JOIN PDX: $800
JOIN supports the efforts of individuals and families experiencing homelessness to transition into permanent housing. They are doing the work in a people-centered way, directly asking individuals and families sleeping outside or in their cars what they need and working with them to move through barriers toward housing. JOIN also advocates for and supports folks at risk of losing their housing. Their Day Center offers critical basic services to 80-100 individuals daily, including showers, restrooms, relief from weather, conversation, hygiene products, and laundry. Many of these services are offered through a barter system where individuals offer their time in exchange for what they need, creating a sense of community engagement.
Northwest Pilot Project: $900
Operating in Multnomah County since 1969, NW Pilot Project is the leading advocate in our community for low-income seniors who wish to stay in their homes or secure stable housing. Whether that means providing support to those navigating the housing system, offering rental assistance, or case management to prevent evictions, this organization does it all with efficiency and compassion.
Oregon Contemporary: $200
Oregon Contemporary is a space dedicated to art, community, and the exponential possibilities of contemporary art. They produce art programs for the communities of Oregon, specifically by promoting voices and points of view–regional and international–that have been historically underrepresented in the arts. They believe in the power of artists to help us see things in new and different ways that can lead to shifts in our conversations and perspectives.
Bridges Middle School: $700
Bridges is the only middle school in Oregon specifically designed for students with learning differences to reach their maximum potential—in a loving, nurturing atmosphere centrally located in downtown Portland. For many Bridges students, this means the difference between effective learning and being passed along. It means positive social and emotional growth rather than isolation or bullying. This school provides a unique space for children that is not offered in any public school and allows them to become successful students.
This is a great choice if you're looking for an organization actively seeking to end homelessness (especially for families). They serve the communities of Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Wilsonville (among others).
FPTV actively shelters and feeds families but also intervenes to support families remaining housed.
The Architecture Foundation of Oregon supports Oregon’s quality of life and creates awareness of our designed environment through education, engagement, and inspiration. The premier program is Architects in Schools, which delivers arts programming, environmental understanding, awareness of cultural links to history, a sense of our responsibility to the natural environment, career awareness, and communication skills – all through the principles and practices of architecture and design while addressing Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. All of this is accomplished with donated money and time.
Youth Rally: $300
Youth Rally is a sleep-away camp for kids with bowel or bladder diseases. Most of these kids have ostomies and conditions like Chron’s disease, Spina Bifida, and a variety of other congenital disabilities. The camp is held on college campuses; for many kids, it’s the first time they have been away from home overnight. The camp teaches independence and self-confidence. It’s truly one of a kind.
WaterWatch of Oregon: $600
WaterWatch is the only organization in Oregon dedicated to protecting and restoring flows in Oregon's rivers. This work is vital and impactful and often goes under the radar. For a small conservation nonprofit, WaterWatch gets so much done across Oregon. Their programs are helping make our iconic rivers more resilient to the impacts of a changing climate and improving survival chances for salmon and steelhead runs in the battle against extinction.
One Tail At A Time: $600
OTAT PDX is an all-breed, no-kill, foster-based animal rescue. They save at-risk dogs from shelters that need it most, placing them into loving volunteer foster homes where they receive medical care and behavior support before being matched with a forever home. OTAT is committed to their dogs for their lifetimes, taking them back anytime for any reason. They also provide community education and advocacy for the humane treatment of companion animals.
Mainspring PDX: $700
Mainspring serves families and seniors needing food and clothing across the Metro area. They distribute food from their main facility and also through five mobile destination food pantries each month. Mainspring recently constructed an onsite rooftop garden, housing 17 large raised garden beds to grow fresh, healthy, organic produce for their community and allowing neighbors to volunteer–helping to plant, grow, and harvest the crops before they get distributed into the community. Their clothing pantry, ReThread Clothing Services, allows folks to shop with dignity and without cost.
Taking Ownership PDX: $700
Taking Ownership PDX is focused on bringing together skilled professionals and volunteers to do all they can to keep Black Portlanders in their homes. Whether they're coordinating repairs or gathering resources, the organization is focused on supporting Black homeowners who want to age in place and hold onto their generational wealth, thus disrupting the gentrification process. Grassroots efforts like this are a critical part of supporting Black residents who the impacts of redlining, systemic racism, and gentrification have harmed.
Wild Diversity: $300
Grounded in the belief that we need everybody engaged in the work of building solutions for environmental problems, Wild Diversity aims to build a world in which BIPOC, Queer, and Trans outdoorists can thrive. They work toward this goal by hosting various outdoor adventures, training people to become outdoor guides, and introducing more people to the outdoors through summer camps, community workshops, and BIPOC swimming lessons. We live in a magical ecosystem, and Wild Diversity is working to ensure it is accessible to all.
Wisdom of the Elders: $800
Wisdom of the Elders is preserving, documenting, and sharing traditional knowledge within the Native community; they are also expanding awareness of the myriad ways Indigenous culture has and continues to enrich all lives. They’re creating opportunities for members of the Native community to thrive (and earn a living wage) with training in ecology and environmental restoration and multi-media tools and technologies. These skills allow Native community members to share rich knowledge, expertise, and traditions of Indigenous culture with the world through things like environmental science lesson plans and documentary film and radio programs that educate others about and advocate for their communities.
Portland Animal Welfare (PAW) Team: $600
PAW Team works miracles daily to keep pets and people together by providing free veterinary care to the pets of people experiencing houselessness or extreme poverty. They serve over 1200 families annually in the Portland Metro Area through their home base clinic and Pet Supply Bank in NE Portland, and off-site outreach clinics throughout the community. By providing accessible and affordable options for care, PAW Team offers vulnerable members of our community the dignity they deserve and the support they need to care for their beloved pets.
REPAIR Oregon: $400
Real Estate Professionals Against Institutional Racism exists to address historical and ongoing harm caused by systemic racism in the real estate industry. Centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC) and working in collaboration with BIPoC-led organizations and community members, our efforts are directed at encouraging white individuals involved in real estate to begin or continue an anti-racist path, fostering an environment for BIPoC individuals to enter and thrive in the real estate industry, and raising funds for BIPoC community members to build and retain generational wealth through homeownership. We are a group of real estate professionals dedicated to using our resources and privilege to address decades of systemic racism within the real estate industry.