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Echo Fund Guidelines

The 2026 Echo Fund Grant Cycle opens August 4 at 9:00 am and closes September 8, 2026 at 5:00 pm. Awards will be announced the week of November 19, 2026.

What is MusicOregon’s Echo Fund?

The Echo Fund is designed specifically for working musicians who are at mid- to advanced levels of their careers. The Echo Fund provides grants for creative, non-performance projects that help them grow and move their existing careers forward.

For the 2026 to 2027 cycle, MusicOregon is partnering with the City of Portland's Office of Arts and Culture to provide $100,000 in grants to Portland-based working musicians across all genres.

What's new for 2026

  • Residency check is now required. We verify Portland residency using Portland Maps along with your W-9 address. Use the eligibility checker on the Echo Fund main page before you apply.

  • Project categories are gone. Instead of picking a category, you'll see clear lists of what we can and can't fund. This gives you more flexibility in describing your project.

  • New festival and showcase exception. Costs tied to performing at a festival or showcase are usually not eligible, but we've added a limited exception this year. See the eligible projects section below.

  • Previous Echo Fund grantees in the years 2024 and 2025 are not eligible to reapply during the 2026 cycle. See the eligibility section below for details.

  • Application deadline is now 5:00 pm instead of midnight, so you have a clear cutoff during business hours.

Who Can Apply

To apply for the Echo Fund, you need to meet all of the following:

  • You're a working musician. That means you create and/or perform music and can show evidence of that, whether it's a show history, an online presence, or other documentation.

  • Your project is independent. The Echo Fund supports individual musicians' independent projects. We don't fund activities run by nonprofits or commercial entities.

  • You live in Portland. We verify residency using Portland Maps together with the address on your signed W-9. Not sure if your address qualifies? Use the eligibility checker on our website before you start your application.

  • You're applying as an individual or on behalf of a group. We fund musicians who operate as individuals, sole proprietors, LLCs, partnerships, or other legally organized entities.

  • You can show your tax status and legal address. If awarded,you'll need to give us a signed W-9 with a Social Security Number, Taxpayer ID Number, or Employer ID Number, plus your legal Portland address. If you don't have a tax ID yet, reach out to us at contact@musicoregon.org and we'll try to help you confidentially.

  • Only one application per project. If you're applying on behalf of a band, pick one member to submit the application.

A quick note on overlapping funding: The City of Portland's Office of Arts and Culture works with three grantmaking partners: Friends of IFCC, MusicOregon, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC). You're welcome to apply to more than one of these programs, but combined awards across all three cannot exceed $5,000. Learn more at Portland.gov/arts/small-grants-program.

How we keep awards under $5,000: Once MusicOregon panelists select Echo Fund awardees, we send that list to the City's Office of Arts and Culture. They share it with RACC and IFCC so awards can be adjusted if needed to keep your total at or under $5,000.

Who cannot apply

  • Non-musicians: The Echo Fund is for working musicians. If you produce events, engineer audio, run a venue, or otherwise work in music without creating it yourself, this fund isn't for you.

  • Emerging musicians: If you're brand new as a working musician and have little to no evidence of your work (via shows, recordings, and online presence), this fund isn't for you.

  • Echo Fund grantees from 2024 and 2025: If you received an Echo Fund award during the last two cycles, you are not eligible to apply during the 2026 grant cycle.

  • Previous Echo Fund grantees (any cycle) who have not completed their grant reporting requirements

  • DJs or anyone who curates other artists' songs without adding their own creative musical contribution

  • Employees, contractors, board members, and immediate family of employees and board members of MusicOregon

  • Nonprofit organizations, commercial entities, schools, and school districts

  • Musicians under 18 years old

What we can fund

Rather than sorting projects into categories, here's what your funding can go toward. IMPORTANT: We give priority to applicants who hire local vendors, contractors, and musicians.

  • Recording and production such as tracking, session players, engineering, mixing, mastering, studio rental, and production project management.

