KIDS BRING US TOGETHER MAF Supports Youth Through Collaboration and Community By Laurie Harquail
I
n the last few years, important shifts in philanthropy have occurred. Redistribution of wealth and resources in a traditional top-down way is evolving into a more equitable and collaborative approach. People involved in nonprofits are no longer just collaborating peer-to-peer but directly with the members of the communities they serve.
The grant-making approach at the foundation brings together nonprofits that take a collaborative and community-based approach to creating possibilities for youth. MAF partners with three such organizations: Greater Than, Portland Tennis and Education (PT&E), and Portland Community Football Club (PCFC), all of whose leadership has first-hand knowledge of and actively connects with the communities they serve. Each one has a committed executive director who is listening with open ears and an open heart, constantly learning, and adapting their approach and programs to serve kids and their families in the best way possible.
How these bigger shifts play out in local nonprofits is important because that is where the real change happens — change that affects kids, their quality of life, and their access to opportunities. The Multnomah Athletic Foundation (MAF) is committed to these shifts and to creating an accessible and inclusive space where donors, volunteers, and friends of the foundation exchange ideas and forge relationships that help these important changes gain traction.
Greater Than
The way the work gets done is also shifting: The older model, which relies on charitable organizations to provide quick solutions to problems, is being replaced with a model where nonprofits engage in sustained and long-term involvement in the community.
Working in tandem with local nonprofits, MAF focuses on creating positive change that serves youth.
Talented, motivated, and enthusiastic kids from under-represented and under-resourced communities challenge the foundation to create new possibilities through academics and athletic participation — and the foundation is grateful for the opportunity.
18 | The Wınged M |
DECEMBER 2022
Mark Langseth, President & CEO
“As a society, we can’t afford to have students not reach their potential.” Greater Than addresses inequities in the educational system. The nonprofit supports students who begin their academic journeys at two elementary schools in historically underserved communities: Alder Elementary School in Rockwood and Lincoln Elementary School in downtown Hillsboro.
The organization serves over 1,000 children each year, applying a “whole child” model that supports students and families through a combination of programs, resources, and partnerships from pre-K to college and career.