Collaborative content created in collaboration with participating partners.
Making a difference and doing good in your community doesn’t have to be complicated, time-consuming, or resource-draining. Often, it’s as easy as volunteering when you have time, making a recurring monthly donation to a local nonprofit, or shopping at a local business that’s doing its part to make a difference. Our Do Good List features 13 nonprofits and businesses that can help you do good, now and in the future.
→ Make an Impact on Hunger Locally
Opens in new windowThe Portland Food Project (PFP) is a volunteer network of over 120 neighborhood coordinators who each have a route of neighbors and friends as their team of donors. Each donor fills a reusable grocery bag with healthy, nonperishable food six times a year. Neighborhood coordinators collect the bags from front doorsteps and drop them off for distribution to 16 local food pantries.
Getting involved takes minimal effort but makes a meaningful impact—especially as food pantries are being stretched beyond their limits.
- Sign up to be a food donor.
- Volunteer to be a neighborhood coordinator and collect donated food from your neighborhood donors.
- Get your organization or business involved as a regular donor or for a food drive.
- PFP turns cash donations into gift cards food pantries use to purchase needed food.
More about Portland Food Project:
- Food pantries are experiencing a surge in demand as thousands of Oregon residents have lost SNAP benefits this past year. With less federal support, food banks are heavily reliant on community donations, volunteers, and funds to purchase food in bulk. The Portland Food Project helps ease that burden.
(503) 775-2110
→ Advocate for Economic and Reproductive Justice
Opens in new windowFor All Families Oregon is a nonprofit organization that has spent the past 15 years fighting for policies that support and uplift women, mothers, caregivers, and families in Oregon. FAFO builds collective power and amplifies the voices of parents and caregivers while also passing policies for families to create more racial, gender and economic justice. The mission at For All Families Oregon is to combat the dominant white-supremacist, patriarchal, capitalist culture that is not designed to value or support caregivers and families. FAFO works hard in the community to support members in taking meaningful actions to change systems and provides opportunities for anyone who has a desire to make a change in the world of care. Mothers, parents, families, and caregivers who have a story to share are given access to support, training, and opportunities for leadership development.
More about For All Families Oregon:
- Its previous policy work and actions have won Oregonians statewide paid sick days, and the most inclusive and equitable paid family and medical leave program in the country.
- It also championed a historical increase to state funding for child care, universal preschool in Multnomah County, increased access to affordable child care, and policies that support pay equity, reproductive health, and a higher minimum wage.
- No matter where you are in your political journey, all are welcome to join the movement and make a positive impact for Oregon families.
3934 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Suite 204 | (503) 928-6789
→ Support Justice-System Impacted Youth and Families
Opens in new windowThe PATHfinder Club, a program of The Pathfinder Network, is an arts-based support club for teens impacted by incarceration, detention, and deportation. The PATH in PATHfinder stands for “Paving A Trail of Hope.” Through art, expression, and community, PATHfinder Club members pave a trail from hurt and harm to hope and healing. Each year, it publishes an anthology of poetry, stories, artwork, and photography created by club members. These anthologies are healing for families, relished by students from elementary school through college, used in prisons and detention centers as inspiration, and praised by librarians, educators, and literary journals. PATHfinder Club’s 11th anthology, A Secret Chord: Poetry, Stories & Art, will be published in May 2026. To start a PATHfinder Club in your community, contact The Pathfinder Network!
More about PATHfinder Club:
- You can preorder copies of A Secret Chord at outofthewoodspress.com/buy.
- There will be a book release and showcase with Portland club members at the Parkrose High School library on May 28 from 5 to 6:30 pm. This event is free to attend and will be livestreamed on The Pathfinder Network’s Facebook page.
(503) 892-5396
→ Do Your Part to Prevent Homelessness
Opens in new windowIn a city grappling with housing instability, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette is focused on the families most people don’t see—the ones one bad month away from losing everything. The Resilient Families Fund was built for them. Through rental and utility assistance, eviction prevention services, and targeted emergency support, the fund stops homelessness before it starts. Not with a waiting list. Not with red tape. With resources that meet families where they are. It’s part of how UWCW shows up for Portland every day—as a convenor, a catalyst, and a partner for communities that deserve stability, not just survival. A small investment can mean a family stays together, a child stays in school, a neighbor stays home.
