Your Support Builds Hope and Homes
Every donation helps WeShine create safe, welcoming micro-villages where Portland’s unhoused adults can heal, rebuild confidence, and transition to permanent housing. Together, we’re turning compassion into lasting community change.
Willamette Week’s Give!Guide Update
With deep gratitude, we’re excited to share that our Willamette Week Give!Guide campaign was a huge success—and we exceeded our fundraising goal! This milestone belongs to our whole community: the donors who gave so generously, the volunteers who showed up, our dedicated staff, supportive Board members, and the community partners who stood alongside us. Because of you, we can continue building safety, stability, and supportive pathways forward for our neighbors. Thank you for believing in this work and making it possible!
Together, We Shine
Mission
WeShine designs, builds, and operates neighborhood-based micro villages that provide safe, transitional shelter with wrap-around services for Portland’s underserved, unsheltered adults as they prepare to become successful tenants in permanent, affordable housing.
WeShine stands for Welcoming, Empowering, Safe Habitation Initiative with Neighborhood Engagement.
Our vision is to create a network of micro villages based on this model, and provide vulnerable adults with a path to permanent housing.
Bottom Line for Portland
Our model is rooted in the value of community, which restores self-esteem and heals the trauma that results from life on the streets. Guests experience peer support and are connected with services. This supportive service model leads to success that is nearly impossible when living outside.
Quote
“I don’t even really feel like we are in a shelter anymore. I feel like more of a community. I did not know how important that was until I saw the other side of it”. N (WeShine Villager)
“I don’t even really feel like we are in a shelter anymore. I feel like more of a community. I did not know how important that was until I saw the other side of it”. N (WeShine Villager)
Support WeShine!
Just because the giving season is over doesn’t mean the giving has to end. Your support year-round helps keep our work moving—welcoming new neighbors, meeting urgent needs, and building pathways to long-term stability. If you’re able, please consider making a gift today or becoming a monthly donor so we can continue this work together.
How to Give:
01
Make a One-Time Gift That Changes Lives
Today, we invite you to make a donation and become a part of this transformative story. Together, we can overcome the systemic barriers to housing that limit our community’s potential.
02
Become a Sustaining Donor
Recurring gifts provide reliable funding that helps WeShine grow, maintain, and improve the micro-village communities we serve.
03
Mail a Check to Support Our Micro-Villages
If mailing your gift feels most comfortable, your contribution will still make a powerful difference in supporting WeShine’s mission.
WeShine Anthem 2025
How much would you like to donate today?
Donations
You can make a difference
At WeShine, we believe that everyone in our community deserves access to a place to call home and the opportunity to write their own unique and powerful story.
Today, we invite you to make a donation and become a part of this transformative story. Together, we can overcome the systemic barriers to housing that limit our community’s potential.
There are many ways to support WeShine:
- Make a one-time donation
- Mail a check
- Become a Monthly Sustainer
- Through a Donor Advised Fund (DAF)
- Contribute from an IRA (Required Minimum Distribution)
Please make your check payable to WeShine Initiative Inc. and mail it to:
3539 NE Sandy Blvd #525,
Portland, OR 97232
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes. WeShine is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all donations made through our website or through Give!Guide are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law. After donating, you’ll receive an emailed receipt you can use for your tax records.
How do I know my donation is being used responsibly?
WeShine is committed to transparency and responsible stewardship of every dollar. Donations directly support micro-village operations, resident services, basic needs, and essential supplies. We regularly share updates, financial reporting, and impact summaries so you can clearly see the difference your gift is making.
Is it safe to donate online?
Yes. Our donation platforms, including Give!Guide, use secure, encrypted payment processing to protect your personal and financial information.
Can I donate by check instead of online?
Absolutely. Many supporters prefer to give by mail, and WeShine welcomes check donations. Mailing a check is a secure option, and it ensures your full contribution goes directly to supporting our micro-villages. Instructions for mailing a check are provided in the “Donations” section.
Did you know the celebrated photographer, Carrie Mae Weems, was born here in Portland Oregon?
Through powerful images and storytelling, Weems has spent decades challenging how history, identity, race, and family are seen and remembered. Her work asks us not just to look, but to *reflect* — on who is centered, who is missing, and who gets to tell the story.
