2021 Year in Review
In 2021, much like 2020, we witnessed firsthand amazing work led by frontline communities across the Pacific Northwest. While our meeting rooms collected dust and grantee introductions were held via Zoom, BIPOC-led organizations continued to support community members hit hard by the pandemic, advocated for safer working conditions, built capacity for narrative work, and so much more!
Thank you to everyone who was a part of our work in 2021. Here’s what we accomplished together.
Launching Civic Health
In 2021, we officially kicked off the first year of Civic Health’s Cohort Program. Thirteen organizations joined the cohort:
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon
Ebony Collective Coalition
Imagine Black
Latinx Power Table
Native American Youth and Family Action Fund
OneAmerica Votes
Pacific County Voices Uniting
SW Washington Communities United for Change
Unite Oregon Action
UNITE Warm Springs
Washington County Ignite
Civic Health groups were each paired with a coach, developed thoughtful and detailed work plans, attended trainings and online convenings. Civic Health groups also received supplemental grants to acquire technology, fund get-out-the-vote text banking, support temporary digital field programs, provide resources to campaigns, etc.
In May, NWHF invited three groups from Civic Health—Unite Oregon, Imagine Black and PCUN—to join a pilot program with the Progressive Multiplier Fund who has a unique model of helping organizations grow their resource base. Gray Family Foundation and Yarg Foundation, who are eager to understand how their 501(c)(3) dollars can support fundraising for 501(c)(4) organizations, joined us in funding this pilot.
NWHF lent our lobbying capacity to a Ranked Choice Voting campaign with guidance from grantees APANO and Next Up Action Fund. While the bill we lobbied for ultimately did not pass, conversations about our current system of voting were beneficial, and we were able to secure funding to upgrade voting systems across the state if/when Oregonians change how they vote.
The Oregon Donor Alliance (ODA) launched this year with NWHF’s support. ODA is an emerging statewide organization (aka a “donor table”) for doers and donors to learn together and align funding.
Health and Education Fund
Newly elected Salem-Keizer School Board members María Hinojos Pressey, Osvaldo Avila, Ashley Carson Cottingham and Karina Guzmán Ortiz
In 2021, we wrapped up the Health and Education Fund. In the last year of this initiative, our funding supported voter outreach efforts in the Salem-Keizer School District. Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste (PCUN) convened a coalition (Community for Salem-Keizer Schools) focused on the Salem-Keizer School Board, the second-largest school district in the state, with a board of directors that was not representative of their community despite many past attempts by PCUN to change that. 2021 ended that streak. All four of the coalition's endorsed candidates secured a seat on the school board, including the first three Latino/a representatives ever elected to Salem-Keizer.
Organizational Identity & Capacity
We welcomed four new board members, all with unique lived experience and professional expertise that make the work of NWHF even stronger: Jamie McLeod-Skinner, David Sáez, Corinne Sams and Nico Serra.
Matthew Jordan joined the team at the start of the year as the Center for Philanthropy’s Building Manager, bringing facility management expertise and a sincere commitment to building community.
We launched a new website that is significantly easier to navigate and more accessible to people with disabilities.
We took a deeper look at the demographic questions we ask on our grant applications and updated the language.
We welcomed two new tenants to the Center for Philanthropy: Partnership for Safety and Justice and City Club of Portland. We also took advantage of the quiet to discuss amongst ourselves and tenants what does the center mean to you? Feel like to you? Stay tuned for an updated vision and mission statement.
Advancing Disability Justice
In 2017, Northwest Health Foundation established the Advancing Disability Justice program. This program recognizes and supports disabled BIPOC leaders and disability-led programs in our region. Community advisors and NWHF staff selected six Advancing Disability Justice grantees to receive a total of $46,600. The funding for these grants came from our partner, The Collins Foundation.
Groups selected:
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon Communities United Fund
Black & Beyond the Binary Collective
Disability Refugee Community
Disability Art and Culture Project
El Programa Hispano Católico
The Ebony Collective CDC
We were also proud to sign the Disability & Philanthropy Forum Disability Inclusion Pledge and continue to improve our internal systems and policies to align with our values.
Narrative Fellowships
Northwest Health Foundation partnered with ReFrame, a nationally recognized organization focused on growing narrative infrastructure to shift common sense towards liberation. Together, we designed a six-month program to build the capacity of community-led organizations to engage in narrative work.
