We’re back in Willamette Week’s Give!Guide for a 5th year! Give!Guide features 170+ nonprofits based in Portland that are handpicked for their impact on Portland communities. Our goal is to raise $15,000 through Give!Guide while celebrating and lifting up the young people who do the work of leading Oregon forward.

Here are 5 reasons to support us in Give!Guide – starting with the most immediate rewards of giving!

In addition to prizes and rewards through Give!Guide, your donation to Next Up enters you to win one of these prizes, made possible by generous local businesses!

• games and puzzles from Cloud Cap Games
• a free complete tune-up or roadside repair kit from Clever Cycles
• incense sampler pack – Clary Sage Herbarium
• two certificates for up to 4 people for a Tour and Whiskey Tasting Flight at Westward Whiskey SE Portland Distillery
• tote bags, a t-shirt, a bandana and some magnets and a gift card to Dove Vivi Pizza

Donations of any size will get you 20% off accessories, up to $20, at Clever Cycles.

Plus:

• On November 30 (Giving Tuesday and also a Big Give Day), ¿Por Qué No? Taqueria will match up to $1,500! 
• If we meet our $15,000 goal, the full amount will be matched by our national body, the Alliance for Youth Action!

We work with 60+ young people each month to support youth organizing centered on the intersections of youth, racial, social and economic justice, while expanding our cohorts to communities beyond the Portland metro area. We create unique plans for each of our core volunteers to increase their involvement, amplify their leadership, and ensure that we are building lifelong relationships.

“Next Up is an organization focused on increasing youth participation in democracy and making Oregon more equitable and accessible for all people. Because of Next Up, I have been able to get involved in politics, register other young people to vote, and use my voice to advocate for the issues I believe in.” 

Amira tripp folsoM, Class of 2020, former Next Up board member

In 2021, we connected young people with the importance of school boards and local elections through events, communication, and education. This will continue and expand in 2022 as we get out the youth vote in the midterm elections.  

We welcomed our new Executive Director, Elona J Wilson, this year! We also are in process on some important internal changes to bring us more in line with our values:

• implemented a pay equity plan for all staff
• implemented a plan to compensate youth leaders for their time
• shifted board leadership towards more high school youth
• are in process of hiring for a new staff position to organize young people in Clackamas County
• began a first implementation of Participatory Budgeting. Participatory budgeting is a democratic process in which community members decide how to spend part of a budget. It gives people real power over real money. This helps ensure that Next Up’s budget priorities will better reflect our communities served, not just for a singular year, but every year following that.

Like before, we are 100% for and led by young people ages 35 and under.

In 2021, we continued to push democracy forward and make sure that Oregon continues to be a leader in equitable and just elections. We supported youth engagement around redistricting and tracked the Portland and Multnomah County Charter review processes in collaboration with partners. We also championed racial, gender, and economic justice as part of the Fair Shot Coalition, amplifying our partners’ calls for action and priorities, and engaging at the local level throughout the metro region.

Next Up is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and your contribution is tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. All donations through Give!Guide go to support Next Up and are likewise tax deductible. However, if you would like to support the full range of our advocacy work, please donate to Next Up Action Fund, our 501c4 branch.