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Community Partnership Program

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Three images: 1) kid running with a tennis racket, 2) group of teens piling on top of each other in grass, 3) teens smiling and wearing "I heart PDX Parks" shirts.
Portland Parks & Recreation’s (PP&R) Community Partnership Program expands PP&R’s capacity to reach underserved communities.
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Community Partnership Program Overview

Made possible through the Parks Local Option Levy, the Community Partnership Program (CPP) is helping Portland Parks & Recreation deliver on Levy Commitments to strengthen community partnerships and to prioritize services for communities of color and households experiencing poverty. The CPP was designed to create a network of support through grant funding, service contracts, in-kind space use support, and a network of strong connections across partner organizations. These growing partnerships mean that PP&R is better able to serve priority communities, and we are also increasing collaboration beyond PP&R to best serve the Portland community.

New Space Grant Partnership Opportunity

PP&R will provide free or discounted space use between September 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 to individuals, groups, clubs, and organizations providing free and accessible programming in alignment with Parks Levy Goals. Applications for these space grants will be accepted through June 28, 2025.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and must be submitted by June 28, 11:59 pm. 

Apply Here

New Service Contract Opportunities

Urban Forestry Yard Tree Giveaway Contract Partnerships

PP&R is reviewing applications from organizations that can advance Urban Forestry's effort to plant 4,000 trees on private property in Portland this year. There will be two options for contract partnerships with Urban Forestry this year, including Promotion Partners and Registration Ambassadors.    

Applications were due April 18, 2025

Recreation Outreach and Collaboration Contract Partnerships

PP&R is reviewing applications from organizations interested in Outreach and Collaboration Contract Partnerships with Recreation Services. Recreation contract partners attend quarterly meetings to learn how to access PP&R services and help new users learn to set up accounts with PP&R, sign up for the Access Pass discount program, purchase passes and register for activities. Partners also share PP&R employment and volunteer opportunities with community. 

Applications were due March 31, 2025. 

Connect with us and sign up to receive CPP notifications

Visit Project Connect | Portland.gov  to find more ways to connect with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) and to join the Recreation Services Community Network if you would like to receive information, including notifications when new CPP opportunities are posted. 

Community Partnership Program Opportunities are made possible through the Parks Local Option Levy. 

Current Grant Partners 

Community Partnership Program (CPP) and Teen Collaborative Initiative (TCI) grants strive to expand PP&R’s capacity to reach underserved communities and center equity. Shared goals of our grant partnerships include:

  • Increase the capacity of youth/teen service organizations to engage and center underserved youth and teens in a broad range of recreational activities (arts & culture, sports, aquatics) and greening activities (tree planting, environmental education, natural areas stewardship, community gardens).
  • Strengthen PP&R’s network of partnerships with youth/teen service organizations that bring knowledge, expertise, resources, and a focused approach to serving culturally specific communities.
  • Build and strengthen partnerships with youth service organizations that can support the recruitment and sustainment of teens and adults for employment at Portland Parks & Recreation.  

Teen Collaborative Initiative

  • Elevate Oregon will serve primarily students of color in grades 3-12 with culturally specific in-school and out-of-school programming, job skills training, college and career development, and employment support for City of Portland jobs. Programming includes advocating for students, school-based interventions, participation in Student Assistance Teams, and a character-building focus.
  • Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) will provide culturally-specific and responsive recreation and enrichment group activities. Immigrant and refugee youth impacted by community violence and trauma will receive employment and life-skills, employment placement, mentorship, and skill building workshops.
  • Latino Network will host Teen Nights, providing a variety of programming throughout the year to youth to provide constructive energy outlets and opportunities to develop a positive cultural identity. Teen Nights include activities such as sports, movie nights, dance, arts, outdoor activities, and will now also deliver stand-alone lesson plans from the Cultura Cura series.
  • Native American Youth and Family Center will continue to build and grow programming for Urban Native youth to access safe and culturally specific activities afterschool, on weekends, and on spring and summer break. Activities include sports, fitness, Indigenous somatic practices, gardening, and Indigenous knowledge.
  • New Avenues for Youth will provide community education, facilitate access for LGBTQIA2S+ youth to safe spaces, create monthly activities for youth, and connect youth to PP&R opportunities. These culturally specific, inclusive programming opportunities aim to help LGBTQIA2S+ youth feel safe, supported, and affirmed.
  • Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. and Rosemary Anderson High School’s (POIC+RAHS) Afterschool Program will integrate elements of the school-day curriculum and POIC+RAHS’ employment and training services via workshops, clubs, and for-credit courses that are engaging and help broaden youths’ outlook on – and investment in – the community. Programming will also be available to youth receiving services through other POIC+RAHS programs, specifically those between the age of 14 and 20 enrolled in Work Opportunities Training programs and the Community Healing Initiative.  
  • Self Enhancement, Inc. will expand year-round programming for teens and youth, primarily serving underserved African American/black middle and high school students, youth from North and Northeast Portland schools, and youth in outer East Portland areas isolated from traditional cultural support systems and resources. Programming will provide youth with supportive mentors, safe spaces for exploring interests through fun and engaging enrichment and extended-learning activities, job skills training and employment support, and a wide range of opportunities to build meaningful relationships with peers and adults.
  • The Blueprint Foundation will expand on their workforce development program engaging Black youth in culturally specific experiences that introduce them to, and prepare them for, family sustaining careers in the green sector. Students will complete watershed enhancement projects, including environmental monitoring and restoration, stormwater mitigation, and home weatherization.

