1803 Fund announces first community partners, investing $8 million to strengthen Black Portland
Rukaiyah Adams (center) and others from the 1803 community meet at the Fund's office in Northeast Portland. Photo by Juma Sei.
PORTLAND, Ore. – 1803 Fund is announcing more than $8 million in funding to 11 organizations.
“These grants make real a vision that started in 2020,” says 1803 Fund CEO Rukaiyah Adams; she wrote the Fund’s original business concept after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis.
“I remember thinking that I wanted to use the skills I had developed over 20 years as a professional to do something transformative,” she continues. That commitment to transformation has now materialized as millions of dollars invested in her community.
Kenneth Berry is the Board President of Albina Music Trust (AMT), a new 1803 Fund partner. AMT documents the legacy of Albina’s music community through archival media preservation, events, a record label and other programs that amplify the soul of Portland.
“What we’re doing is basically preserving tradition, history, and life,” says Berry. “A lot of people are passing on who have contributed to Albina and we’re trying to document as much as we can.”
“It feels more like a family than a funder. Just the method of how [1803 Fund is] doing the work–it’s heartwarming, truthfully. And with such dignity, and promise.”
According to Calvin Walker–AMT’s Board Chair–the grant from our Fund allows AMT to do more of that work. He’s especially encouraged by the relationship we’ve built already.
“It feels more like a family than a funder,” Walker says. “Just the method of how [1803 Fund is] doing the work–it’s heartwarming, truthfully. And with such dignity, and promise.”
Dana Shephard—the Executive Director of Portland Housing Center (PHC), another community partner—feels similarly connected to the team and mission at 1803 Fund. PHC helps make homeownership a reality for folks through home buyer education, one-on-one mentorship, down payment assistance and more.
“Making sure that people have access to homeownership in the heart of Northeast Portland is what is critical and important to me,” she says. “I am thinking about the folks that have lost properties in this particular neighborhood... and the wealth that could have been created for our family.”
Shephard says that she’s particularly interested in supporting women and mothers in her work–that’s part of why she’s excited to partner with 1803 Fund.
“As a Portlander–as someone who cares very deeply about the community,” she continues. “There’s no way that I can ever remove myself from what 1803 is doing.”
For Rukaiyah Adams, it’s essential that the rest of 1803 Fund’s “For the Future” partners feel the same.
Place Partners
Albina Vision Trust
Portland Housing Center
Taking Ownership PDX
Williams & Russell CDC
Culture Partners
Albina Music Trust
Friends of Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center
Micro Enterprise Services of Oregon
Oregon Black Pioneers
Portland Art Museum
PRISMID Sanctuary
World Stage Theatre
“For so long, important work has been done on a shoestring by brilliant people,” says Adams. “We’re always asking outsiders to help us. But in this case, we’re able to help each other.”
Adams is a fourth-generation Portlander; some of these organizations have been in her life since she was a child. As she considers the importance of this announcement, she weighs her position leading one of the largest Black investment funds in the world.
“As a woman, it’s one thing to be perceived as powerful–it’s a whole other thing to use that power,” she says. “For a Black woman, to use it for your own community is so subversive it’s on the edge of imagination.”
Ultimately, For the Future is an early step toward 1803 Fund’s larger aim: using capital to grow wealthy, powerful Black life.
“It’s important that the first conversations about the future of capitalism happen in our own community,” says Adams. “Capital should serve the people.”
1803 FUND OVERVIEW
General
1803 Fund will grow and strengthen Black life in Portland by investing in Place, Culture and Education. Our work begins with Albina, grounding Black folks’ pride and permanence in the historic heart of our community. We invest in and for our people, seeking both social and financial return. Broadly, we see our work as “place-making,” through investment.
For more context, watch this video from 1803 Fund communications lead Juma Sei.
Grants
There are three 1803 Fund grant programs:
For the Culture | An open-call sponsorship to support fellowship in our community.
For the Joy | A grant to support organizations creating places, experiences, and opportunities for Black joy. We plan to work alongside community members to determine partner organizations.
For the Future | A collaboration-minded grant, where partners join cohorts to extend their access to shared ideas and opportunities, for up to five years. Cohorts are based on our partners’ alignment with the following program areas:
Place - Investments that create and preserve homes, structures and infrastructure.
Culture - Investments that celebrate and enrich Portland’s vibrant Black culture.
1803 Fund Brand Assets
If you’d like a headshot of Rukaiyah Adams, 1803 logos, or general photos to pair with your content, we’ve compiled this folder with those brand assets.