Dear Rosewood Community and Partners,
The team here at The Rosewood Initiative is taking COVID-19 and our responsibility to the community very seriously. After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to close the center and cancel gatherings until further notice.
Dear Rosewood Community and Partners,
The team here at The Rosewood Initiative is taking COVID-19 and our responsibility to the community very seriously. After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to close the center and cancel gatherings until further notice.
Dear Rosewood Community and Partners,
The team here at The Rosewood Initiative is taking COVID-19 and our responsibility to the community very seriously. After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to close the center and cancel gatherings until further notice.
Dear Rosewood Community and Partners,
The team here at The Rosewood Initiative is taking COVID-19 and our responsibility to the community very seriously. After much deliberation, we have made the difficult decision to close the center and cancel gatherings until further notice.
Economic Development
East Portland tax increment finance district exploration
The City of Portland has proposed 3 TIF Districts for us, as a community, to explore. The Parkrose Columbia Corridor, 82nd Ave, and East of I-205.
What is a TIF District? TIF stands for Tax Increment Finance. It is a tool that is intended for improvement to enhance the value of existing properties and encourage new development in the district. TIF uses the money from the tax increment or tax increase coming from property taxes to support redevelopment and long-term stability for residents. These dollars can be used to create affordable housing options, workforce development and improve neighborhood infrastructure.
What would you do with these TIF dollars? What are your thoughts on a TIF District in East Portland? This is YOUR neighborhood and we need your voice and ideas!
Stop by for office hours!
Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday & Wednesday from 10:00am-3:00pm.
We want to hear your thoughts and ideas about the proposed TIF Districts in East Portland! Paula Byrd, our East Portland TIF Project Manager, hosts office hours at The Rosewood Initiative.
Conversation Circles
Conversation Circles bring Rosewood community members together every month to explore various topics of interest that fit within the themes of Health & Wellness & Economic Development. On average, these circles receive an attendance of about 25 community members. Interpretation is always provided depending on language group. Conversation Circles also include our 4 cultural celebrations throughout the year, aiming to bring community members from all backgrounds together for culturally-specific celebrations.
English Classes
We host free weekly English classes for English language learners at a variety of levels. Classes fill up quickly! If you're interested in being on a waitlist, please contact programs@rosewoodinitiative.org
Rosewood Saturday Celebrations
Shop Local and Connect with Community at our Annual Makers Market & Resource Fair series
This event brings together local East Portland artisans, creators, and micro-entrepreneurs. The market is free for vendors to join, ensuring an inclusive space for all. To make the market accessible for people of all income levels, Rosewood introduced a special initiative called the "Rosewood Bucks." Event attendees can request $10 worth of Rosewood Bucks to spend at the market. These Rosewood Bucks enable community members to stretch their spending capacity and purchase local goods while directly supporting our market vendors. For vendors, it ensures a minimum revenue during the event and helps increase their sales.
Interested in being a vendor for the 2024 markets?
Rosewood Small Business Enhancement Grant
This program provides grants of up to $30,000 to small businesses within The Rosewood Initiative’s NPI district (pictured here). These grants must be used for onsite renovations or construction projects at your business. We are especially interested in projects that improve the overall appearance of the neighborhood. The projects must be permanent, such as new lighting, signage, fencing, murals or painting, landscaping, etc.
This program is currently paused, with plans to return in Fall of 2023. Please email programs@rosewoodinitiative.org with questions
About the small business enhancement grant :
If you have concerns about meeting the match requirement, please let us know and we will work with you to figure out how to meet this need. If you need assistance with completing the application, we are happy provide assistance.
Please contact programs@rosewoodinitiative.org with questions.
Sponsored by Prosper Portland
Legal Services Day
In 2017, The Rosewood Initiative, Metropolitan Public Defenders (MPD) office, and Multnomah County began hosting Legal Services Day. Our community center turned into a courthouse for a full day every other month, and we were able to see about 150 people each time. People have been able to exchange community service hours and get their fines and fees cleared in Multnomah County. This has been one of the most asked programs and we have seen the everlasting impact it has in the lives of the community for the past 4 years.
We are happy to announce that Legal Services Day will be working a bit differently going forward. Instead of larger less frequent Legal Services Day events, MPD has changed Legal Services Day. so that it is now rolling admission. That means community members can sign up at any point to enter into the pool. They will be selecting 60 people randomly from that pool at the end of every month. Those 60 people will be screened and, if eligible, will be invited to continue along the process of getting their fines waived. Those not selected will have to sign up again the next month to re-enter the pool. Sign-ups are through the MPD website.