirus relief to Central Oregonians. These funds swelled NeighborImpact’s resource base to nearly twice its usual budget, while its personnel and admin costs remainedRead More >

Central Oregon—Diversified Heating and Cooling is a local, family-owned business offering a broad range of HVAC services to the tri-county area. Each year, the business receives a donated HVAC system from the manufacturing company, Trane. This year, Diversified Heating and Cooling chose to donate the system, along with installation and other repairs, to a local family in need. “We wanted to help somebody,” said Don Loveless, General Manager of Diversified Heating and Cooling. To findRead More >

Central Oregon—NeighborImpact’s board of directors has elected its 2021 officers. There are currently 14 members on the NeighborImpact Board of Directors and board members must be residents of Crook, Deschutes, Jefferson counties or the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. The NeighborImpact board draws its membership from three segments: elected officials, community members and economically disadvantaged residents. Chad Carpenter of La Pine will continue as board president. Brent Wilkins of Bend will continue as vice presidentRead More >

Central Oregon—NeighborImpact currently has funds provided by USDA available for weatherizing homes in Jefferson County, with additional funding from NeighborWorks America for weatherizing homes in rural communities outside of Bend and Redmond. NeighborImpact’s Weatherization program provides free weatherization services which can include adding insulation, sealing leaky ducts and repairing heating systems for income-qualified clients. Weatherization staff conduct an on-site energy audit, evaluating and documenting the existing condition of the home. This information is then usedRead More >

Central Oregon—NeighborImpact’s Energy Assistance program can provide financial assistance to income-qualified residents of the Tri-County area with electric and gas bills as well as propane, wood and oil. The program has funds available and is accepting applications now. To qualify for assistance, applicants must have a monthly gross income at or below the following limits (based on household size). Services are provided on a first come, first served basis; Interested households are encouraged to submitRead More >

Central Oregon—With funding provided by a Community Development Block Grant awarded to the City of Madras by Business Oregon, NeighborImpact awarded $109,000 in grants to 13 Madras small businesses and microenterprises that were financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. NeighborImpact submitted the Community Development Block Grant application and administers the program on behalf of Madras. The small business grants, of up to $20,000 each, incentivized retaining low-income jobs throughout the pandemic. The first round ofRead More >