619 SW 11th Ave. | (503) 228-9131 | unitedway-pdx.org/resilient
→ Show Up for Your Aging Neighbors
Opens in new windowFor over 55 years, Meals on Wheels People has been dedicated to enriching the lives of older adults in the greater Portland area. Every week, it provides more than 25,000 nutritious meals to aging neighbors, ensuring they have access to nourishment and social connection. Its work is about fostering independence, reducing isolation, and creating a more compassionate community. Thanks to its dedicated volunteers, every meal comes with a friendly visit or check-in, creating moments of human connection that matter. Sustainability is also at the heart of Meals on Wheels People’s work. Its soon-to-open Eastside Resource Center will serve as a resilience hub equipped with solar power, battery storage, and a large backup generator to keep meals flowing. It also works to reduce food waste and emphasize local, sustainable sourcing. Volunteering, donating, following and engaging on social media, or simply spreading the word helps ensure that older adults in the city are nourished and cared for.
More about Meals on Wheels People:
- Meals on Wheels People is one of the few programs in the nation that has never had a waiting list for home-delivered meals.
- Just two hours a week delivering meals or making Friendly Chat calls can brighten someone’s day and strengthen our community.
- You can also support its mission by dining at The Diner Vancouver, participating in events like Donate Dinner, or simply sharing its work with others.
7710 SW 31st Ave. | (503) 736-6325
→ Shop Local for Your Next Bicycle
Opens in new windowSplendid Cycles is celebrating its 16th year in business. With gratitude, it recognizes its fantastic customers, incredible staff, and wonderful community partners as part of its success. It is a regular supporter of many nonprofits both through its support of Give!Guide and through individual donations to organizations such as Street Books. Street Books is a mobile library and outreach project that creates space on our city streets for conversations about books and life. Splendid Cycles has been a proud supporter of Street Books for years, helping to provide great cargo bikes for librarians and raising community awareness of Street Books’ work.
More about Splendid Cycles:
- “We founded our business with our love for bicycles and people in mind. Helping individuals and families get on bikes is our priority, but being able to give back to the community through financial and in-kind support gives us even more purpose.” —Owners Barb and Joel Grover
- Join Splendid Cycles in celebrating 16 years on Sunday, May 31, from noon to 4 pm followed by an afterparty ride.
407 SE Ivon St. | (503) 954-2620 | splendidcycles.com
→ Help Preserve Indigenous Cultural Knowledge
Opens in new windowWisdom of the Elders, Inc. is a nonprofit dedicated to preserving and sharing Indigenous cultural knowledge through storytelling, film, radio, and education. Its multimedia Indigenous Archive Initiative preserves and shares the voices and teachings of Indigenous elders for future generations. With permission, it shares lifeways and histories to enhance understanding and appreciation. Its Wisdom Workforce Development LLC Environmental Conservation and Restoration program maintains approximately 30 contracted partnerships in the metro region, primarily with environmental companies and local nonprofits, parks, schools, and organizations. Wisdom of the Elders, Inc.’s ITEK internship also provides interns with hands-on training that connects them to culture, land, and community. The ITEK internship program centers Indigenous-led practices, plant stewardship, and seed saving.
3917 NE Shaver St. | (503) 775-4014
→ Foster Human-Animal Connections in the City
Since 1868, Oregon Humane has been one of the most respected animal welfare organizations in the United States with wide-ranging impact. Its mission is centered on transforming compassion into action, creating a world where all of us—animals and humans—feel safe, valued, and part of something bigger. Each year, Oregon Humane helps more than 12,000 families find connection through pet adoption, promotes well-being by providing more than $2 million in financial assistance for veterinary care, fosters knowledge through humane education visits to more than 300 classrooms, and advocates for justice by investigating close to 900 cases of animal abuse and neglect. Oregon Humane is an independent nonprofit organization that receives no government funding and is fueled entirely by donors.
