Ecotrust - Measuring our impact

Impact & Accountability

Measuring our impact

Six snapshots of our impact

Across our region, we focus on impact at the intersection of equity, economy, and the environment toward transformative change. Together with a wide network of hundreds of partners–including nonprofits, businesses, tribes, agencies, philanthropic organizations, and individuals–we’re expanding our impact through collective action.

Our process for identifying the best indicators to demonstrate our impact has been ongoing. Read more below about efforts to evolve our measurement practices to include principles of Equitable Evaluation, and more meaningful indicators of equity, justice, resilience, and well-being.

600 +

funding and project partners committed to radical, practical change.

Ecotrust staff Lily Abood and Christopher Rachal greet each other with a hug, surrounded by volunteers at Thimbleberry Collaborative Farm. Photo credit: Jason Hill

Our partners

Our work is only possible due to the support and collaboration of a wide network of partners. Across our work, partnership is at the center of what we do. In 2023, we were joined by:

450+ funding partners, including
- 117 sustainers
- 278 individual funding partners (excluding sustainers)
- 59 organizational funding partners
180+ project partners

number of recipients that have received free event space since the Ecotrust Events Community Grant program began in 2014

A recipient of a Community Grant, the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon held their fundraiser at the Billy Frank Jr. Conference Center. Photo credit: Michelle Bush

2023 Community Grant Awardees

Since 2014, Ecotrust Events has offered event space, free of cost, to nonprofits with limited means and that center communities of color. In 2023, the Community Grant program awarded a total value of $32,000 in event space to the following nonprofits:

VertueLab
Portland Jobs with Justice Education Fund
Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment
The Pathfinder Network
All Good Northwest
Community Services Network
Transition Projects
Portland Fruit Tree Project
350 PDX
Equitable Giving Circle

80 +

Indigenous Leadership Awards distributed since 2001.

Pictured 2023 awardees are (from left to right) Marina Anderson, Alyssa Macy, Louise Brady, Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, and Gabe Sheoships. 2023 awardees who are not pictured are Frances Charles, Corine Pearce, and the CTUIR Youth Leadership Council. Photo credit: Jason Hill

What is the Indigenous Leadership Awards?

The Indigenous Leadership Awards is a celebration of the determination, wisdom, and continuum of Indigenous leadership across the region. For 15 years, Ecotrust has been proud to honor Indigenous leaders from across the region at in-person celebrations hosted in Portland, and provide them with unrestricted cash awards–many of which are reinvested in their communities.

In October 2023, seven inspiring leaders and the first youth group to be recognized with the award were each granted $12,500 and honored at the Redd on Salmon Street among a gathering of 300+ friends, family, colleagues, and supporters in. As a lead up to the Awards we host a series of free, online educational events called the Indigenous Leadership Briefings. More than 1,000 people registered to hear from Indigenous leaders on topics related to the survival and resilience of tribal peoples.

$ 130 M

amount of New Markets Tax Credit allocations made by Ecotrust CDE across projects that were active in 2023

The AU-Aleutians Fiber Project aims to bring high-speed Internet infrastructure to rural communities in Alaska. Ecotrust CDE provided NMTC funding in support of this project. Photo courtesy of GCI Communication Corp

What are New Markets Tax Credits?

Congress established the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program in 2000 to attract investment capital in Low-Income Communities as determined by census tract demographic data. NMTCs can provide up to 20 percent of total funding for capital projects of over $5 million in the form of a grant-like subsidy.

Through Ecotrust CDE, we’re able to use financial tools like NMTC to support equitable, climate-smart businesses, many of which offer quality jobs accessible to local community members. As of 2023, we had 15 active NMTC projects representing a total allocation of $130 million, including investments in wastewater treatment projects, solar energy, health care, forest management, and more. Of these 15 projects, five are with businesses owned by tribes, and four are with businesses owned people of color.

“

It’s been a joy partnering with Ecotrust over the years. They are transparent, collaborative, and committed to the well-being of the community, which has made them lovely to work with.

—Carrie Lawliss, Harbourton Foundation

2652

people or businesses served by Ecotrust programs in 2023

Farm to Early Care and Education Advisory Committee members, l to r: Roberta Recken, Alisha Howard, Gabriela Bizari, and Guadalupe Yundt . Photo credit: Jason Hill

What programs offer these opportunities?

Across our teams, supporting the existing and growing leadership of global majority communities is a key priority, clearly defined in our Strategic Plan. Programs that have offered training or professional development include the Viviane Barnett Fellowship for Food System Leaders, Indigenous Forestry Mentorship Program, Farm to Early Care and Education, Southeast Alaska mariculture training, and the Green Workforce Academy. Please check out our current Open Opportunities to get involved.

The Green Workforce Academy is a paid opportunity for Black, Native, and people of color in Portland who want to learn more about jobs in the green economy. This collaborative-led program is produced in partnership with the Blueprint Foundation, Wisdom of the Elders, Native American Youth and Family Center, and Self Enhancement, Inc. Since the program started in 2018, the Green Workforce Academy has graduated more than 80 participants.

“Teresa (Gaddy’s) organizing to make the space for the Green Workforce Academy has changed my life. GWA was one of the first professional spaces that I felt like I could be my full self—a BIPOC man.”

—Mario, Spring 2022 GWA graduate

13 MM+

grant dollars awarded to Ecotrust for collaborative projects focused on equitable, climate-smart land and water stewardship since 2019

Photo credit: Sean Gutierrez

Examples of impact

Together with funding and project partners, we are working to make a collective impact toward equitable, climate-smart management across this region’s forests, farmlands, and waterways.

In 2021, with the support of these collaborative funds, our team published definitive findings that show ecological management leads to increased carbon storage. This information is critical for architects and builders who are looking for ways to decrease the carbon footprint of their projects.

“

Ecotrust has been a supportive partner helping us make impactful community connections and allowing us grace when needed. They have worked to create an environment where important conversations can be shared, and we appreciate the opportunity to grow our urban network, engage directly, and make positive change for urban producers.

—Amanda Welker, Farm Service Agency, USDA

Measuring equitable outcomes

In order to better quantify and track impact across our various programs and projects, in 2019 we developed a set of key indicators to measure various outcomes and chart our shared progress towards our vision and goals. We have also committed to apply a set of Equitable Evaluation principles in measuring outcomes. This includes using an equity framework for all new evaluation projects, as well as inviting input from affected parties throughout various stages of an evaluation, from design to meaning-making. Learn more in our Equitable Evaluation at Ecotrust report brief.

Our goal is to more faithfully reflect our and our partners’ progress toward the world we seek to co-create and inhabit, and to share this information with our community with clarity and specificity.

In 2017, we published our first Equity Progress Report. We are committed to centering racial equity in our partnerships and projects, and within our organization. This ongoing work is described in detail at Equity at Ecotrust.

In 2020 and 2021, we released Indicators Reports that measured organization-wide outputs according to seven indicators: Acres, Audiences, Businesses, Inclusion, Jobs, Partners, and Trainees.

With the implementation of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, the indicators for our work are shifting and a new framework is in development.

Bringing together evaluation metrics around programmatic performance and progress toward building a more equitable organization, we continue to share stories of impact in our Annual Report. Read our latest Annual Report.

Explore more metrics and stories in our 2023 Annual Report.

More than 100 people came together to create our Strategic plan.

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