  • Promotion such as promotional materials, website development, an electronic press kit, publicity, photography, videography, design, and digital or print advertising.

  • Distribution such as vinyl or CD replication, distribution platform fees like DistroKid or CD Baby, and mailing costs.

  • Resources such as instruments, gear, software, and performance related equipment like pedals or amplifiers.

  • NEW IN 2026: A narrow category of festival and showcase costs (limited cases). We generally don't fund live performance costs, but this year we've added a narrow exception. If you have written official confirmation of selection for a festival or showcase performance taking place outside Oregon between December 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027, you may apply for Echo Fund support for related expenses. We expect this provision may only apply to a small number of applicants this cycle. As one example, Folk Alliance International announces its lineup during our application window, and performances fall before the June 30, 2027 deadline. We're introducing this exception now so artists can be aware of it and plan for future cycles. Not sure if your festival or showcase costs qualify? Email us at contact@musicoregon.org before you apply.

What we cannot fund

  • Live performances, events, and touring costs, outside the limited festival and showcase exception described above

  • Personal expenses like rent, groceries, or childcare

  • Paid or brokered placement on streaming playlists or platforms

  • Education, training, or lessons

  • Gas, food, and travel expenses

  • Rehearsal space rental

  • Activities happening outside of December 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027

  • Projects that aren't related to music

How we choose awardees

Our panelists review every application using the same four criteria:

  1. Benefit to you. Does this project support your artistic growth? Does it move your career forward?

  2. Planning and preparation. Is there a clear timeline? Are participants and vendors listed? Does your budget break down costs with supporting links or documentation? If your overall project costs more than $5,000, have you listed your other funding sources?

  3. Presence in the community. Can you show your performance history, touring history, online presence, or other documentation of your work as a musician?

  4. Local impact. Are you planning to work with local vendors, contractors, and musicians? We prioritize applicants who invest in our local music community.

Each application is scored on a 1 to 7 point scale across three rounds. After round one, the top 30 percent of applicants move on to round two and are scored again on the same criteria. In the third and final round, grants go to the highest scoring applications until all available funds are awarded.

How to apply

  • Applications are accepted through the online portal Good Grants (unless you have made an accessibility request to coordinate the application with the program manager ahead of the submission deadline).

  • Create an account before starting an application. You are encouraged to download the application questions and work on the application outside the portal beforehand.

  • MusicOregon staff is available to answer questions and provide support by email at contact@musicoregon.org.

Application Questions

Copies of the full application questions in Google Doc and PDF formats will be published at 9:00 am on Tuesday, August 4.

Need Help?

  • Applicant information session: [Monday, August 17, 2025, 5:30-7:00 pm] ZOOM

  • Applicants with accessibility needs can contact us at contact@musicoregon.org for assistance. We will make every effort to support all applicants who seek to apply. 

Important Dates and Deadlines:

  • Application Period: August 4, 2026, 9:00 am - September 8, 2025 at 5:00 pm

  • Notification of Awards: Mid-November 2026

  • Grant Distribution: December 2026

  • Project Completion Deadline: June 30, 2027

If you receive an award

  • You'll sign a grant agreement and confirm your legal Portland address, which we verify through Portland Maps and your W-9. All grantees receive an IRS Form 1099 for the tax year their grant is paid out.

  • You'll agree to credit the City of Portland's Office of Arts and Culture and MusicOregon in any external promotion of your funded project. If crediting us creates a challenge for your project, reach out to contact@musicoregon.org and we'll work through it together.

  • Your project activities need to wrap up by June 30, 2027, 5:00 pm. If anything comes up that affects your timeline, just let us know.

  • You'll provide a brief report, written and/or spoken, on how you used the funding, along with proof of completion, by July 31, 2027, 5:00 pm.

MusicOregon will comply with all applicable federal, state and city non-discrimination and civil rights laws. Our grant-funded programs are available to all community members, and we do not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any protected class or characteristic, including race, color, national origin (including limited English proficiency), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion or non-religion, disability, marital status, or source of income.