1067 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland | 4246 Turner Rd. SE, Salem
→ Support The Shack at Sellwood Park
Opens in new windowAt the heart of Sellwood Park, The Shack comes alive each summer as a vibrant, welcoming hub for all ages. Powered by Sellwood Community House, it’s a gathering place where drop-in activities, creative programming, movement classes, and live music unfold daily. Kids find freedom to play, teens find purpose, and neighbors of all ages find each other. This kind of magic is made possible by the people who show up. Volunteers bring The Shack to life each day, helping host activities, welcome visitors, and create a space that feels inclusive and alive. Lend your time as a volunteer, make a financial gift, or leave a lasting mark with a custom engraved brick. Each act of support helps sustain The Shack as a space where community isn’t just talked about, it’s lived!
More about Sellwood Community House:
- Sellwood Community House has deep roots in the Sellwood-Moreland Community in both the nonprofit community center it runs, with programming for all ages.
- In 2026, SCH will join Preschool for All, adding 20 new seats to the program.
- Summer 2026 will also bring the reopening of Laurelhurst Studio, a community gathering space in Laurelhurst Park.
Southeast 7th Avenue & Miller Street
→ Collaborate to Create Environmental Change
SOLVE gives Portlanders a direct way to create visible environmental change close to home. Projects happen year-round and in every quadrant of the city, making it easy for volunteers to find a cause and a location that feels personal. Join a cleanup or restoration event, volunteer regularly, lead your own volunteer project with SOLVE’s support, tools, and supplies. Adopt a section of a river and help care for it year-round, or donate to help power community events and provide cleanup materials. Volunteering with SOLVE is about more than picking up trash. It’s about meeting neighbors, caring for shared spaces, and helping keep Portland green, welcoming, and connected.
More about SOLVE:
- SOLVE began as a grassroots initiative in 1969, growing into one of the region’s leading volunteer-driven environmental nonprofits that helps residents care for the city they love.
- Events are free and open to the community, with gloves, bags, tools, and volunteer support provided to make participation easy and accessible for everyone.
- Volunteer hours, event leadership, sponsorships, and financial gifts all help power hands-on environmental action that creates cleaner, healthier, and more livable communities.
1501 SW Jefferson St. | (503) 844-9571
→ Repurpose for a Better World
Opens in new windowThe ReBuilding Center is where Portland turns waste into opportunity. For nearly 30 years, it’s recirculated usable building materials, cabinets, lumber, doors, tools, keeping them out of the landfill and accessible to our community. But it doesn’t just move materials. The ReBuilding Center helps community members develop skills through hands-on classes teaching home repair, creative reuse, and generating pathways into the trades. What it does is climate action at the local level. Extending the life of materials reduces waste, lowers carbon, and proves circular solutions work. The ReBuilding Center is a hub for building, learning, and rethinking value. Shop. Donate. Learn. Volunteer. Keep it in motion.
3625 N Mississippi Ave. | (503) 331-1877
→ Invest in the Future of Birthwork
Opens in new windowCommunity Doula Alliance focuses on training the next generation of exceptional professional doulas. It also works to improve maternal and infant health outcomes and reclaim cultural practices by supporting families in their respective communities through birth and postpartum experiences. Donate to support the growing doula network in Portland. Donations directly fuel doula training, expand access to culturally specific care for families, support doulas in building sustainable, long-term careers, and improve maternal and infant health outcomes.
1820 SW Vermont St. A | (503) 334-0637
→ Help Transform the Lives of Portlanders
Opens in new windowYWCA of Greater Portland has been on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all in the Portland metro area since 1901. It helps survivors of domestic and sexual violence rebuild their lives, makes it possible for vulnerable seniors to age with dignity and incubates emerging community-led projects. Last year, it served more than 4,000 adults and children, helped 652 survivors create safety plans and access resources, assisted 503 seniors in aging in place, provided 626 trauma-focused therapy sessions, certified 60 new Domestic and Sexual Violence Advocates, partnered with 19 grassroots projects to help them build capacity and raise funds, and distributed more than $1.5 million in direct assistance.
More about YWCA of Greater Portland:
- 2026 marks YWCA of Greater Portland’s 125th year of transforming lives in the Portland area and it is still showing up for the women, families, and communities who need it most.
600 NE 8th St., Gresham | development@ywcapdx.org