Community Partnership Program - Arts and Culture Focus

  • Friends of Noise, in partnership with Young Audiences of Oregon and SW Washington, will host their LiveSET (Live Sound Engineering for Teens) program to provide technical and artistic training in music engineering for underserved youth, including paid on-the-job training as sound engineers. LiveSET will provide 25 hours of hands-on classes taught by real-world professionals, where participants learn about the craft and science of mediating music.
  • Dance United will provide underserved, immigrant and BIPOC teenagers with the opportunity to explore the intersection of art and sciences by attending Dance Your Science, where teens will learn about the basic concepts of green chemistry and sustainable design and then express these concepts through a dance. This initiative will provide a platform for expressing and integrating science and culture through dance and show that science is fun.
  • BRAVO Youth Orchestras will launch three new introductory music pilot programs at three separate school hubs – Faubion School, Boise-Eliot Elementary School, and Woodlawn Elementary School – in partnership with SUN Community Schools. Classes will teach choir, percussion and drumline, and dance to explore different genres of music, goal-oriented team building, and community-building.
  • Vanport Mosaic will collaborate with Master Artist Michael Bernard Stevenson Jr. to provide “memory activism” programming to underserved teens and young adults, offering weekend workshops to meet with community elders, activists, artists, and historians. Youth will record memories and create multi-media interpretations and exhibits focused on histories of parks and places in North and Northeast Portland.

Community Partnership Program - Greening Focus

  • Friends of Gateway Green will work with Friends of Trees and Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, Inc. to involve youth of color in natural area enhancement cohorts at Gateway Green. Partnerships will provide environmental stewardship capacity, provide pathways to green career opportunities, showcase multi-organizational partnership, and improve the ecological health of Gateway Green.
  • People of Color Outdoors will expand their Guardians education program by serving more families than before, at Columbia Cottage in Columbia Park. BIPOC students and a parent will engage together to learn about the environment and wildlife through daily lessons, visits to natural areas in Portland, learning activities, and guest speakers during the summer, winter break and spring break.
  • ROSE Community Development will facilitate summer internships as part of the Lents Youth Initiative, through the Youth Empowerment Series, to involve BIPOC and low-income youth and introduce environmental field careers. Youth will be exposed to topics of environmental justice, social justice, leadership skills and get to build community with other youth participants and will apply to paid summer internships with partner organizations. 

Community Partnership Program - Sports Focus

  • Friends of Baseball will strengthen and expand the Full Count RBI program, providing after school and summer enrichment to low-income youth and BIPOC communities. In addition, increase engagement through academic support, socio-emotional skill building, and healthy recreation programs for ages 13-18.
  • Girls on the Run Greater Oregon will host ten teams in eight Portland parks for girls of all abilities to recognize their individual strengths while building a sense of connection in a team setting. Each team will have diverse coaches and junior coaches who will serve as leaders and role models and facilitate lessons that blend physical activity with life skill development.
  • Kids N’ Tennis, Inc. will expand its programming at Irving Park and the Portland Tennis Center and develop new tennis partners in communities throughout the Portland Metropolitan area.

Community Partnership Program - Workforce Development Focus

  • Home Forward will facilitate the K’Ching Youth Program, a work experience initiative combined with leadership development and community engagement for low-income, multi-cultural youth ages 12 to 17. Youth will be placed as stipend volunteers at a collaborative of non-profits and public organizations in the New Columbia community in North Portland’s Portsmouth neighborhood.

Current Service Contract Partnerships

Service contract partnerships fill service gaps and provide key supports to the community. A contract partnership is not a grant. The service provided is directed by PP&R. Under a service contract partnership, PP&R focus area teams identify the need for the service and pay the individual or partner organization to provide the service.  

Soccer Contracts:

Soccer camp contracts are focused on underserved and underrepresented youth in Portland, at no cost to participants in partnership with PP&R’s Sports Program.

  • North Portland Soccer Club will offer a free soccer camp in June 2025 for girls aged 11 – 14 from North Portland. The camp will employ college students from the North Portland area, and daily workshops will highlight women who have made historical marks in the sports world.
  • Portland Community Football Club will offer free soccer programming from March – June 2025 in the Roseway neighborhood of NE Portland. 

Teen Services Contracts:

Service contracts for the TeenForce Program provide out of school time programs in Community Centers at no cost to participants. 

  • Rose City Rollers will provide free pop-up roller skating jam sessions, scheduled in conjunction with TeenForce teen nights.
  • LoveSome Hair Care will facilitate hair braiding workshops for youth in the Portland Parks & Recreation TeenForce program through the school year.

Land Stewardship Contracts:

  • Lents Springwater Habitat Restoration Project will engage underserved students and youth from local elementary schools in restoration activities in the Johnson Creek Watershed. Students will participate in plantings in the fall and spring, receive workshops from the Bureau of Environmental Services, and perform independent water quality monitoring.

Urban Forestry Contracts

Urban Forestry Outreach Contract partnerships promote and help people register for free trees available through PP&R Urban Forestry’s Yard Tree Giveaway program.

This opportunity is made possible through the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) Equitable Tree Canopy Program, and partners include: 

Recreation Outreach and Collaboration Contracts 

Recreation outreach and collaboration contract partners attend quarterly meetings to learn how to access PP&R services and help new users learn to set up accounts with PP&R, sign up for the Access Pass discount program, purchase passes and register for activities. Partners also share PP&R employment and volunteer opportunities with community. Partners include:

Current Space Grant Partnerships

Space grant partners provide service to the community in a PP&R park, community center, or art center. The fee for the space use is waived or reduced. Programming is free and is supported by PP&R because it fills a service gap and meets an identified community need. Space grant partners include:

Contact

Community Partnership team

Parks.CPP@PortlandOregon.gov
phone number503-823-2525

Related

Portland Parks & Recreation Friends Groups
Parks Local Option Levy
TeenForce Pass

Topics

Parks, recreation, and activities

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