Groups selected:
Imagine Black
Native American Youth and Family Center
Partnership for Safety and Justice
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice
Rural Organizing Project
Verde
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon
Centro Cultural de Washington County
Oregon Futures Lab
Building Power for Communities of Color
Centro Latino Americano
Grantmaking
In 2021, we made grants to incredible organizations and initiatives throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington. Examples include:
$15k to Oregon Voice to strengthen the collective political impact of a broad network of community and advocacy organizations. One pillar of their work is to train and support BIPOC 501(c)(3) organizations to build data-informed civic engagement infrastructure.
$250,000 to Seeding Justice for their new building, the Center for Social Enterprise. The Center for Social Enterprise (CSE) Project will be located on historic Mississippi Avenue in Portland with more than 1,000 square feet of storefront. CSE will feature an innovative investment and management structure that focuses on building organizational stability and social connectedness for community-based organizations. CSE will be a home for 12-15 nonprofits and business enterprises.
$9,360 each to FACT Oregon, Adelante Mujeres and Consejo Hispano who are working together on an ambitious and intersectional legislative agenda. These three organizations are all Health and Education Fund Impact grantees. They represent three communities: disability, Washington County and North Oregon Coast communities. These organizations were identified by Foundations for a Better Oregon staff as organizations that need additional capacity to participate in the 2021 Oregon Legislative Session.
2021 Funded Partners
This list includes grants from both Northwest Health Foundation and our affiliated 501(c)(3), Northwest Health Foundation Fund II.
Advancing Disability Justice
Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) Communities United Fund
Black & Beyond the Binary Collective
Disability Refugee Community (fiscal sponsor: Cascade Pacific Resource Conservation & Development)
Disability Art and Culture Project
El Programa Hispano Católico
The Ebony Collective CDC
Civic Health: C4 Power Program
Ebony Collective Coalition
Imagine Black
Latinx Power Table
NAYA Action Fund
OneAmerica Votes
Pacific County Voices Uniting
SW Washington Communities United for Change
Unite Oregon Action
UNITE Warm Springs
WashCo Ignite
Civic Health: Culture Shifting
CASA in Action
Oregon Futures Lab
PushBlack
Texas After Violence Project
Community Sponsorships
7 Waters Canoe Family
Adelante Mujeres
Airway Science for Kids
APANO
Basic Rights Oregon
Bienestar
Black & Beyond the Binary Collective
Building Blocks 2 Success
Cascade AIDS Project
Centro Cultural de Washington County
Comunidad y Herencia Cultural
Edúcate Ya
Familias en Accion
Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest
IRCO
KairosPDXKomemma Cultural Protection Association
Kukatonon
Latino Community Association
Latino Network
Micronesian Islander Community
Minoru Yasui Legacy Project
NAYA
Old Town Community Association
OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon
Oregon Progress Forum
Papalaxsimisha
PCUN
Pendleton Community Action Coalition
Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon
Play, Grow, Learn
Red Lodge Transition Services
Rogue Climate
Rural Organizing Project
Safety & Justice Oregon
Seeding Justice
Southwest Washington Equity Coalition
Street Roots
The Black United Fund of Oregon
Urban League of Portland
Virginia Garcia Memorial Foundation
World Stage Theatre
Health and Education Fund
Adelante Mujeres
Consejo Hispano
FACT Oregon
PCUN
Social Venture Partners Portland
Narrative Fellowship
Imagine Black
NAYA
Partnership for Safety and Justice
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice
Rural Organizing Project
Verde
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon
Centro Cultural de Washington County
Oregon Futures Lab
Building Power for Communities of Color
Centro Latino Americano
President’s Fund
African Youth & Community Organization
Albina Vision Trust
August Wilson Red Door Project
Basic Rights Oregon
Billy Webb Elks Lodge 1050 Fundraiser
Black & Beyond the Binary Collective
Black Food Sovereignty Coalition
Black Joy Oregon
Brown Girl Rise
CAIR Oregon
Central Oregon Black Leaders Assembly
Community Alliance of Tenants
East County Rising Community Projects
Equitable Giving Circle
Esperanza Spalding’s BIPOC Sanctuary
Forward Together Action
Jennie Kamau Fundraiser
Jenoah Donald Fundraiser
Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, Inc.
Next Up Action Fund
OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon
Oregon Black Pioneers
Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP)
Oregon Community Health Workers Association (ORCHWA)
Oregon Justice Resource Center
Oregon Native American Chamber of Commerce (ONACC)
Oregon Student Association
Pendleton Community Action Coalition
Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC)
Reaching and Empowering All People (REAP), Inc.
Red Lodge Transition Services
Rural Organizing Project
Safety & Justice Oregon
Southern Oregon Coalition for Racial Equity
The Black United Fund of Oregon
The Numberz.FM
United Way of Jackson County
Wild Diversity
Willamette Valley Development Officers (WVDO)
Word is Bond