Albina Opportunities Corporation relies on grants, donations, organizational partnerships and loans from individuals, business, banking and philanthropic institutions to support its small business lending program. AOC’s lending program assists women, minority, immigrant, and disabled-owned businesses that create family living wage jobs in low and moderate income communities. Our Partner list continues to grow and includes the following:
Meyer Memorial Trust
Meyer Memorial Trust is a charitable trust that was established in the name of Fred G. Meyer in 1982. Its mission is to invest in people, ideas and efforts that deliver significant social benefit to Oregon and Clark County, WA through inspiring, innovating, partnering and leading to improve the quality of life here. Since its inception, Meyer Memorial Trust has made 6,455 awards for nearly $532 million.
Oregon Community Foundation 
The mission of The Oregon Community Foundation is to improve life in Oregon and promote effective philanthropy. OCF works with individuals, families, businesses and organizations to create charitable funds to support the community causes they care about. Through these funds, OCF awards more than $60 million annually in grants and scholarships. Thanks to thousands of donors and hundreds of individual funds, OCF is the leader in Oregon philanthropy, strengthening communities across the state.
Pacific Power 
Formed in 1910, Pacific Power & Light started from several small electric companies and served 7,000 customers in Oregon and Washington. Today it serves more than 724,000 homes. The Pacific Power Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Pacific Power and its mission, through charitable investments, is to support the growth and vitality of the local communities. The foundation helps to educate youth, improve public safety and strengthen the economy. Since 1988, the Foundation has awarded more than $51 million to nonprofit organizations.
MercyCorps Northwest 
Mercy Corps Northwest programs work to increase economic self-sufficiency and community integration through microenterprise development and self-employment. They assist low-income current and aspiring small-business owners throughout Oregon and Washington in order to reduce unemployment, grow personal incomes and assets, and increase economic growth. Their mission runs parallel to the mission of their parent organization, Mercy Corps: To alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.
Albina Community Bank 
As a local neighborhood bank, Albina Community Bank is proud to offer creative and personalized banking solutions to help people achieve their financial goals. With a wide range of competitive banking products and services, ACB builds full-service relationships with their customers – whether you’re an individual, business, nonprofit organization or just someone who loves the idea of banking local. ACB invests in individuals and businesses who want to see our local neighborhoods thrive as much as they do.
SCORE 
Portland SCORE provides free and confidential one-on-one business consulting for interested individuals. Their volunteer counselors are experienced in a wide range of areas and industries and are able to help grow your current business or pursue your dreams of business ownership. Portland SCORE offers over 100 business workshops designed to help start and grow your own business. These workshops are taught throughout the Portland Metro area by experienced experts, and they are priced modestly. Portland SCORE has a substantial range of tools and information to help develop, open and run a successful small business. These resources include a “Business Resource Center” with computer-based business tools, a business library, online knowledgebases, and more.
Portland Community Investors
Portland Community Investors, PCI, is a non-profit venture capital fund that was created by a group of local investors to create economic opportunities through private business creation and expansion. It specifically targets the underserved business community in the Portland Metro area and offers financing alternatives to businesses lacking adequate collateral with an emphasis on assisting minority, immigrant and women entrepreneurs.
Small Business Legal Clinic
Lewis & Clark Law School’s Small Business Legal Clinic (SBLC) provides business transactional legal advice to new and emerging businesses, primarily those owned by women, minorities, and recent immigrants. The SBLC provides its services to clients through two distinct programs: the Intern Program and Pro Bono Project.
PSU Business Outreach Program
The PSU Business Outreach Program’s mission is to help local small businesses, including emerging, minority and women-owned businesses, achieve their potential while providing students with opportunities for community based learning.