Giving Back

19 Ways to Make a Difference in Portland

Volunteering opportunities across the city, from serving lunch to planting trees.

11/26/2025 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Arts and Letters

Mother Foucault’s, the Lifeblood of Portland Literary Bohemia

“Hey, this is a real way to live,” says owner Craig Florence, who’s formalizing the community around his bookshop as a nonprofit.

10/29/2025 By Jaydra Johnson Photography by Michael Novak

Book Club

The Bike Library Connecting Portland’s Housed and Unhoused Residents

Street Books has made a lot of friends in its 15 years—and divined a uniquely effective form of mutual aid.

08/12/2025 By Jaydra Johnson Photography by Michael Novak

Paddle to the People

These Kayakers See Climate Justice as Community Work

With a kayak lending library and social paddles, Mosquito Fleet wants to shift how we relate to the Willamette.

06/17/2025 By Rebecca Jacobson

History

To Know Old Town's Past Is to Hope for Its Future

My grandmother’s Old Town was a vibrant, bustling place for all. Despite what handwringers say, it still is.

04/07/2025 By Lauren Yoshiko

Teen Spirit

In a Former Strip Club, Portland’s All-Ages Music Scene Finds New Life

With the Off Beat, nonprofit Friends of Noise is set to open the city’s first dedicated underage concert venue in over a decade.

03/31/2025 By Shannon Daehnke Illustrations by Amanda Lanzone

Booktopia

With New HQ, the City’s Literary Heart (Finally) Finds a Permanent Physical Form

Literary Arts’ expansive Southeast building will house a bookstore, café and bar, and all-ages community resources.

09/18/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Sky's the Limit

This Nonprofit Makes Nature Expeditions Possible for All

Adventures Without Limits brings adaptive equipment and accessible pricing to the outdoors.

07/18/2024 By Dalila Brent

TAIL TALES

Is Dinner Rolls the Shar-Pei the Most Adoptable Pet in Portland?

Rescued from far West Texas, Din is now available for meet and greets at One Tail at a Time’s new adoption center.

01/12/2024 By Rebecca Jacobson

Most Innovative Restaurants

In Portland, Cooperation, Sharing, and Charity Are on the Menu

From collectives to cooperative ownership, Dame Collective, Mirisata, and Café Olli cook up sustainable business models in a notoriously tough industry.

12/20/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Tail Tales

Phyllis the Pit Bull Has Some Concerns

For decades, dogs like Phyllis had a bumpy path to adoption. The Oregon Humane Society is trying to change that.

12/12/2023 By Arianne Cohen

Culture

Want to Support the Arts? 7 Steps to Becoming an Arts Benefactor (Yes, You)

Prolific arts donor Ronni Lacroute tells us how to become a rookie arts benefactor.

09/25/2023 By Arianne Cohen Illustrations by Lars Leetaru

Urban Life

How to Actually Interact with Houseless Neighbors

Be respectful, practice kindness, and say ‘knock-knock.’

09/21/2023 By Hannah Wallace

Helping Others

How One Portland Neighborhood Partnered with a Homeless Encampment

Faced with an influx of homeless neighbors, a Southeast Portland neighborhood association got creative.

09/21/2023 By Hannah Wallace

Essay

The Deschutes River Became My Therapist and Healer

"The pain I fought, the darkness I navigated, and the loneliness I endured as a navy veteran fighting PTSD would leave my body the closer I got to the river to fly-fish."

06/08/2023 By Chad Brown

Food News

Egg Prices Send Local Food Businesses Scrambling

Once a cheap source of protein and staple of baking and cooking, eggs are skyrocketing in cost, and business owners are making changes to accommodate.

02/06/2023 By Katherine Chew Hamilton

Light a Fire 2022: Caring for the Planet

Friends of the Columbia Gorge Helps Protect a National Treasure

For decades, the group has been a ‘citizen watchdog’ to monitor development on the Oregon and Washington sides of the river.

01/06/2023 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Light a Fire 2022: Leveling the Field

Brown Girl Rise Makes a Safe Space for BIPOC Youth

The Portland nonprofit centers joy, fun, and radical sisterhood for girls and nonbinary kids.

12/30/2022 By Isabel Lemus Kristensen

Light a Fire 2022: Best New Nonprofit

WeShine Builds Small Pod-Villages as an Alternative Approach to Homelessness Solutions

Microvillages, housing around a dozen people and small enough to fit into most any neighborhood, build community and give residents agency over their housing.

12/30/2022 By Matthew Trueherz

Light a Fire 2022: Extraordinary Executive Director

At Path Home, Brandi Tuck Is Anything but Shy

A college spring break service project turned into a career of bringing a trauma-informed approach to homelessness services.

12/30/2022 By Conner Reed

Portland Monthly

Nonprofits