A Snapshot of Oregon’s Nonprofit Sector

According to the Oregon Department of Justice Charitable Activities Section, there are 25,669 charitable nonprofits registered to raise funds in Oregon. This number includes 501(c)(3) nonprofits, including public benefit and religious organizations, as well as 501(c)(4) organizations and “foreign” organizations (meaning non-Oregon domiciled) that are registered to do business in Oregon but incorporated in a different state.

Of these charitable organizations, about 10,500 are 501(c)(3) nonprofit establishments with employment and payroll, as estimated by the State of Oregon Employment Department in 2024.

Oregon’s nonprofit sector is a major employer, providing 190,400 jobs, as of 2024 according to the State of Oregon Employment Department. This translates to approximately 245,000 wage and hour workers in the nonprofit sector which constitutes 10.4% of Oregon’s total workforce, based on NAO’s 2024 study with ECONorthwest, ‘Wage Suppression in Oregon’s Social Service Nonprofits’.

Note: These figures predate the significant job cuts that have occurred since January 2025.

Oregon’s nonprofits serve incredibly diverse missions. Based on IRS NTEE classifications, the most common focus areas are:

By total number of organizations represented (not size of each):

1. Education Institutions and Related Activities
2. Art, Culture, and Humanities
3. Religion-Related Spiritual Development
4. Human Services
5. Recreation Sports Leisure Athletics

By employment:

1. Health Care and Social Assistance (61%)
2. Service Organizations (13%)
3. Educational and Employment Training Providers (11%)

Oregon is home to approximately 1,788 foundations and grantmaking organizations that provide critical funding to support nonprofits and strengthen communities statewide. These include private foundations, grantmaking public charity foundations, community foundations, and corporate foundations.

According to 2023 IRS data, private foundations alone distributed $690.5 million in grants, contributions, and gifts to nonprofits. This figure reflects only a portion of total foundation giving, as it does not include grants made by community foundations or other grantmaking public charities, Tribal foundations, Donor Advised Funds or private sector managed funds (ie: Fidelity, etc.).

Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) are a significant and growing source of philanthropic giving in Oregon. With national sponsors like Fidelity Charitable and Schwab Charitable holding charitable accounts on behalf of individual donors, grantmaking credit flows through these institutions rather than the donors themselves, making them among the largest grantmakers in Oregon and the nation. Because DAFs are not registered as independent foundations and not required to disclose their grantmaking publicly, the full scope of DAF-driven grantmaking in Oregon is difficult to track.