Sep 2, 2026 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Regence BlueCross BlueShield
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and severe in many parts of the country, especially in the summer. When these fires burn, they release harmful particles and pollutants into the air, contributing to poor air quality. Wildfire smoke can be harmful, and certain groups are more vulnerable to its effects, including people with respiratory conditions, children, older adults, and those who are pregnant. By taking simple steps, you can minimize your exposure to wildfire smoke and stay healthy.
Stay informed
The best way to know if the air quality is safe is to check the Air Quality Index (AQI) using AirNow.gov. The AQI translates real time air quality data into numbers and colors to help you make informed decisions about your outdoor activities. You can enter your zip code or city name to see the AQI for your location. Many smartphone weather apps also share AQI data.
Reduce exposure
When air quality is poor, follow these tips to reduce your exposure to wildfire smoke:
- Stay indoors with windows and doors closed.
- Reduce intense outdoor physical activity.
- To reduce indoor air pollution, refrain from smoking indoors, vacuuming, using wood stoves or fireplaces and frying food.
- Use central air conditioners or heaters to filter the air. A home’s heater or air conditioner set to the fan mode may be able to filter out some particles by re-circulating the indoor air through the filter.
- Use air purifiers with HEPA (PM2.5) filters to remove fine particles from the air.
- When driving, keep windows closed, run the air conditioner, and set the air to recirculate to reduce smoke.
- If you need to go outside, wear a disposable respirator mask rated N95 or higher to inhale less pollution.
Manage respiratory conditions
If you have a respiratory condition like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), take extra precautions:
We’re here to help
If you’re a Regence BlueCross BlueShield member and you need help finding a provider, we’re here to support you. Use our provider search to find a provider in your network. Check out our virtual health choices if you prefer telehealth. If you are insured in other ways and have questions about your health plan or need help using your benefits, please contact the customer service at your health plan.
Sep 2, 2026 | AOC Business Partner
Sponsored content contributed by AOC Business Partner: Grant Pilot
In county courthouses across Oregon, you’ll hear a version of the same story. The person managing the county’s finances is also the one tracking down matching funds for the road project. The person coordinating emergency response is also the one who used to have time to chase outside grant dollars, until that work slid to the bottom of an ever-growing pile. AOC hears this often enough that it has a name: the STP problem, short for “Same Two People.” The same two people writing the grant, tracking the deadline, filing the report, usually on top of the rest of their actual job description.
It isn’t a gap that’s closing on its own. At least 21 of Oregon’s 36 counties, roughly 58%, entered the FY 2025–26 budget cycle facing general fund deficits or anticipated cuts to core services. Property tax revenue, which grows slowly under Oregon’s constitutional limits, hasn’t kept pace with rising costs, and the one-time federal relief funding that had propped up many county budgets has run dry. Few counties employ a dedicated grant writer. Instead, department heads absorb grant-seeking on top of everything else they’re already doing, and real money that could be coming into the county goes unpursued because no one has the hours to go find it.
Grant Pilot was built for exactly this moment. The platform comes from Rural Prosperity Partners, a team that has spent nearly seven years working alongside rural Oregon communities and helped raise nearly $100 million in funding, the majority of it right here in Oregon. That track record is built into the platform itself: it isn’t a search tool bolted onto an AI. It’s a full grant lifecycle solution, built on a proven workflow: find the right opportunities, help draft competitive applications, and track reporting and compliance once the grant is awarded. Grant Pilot is offered at a fraction of the cost of the national platforms many counties have already been pitched.
Cody Lathrop, Wallowa County Commissioner put it simply: “This is a really exciting opportunity. It could help counties streamline their grant process, expand what they’re able to do, and save money in the process.”
Proven results for organizations like yours
Built by experienced grant professionals for organizations with limited capacity, Grant Pilot covers the full grant lifecycle in one platform, starting at $69/month, a fraction of the cost of Instrumentl and with more functionality than Candid.
- Smart discovery: Daily ranked searches across federal, state, local, and private funders, matched to your mission and capacity. Includes 30,000+ open, vetted grant opportunities and 124,000+ active funders.
- Project tracking: One shared workspace for the grant process, so institutional knowledge survives staff turnover.
- Grant writing assistant: Drafts applications question by question, checks consistency, verifies citations, and scores against a rubric. It’s built on an AI trained on millions of dollars in successful grant applications.
- Award management: Deliverables, deadlines, reporting, and budget in one place from discovery through closeout. No separate spreadsheets to maintain, and planned integrations with administrative software.
Maybe your county has a grants function stretched too thin. Maybe department heads are squeezing grant-seeking in between everything else. Either way, Grant Pilot gives your people their time back and brings more dollars in the door in the process. As fall funding cycles open up, make sure the same two people aren’t carrying this alone.
Try Grant Pilot at 50% off for two months. It’s an exclusive offer for AOC members. Learn more at www.grantpilot.org
