Impact Northwest History

Impact Northwest was founded in 1966 as Portland Action Communities Together, Inc. (PACT). Four neighborhoods came together and created the agency to combat poverty and deteriorating conditions in Southeast Portland. Early projects included a welfare rights project, employment programs, family counseling, food buying clubs and a tool lending library. The agency later was a key player in the development of the community’s first Senior Center, Youth Service Center, and the first free health clinic for the poor.

Changing its name to Portland Impact in the 1980s, the agency established services for the homeless and for ethnic minorities. Recent milestones include the addition of Richmond Place, a residential housing program for homeless families, and the Mentoring to Achieve Potential (MAP) program, a partnership between Portland Impact and Portland schools that provides an effective way to support young people experiencing the effects of poverty. In early 2004, the agency was proud to announce the expansion of family and youth services to Northeast Portland and the expansion of services for seniors, adults with disabilities, and Russian and Eastern European families throughout all of Multnomah County.

We changed our name again, in 2009 to Impact Northwest, acknowledging our service area’s expansion into Clark County, WA. Currently, our Clark County services include academically enriching after school programming and connection to social services in the Evergreen School District, as well as financial management and stewardship services for seniors.