Oregon Public House Raises $161,000 for Local Nonprofits

Portland, OR. The country’s first nonprofit brew house will be serving up some craft beer during the Super Bowl. Since 2013, Oregon Public House, at 700 NE Dekum St., has raised over $161,000 for local nonprofits by selling beer and pub food. When customers purchase their food and/or beverage they decide which charity will benefit. Some select Aletruism beer made by Andy Furgeson. He describes the brew as, “The Red Yarn NW Style. Red Ale is woody, spicy, piney and citrusy.”

Volunteers from the nonprofits that benefit, like Wayfinding Academy, wait tables.

With over 2,000 square feet in a 100+ year old building, the Oregon Public House is an open family-friendly space.

Here’s a video explaining the Oregon Public House slogan “Have a Pint – Change the World!”

Here’s a list of the current charity partners:

Portland NET
Portland Neighborhood Emergency Team (NET) recruits, trains, and manages local disaster response volunteers. Teams are made up of residents trained by the Bureau of Emergency Management and Portland Fire & Rescue to provide disaster assistance within their own neighborhoods. Members receive basic training in saving lives and helping their neighbors in an emergency. NET is committed to creating a team in each of the city’s 95 neighborhoods.

Welcome Home Coalition
The Welcome Home Coalition envisions a future where everyone has a safe, stable, affordable home. WHC is made up of a diverse group of organizations, businesses and community members in the Portland metropolitan region. Through coalition building, policy research and strategy, leadership development, and grassroots organizing, they work to address the ever-growing housing crisis and find funding for affordable housing.

Self Enhancement Inc.
Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI) is dedicated to guiding underserved youth and families to realize their full potential through providing learning opportunities in the areas of academics, health and wellness, and performing arts. SEI works with schools, families, and community organizations to provide guidance for how to achieve personal and academic success. SEI brings hope to young individuals and enhances the quality of community life.

Joy of Living Assistance Dogs
The Joys of Living Assistance Dogs (JLAD) is dedicated to the raising and training of service dogs. Their mission is to provide skilled, devoted companions to support and assist people living with disabilities, including veterans with PTSD. Through the placement of professionally trained service dogs, JLAD works to create cohesive teams focused on building lives of greater freedom and independence.

ReFIT
Remodeling For Independence Together (ReFIT) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping people struggling with illness, injury, disability or the aging process to live independent lives at home. By providing essential modification services such as access ramps, bathroom modifications, widening doorways and installing grab bars, they help homeowners who want to stay in their homes but lack the resources to make necessary changes.

ReClaim It!
ReClaim It! is a nonprofit arts and reuse retail store that salvages materials from the “dump” (Metro Transfer Station) for artists, neighbors, and DIYers to reuse, repair, and reimagine. Since its founding in 2014, ReClaim It! volunteers have gleaned more than 300,000 pounds of reusable materials. Their vision is to reduce the number of items that end their journey at the landfill.

Oregon Public House has an OPEN APPLICATION period twice a year. Follow the organization on Facebook for updates on the next open application season. You’ll also see food and drink specials.

The Oregon Public house has been featured on over a dozen broadcast programs, including The Colbert Report.

And it was featured in the New York Times.

Oregon Public House President, Ryan Saari says, “Portland, Oregon is the craft brewing capital of America and supports an extensive, thriving pub culture. Portland also hosts more non-profit organizations per capita then any other city in America. Our vision is to leverage these two unique attributes by creating a family-friendly pub environment for our neighbors.”

The Oregon Public House is a place where people can learn more about non-profit organizations and discover practical ways they can become involved.

From Oregon Public House:

Right now, the best way to be involved is by becoming a Featured “Charity of the Day”. This allows you to be the ONLY charity benefitting from single night sales. If you’d like more info on how this works, please contact molly@oregonpublichouse.com and we can chat.
New Charities “apply” by holding one of these events and we get a chance to work together. For more info, email us or click here.
If you would like, please follow us on Facebook and or Twitter as we will be letting people know when we will be opening up our application process.

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.