FAQ

A collaborative philanthropic fund is a way for individuals, families, and institutions to pool their resources, creating more impact than any one donor could alone.

Pooling money amplifies the collective impact, allowing us to provide larger, more effective grants to nonprofit organizations that address pressing needs. It also fosters community wide participation, trust and hope.

A social safety net refers to a collection of programs, services, and resources designed to support individuals and families in times of need. It helps prevent people from falling into extreme hardship by addressing basic needs such as housing, food, healthcare, and education. Our initiative contributes to the social safety net by funding nonprofits that provide critical services to vulnerable populations.

Participatory grantmaking means the people closest to the work hold the power to decide where funding goes. At Love, Portland, our Strategic Advisors—leaders with lived experience, nonprofit and philanthropic expertise, policy knowledge, and strong community networks—select the grantees. We use this approach because those most connected to the issues and communities bring the wisdom, relationships, and insight needed to make funding decisions that are equitable, grounded, and effective.

Participatory grantmaking involves engaging community members or stakeholders in the decision-making process for awarding grants. Love, Portland specifically uses a cohort of service providers to determine what other nonprofits receive rapid response grants, as well as determine what nonprofit will be the next grantee recipient in their funding focus area. Participatory grantmaking ensures that funding decisions are inclusive, equitable, and aligned with the needs of the community.

1. We fund organizations that provide essential services for 5 main categories of root causes of homelessness, all aimed at strengthening the social safety net and providing resilience in response to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).  

The 5 funding focus areas are: 

1. Supportive Housing Services

2. Substance Use Disorder Treatment

3. Domestic & Family Violence Services

4. Foster Care Services

5. Youth Mentorship

ACEs, or Adverse Childhood Experiences, are potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood. These experiences include abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction such as parental substance abuse, mental illness, or incarceration.

Research shows that ACEs can have long-term effects on an individual’s health, well-being, and opportunities. People with higher numbers of ACEs are at increased risk for chronic illnesses, mental health issues, substance use disorders, and other challenges, including homelessness.

By addressing the root causes and effects of ACEs, our initiative aims to support nonprofits that create safety nets, provide trauma-informed services, and break cycles of adversity for future generations to help prevent homelessness before it occurs.

Unlike traditional foundations, we combine collaborative giving, participatory grantmaking, and convening for systems change. We fund prevention work while also working to repair and transform the broader systems—so philanthropy doesn’t keep funneling money into the same broken structures that create and sustain homelessness in the first place.