From Portland to museums around the world, her legacy reminds us that art can confront injustice, preserve memory, and imagine something better.
Photo credit goes to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
#BlackHistoryMonth #carriemaeweems #portlandroots #kitchentableseries #macarthurfoundation
Happy Valentine’s Day from Avalon Village! Avalon Village is located in the lovely #hosfordabernethy neighborhood in SE Portland! It’s surrounded by supportive neighbors and businesses including a preschool! At WeShine, we believe our unhoused neighbors deserve all the same things housed folks do: community, safety, love, celebrations, plants, garden beds, opportunities and ways to be creative!
#valentinesday #portlandoregon #unhousedneighbors #microvillageshelters
This week we are bringing your attention to Judge Roosevelt Robinson (1941–2004) — a trailblazer in Oregon’s legal community and a champion for justice in Multnomah County.
A graduate of The Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College, Judge Robinson dedicated his career to public service, serving with integrity and compassion on the Multnomah County bench. His leadership helped pave the way for greater equity and representation within Oregon’s legal system.
Today, his legacy lives on through the Roosevelt Robinson Scholarship at Lewis & Clark Law School, which supports students from diverse backgrounds pursuing careers in law. His life reminds us that representation matters — and that one person’s commitment to justice can open doors for generations to come.
#Legacy #Justice #PortlandOregon #LewisAndClarkLaw #RepresentationMatters
Come visit with WeShine staff and learn more about our micro-villages, our mission and ways to get involved! We are on the look out for new board members! Even if you aren’t interested In volunteering it will be an engaging conversation about how to support our unhoused neighbors!
You will also have a chance to view the stunning exhibit at Stelo Arts @steloarts about homelessness in Portland, @dearportlandexhibit by the amazing folks at @humansforhousingorg
RSVP at link in bio!
#homelessnessawareness #humansforhousing #weshinepdx #microvillageshelters #pdx
This week’s Black Oregonian History Makers feature: Margaret Louise Carter.
In 1984, she became the first Black woman elected to Oregon’s Legislature. In 2005, she became the first African American to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Oregon State Senate.
Her legacy is also being honored in a very Portland way: M Carter Commons, a new affordable housing community in Overlook with 62 affordable, accessible homes for residents 55+.
Her name is also on the stunning Technology Building at Portland Community College! Have you seen her name around? Or maybe you have seen her out and about in the neighborhood in Northeast Portland?
✨ Who should we feature next? Drop a Black Portland history-maker in the comments.
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
#BlackHistoryMonth #oregonblackhistorymonth #margaretcarter #housingpolicy #weshinepdx
Why “Microvillages” you ask? The concept of “microvillages” is essential to WeShine’s specific model and mission! We want to change the narrative on what a homeless shelter can and should be: small, low staff/participant ratio, close in neighborhoods with great neighbors, businesses, jobs, resources and public transportation! WeShine stands for: Welcoming, Empowering, Safe, Habitation, Initiative with Neighborhood Engagement! ❤️🏡🚏🚐🌲🌲🌳
#unhousedneighbors #weshinepdx #microvillages #alternativeshelters #solvinghomelessness
Staff, board and our amazing PR consultant @bridget_jackson at @nexuspr_official celebrated the 2025 @giveguide last week with other great nonprofits! We love being able to participate in the Willamette Week Give!Guide! Looking forward to November!
#pdx #fundraising #weshinepdx #microvillages #solvinghomelessness
We are overjoyed to help spread the word about this amazing exhibition at @steloarts by our friends at @humansforhousingorg Please come join us at the grand opening of @dearportlandexhibit on February 7th from 11-3! There will be donuts, music, coffee and more! There is a link to RSVP in our bio!
#homelessnessinpdx #unhousedneighbors #humansforhousing #portlandoregon #weshinepdx
Newsletter
Subscribe to our quarterly newsletter, The Village View. Read the latest edition below, and sign up here to get the next one in your inbox. The Village View highlights recent happenings in our current villages, exciting announcements, articles by staff on homelessness issues in our region, engaging stories about the folks we serve and more. Sign up today!
Let’s Connect
Mailing address
WeShine
3539 NE Sandy Blvd #525,
Portland, OR 97232