Vancouver, Wash. — Dec. 16, 2025 — Amid historic federal funding cuts and ongoing uncertainty, the Kuni Foundation has awarded more than $4.5 million to community partners across Washington and Oregon. This represents a 42% increase in funding compared to the Foundation’s fall 2024 grant cycle.
“We’re energized by the depth and breadth of the projects we’re able to help support—and by the people powering those efforts,” said Kuni Foundation President Angela Hult. “As our nonprofit partners conclude a challenging year, their vital work and transformative impact will benefit and inspire our broader community in many ways.”
Expanding and sustaining housing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
Seven community partners received nearly $2 million to develop new housing and strengthen existing units to better serve people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), across both urban and rural communities.
One community partner, the Vancouver Housing Authority, received a $900,000 three-year grant to support the development of Weaver Creek Commons. This affordable housing project will create 100 new units in Clark County, Wash., including 12 units specifically for people with IDD. According to a 2022 state report, Clark County is home to more than 1,600 adults with IDD but has fewer than 100 housing units built to meet their needs. The Weaver Creek Commons project will help bridge that gap while providing inclusive, affordable housing that promotes community and connection.
Based in Lynwood, Wash., Parkview Services received a $100,000 grant for the nonprofit’s Limited Equity Co-Op Model of Homeownership project, the first of its kind for people with IDD. By creating a pathway for homeownership, the effort expands on the nonprofit’s innovative approach to developing and providing housing options. This includes Parkview Services’ previously funded project to build a one-bedroom detached accessory dwelling unit (DADU) on property owned by the nonprofit.
Advancing discovery in cancer and IDD research
The Foundation awarded nearly $1.7 million in Imagination Grants to 17 diverse projects advancing innovative cancer research to improve detection, treatment, prevention and affordability, among other critical efforts.
Grantees include the Institute for Systems Biology, a first-time Kuni Foundation grant recipient. Researchers received $100,000 to develop a next-generation cancer vaccine designed to make immunotherapy safer and more effective for people with solid tumors.
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) received nearly $500,000 to fund projects ranging from melanoma, lung, brain and breast cancer to expanding HPV and cervical cancer screenings in rural communities.
Launched in 2024, the Foundation’s newest program, Transformation Grants for Research on IDD, granted $900,000 in the latest cycle. Funding supports critical, early-stage research to better diagnose autism in primary care settings; a pilot program to improve language development for young children with disabilities through a hybrid, family-centered therapy model; and developing the first fully remote eye-tracking tool to help parents and providers identify attention and learning differences in toddlers.
Below is a full list of our latest grant recipients:
2025 Transformation Grants: Advancing Inclusive Housing
- Edwards Center (OR)
- Homes First (WA)
- Life Enrichment Options (WA)
- Parkview Services (WA)
- PROVAIL (WA)
- Quilceda Community Services (WA)
- Vancouver Housing Authority (WA)
2025 Discovery Grants for Cancer Research
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
- Institute for Systems Biology
- Oregon Health & Science University
- Seattle Children’s Hospital
- Swedish Health Services
- University of Washington Medicine
2025 Transformation Grants for IDD Research
About the Kuni Foundation
The Kuni Foundation advances the power of human potential. Based in Vancouver, Wash., we support scientists revolutionizing cancer research and advance inclusive opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Since 2017 the Foundation has awarded more than $91 million to organizations throughout Oregon and Washington in service to its mission. Visit kunifoundation.org to learn more.
