Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods

What Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods does

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1974 by Edna Robertson and Sharon McCormick as part of the Model Cities Program. It operates as the designated District 2 Coalition Office, one of only four neighborhood coalitions affiliated with the City of Portland's Office of Community and Civic Life, and serves 29 neighborhoods across North and Northeast Portland. The organization's core mission is to empower residents to identify local issues, engage on land use and civic matters, and channel community action through 28+ volunteer-run neighborhood associations coordinated from its headquarters at 4815 NE 7th Ave in the Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary Building.

NECN delivers its impact through a portfolio of community programs rather than proprietary technology. Core offerings include the Community Small Grants Program (run jointly with the Portland Office of Civic and Community Life since 2006, distributing $2,000-$4,000 per award with a 2026 total pool of $42,000), the Clean Start PDX mobile waste management and clean-up program (launched 2017 with Central City Concern, the Central Eastside Industrial Council, and Eliot Neighborhood Association), and Neighborhood Association Support services covering training, document compliance, event insurance certificates, facility rental, and a community calendar. Communications infrastructure consists of standard SaaS tools — Campaign Monitor for email newsletters, Jotform for civic participation forms, Google Classroom for association document uploads, Zoom for hybrid board meetings, and PayPal for donations. The Hey Neighbor! quarterly newspaper, historically distributed to approximately 22,000 District 2 households, businesses, and libraries, was discontinued in 2023, leaving email and digital channels as the primary outward communications surface.

Revenue is generated from three streams: government grants administered through the City of Portland, individual and organizational donations processed via PayPal, and facility rental income from community use of the MLK building conference space (capacity 20-40 people). The organization is governed by a 34-seat Board of Directors (28 Neighborhood Association representatives plus 6 at-large members) and led by Executive Director Jona Davis alongside Operations Coordinator Lydia Hodgins. There is no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed funding rounds, no AI/ML capability, and no proprietary technology stack — NECN's product is fundamentally community coordination and civic intermediation, not software.

Name

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods

Legal name

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods

Website

https://necoalition.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving as Portland's District 2 Coalition Office for 29 neighborhoods in North and Northeast Portland. It administers community grants, supports 28+ neighborhood associations, and runs programs like Clean Start PDX to drive civic engagement.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Civic Engagement Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGALAC

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Enterprises & Impact Organizations

SECONDARYEUAHAIAH

EMS Training & Competency Development

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Environmental Management Systems (EMS) & ISO 14001 Consulting

Keywords

• Civic engagement services
• Neighborhood association support
• Community grant administration
• Grassroots community organizing
• Urban livability programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Grants: NECN receives grant funding from the Portland Office of Civic and Community Life to operate the District 2 Coalition and administer community small grants programs to neighborhood organizations.
2. Community Small Grants Program: Since 2006, NECN has partnered with the Office of Civic and Community Life to provide grants ($2,000-$4,000 per award) to neighborhood and community organizations working to strengthen North and Northeast Portland. The 2026 grant round distributes a total of $42,000.
3. Donations: As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, NECN accepts tax-deductible donations from individuals and organizations to support its mission of building livable North and Northeast Portland neighborhoods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NECN is the District 2 Coalition Office, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects North and Northeast Portland residents with civic tools, resources, and policymakers. It administers the Community Small Grants Program in partnership with the city, supports 28+ neighborhood associations with free training and resources, runs the Clean Start PDX mobile waste management program, publishes community news through newsletters and bulletins, and provides facility rentals and event insurance to community organizations.

Product overview

Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) operates as a community nonprofit organization rather than a technology product company. Its service portfolio consists of community engagement programs including the Community Small Grants Program (offering $2,000-$4,000 grants annually to local organizations), the Hey Neighbor! newspaper (discontinued in 2023 after decades of quarterly publication to 22,000+ households), and Clean Start PDX (a mobile waste management program launched in 2017). These offerings are complemented by administrative services for 28 neighborhood associations including document management via Google Classroom, event insurance certificates, facility rental at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, community calendar management, board meeting bulletins, and email newsletters distributed through Campaign Monitor. The organization bridges community ideas and government action through grassroots incubator activities, environmental advocacy, and direct civic engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Clean Start PDX: Mobile waste management and clean-up solution partnership addressing livability concerns surrounding houseless residents in inner-eastside core
• Hey Neighbor!

Products and services

• Community Small Grants Program
• Clean Start PDX
• District 2 Community Calendar
• NECN Facility Use (Community Space Rental)

Quantifiable outcome

• Funded dozens of community strengthening projects since 2006
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Central City ConcerncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Clean Start PDX partnership in partnership with Central City Concern, Central Eastside Industrial Council, and Eliot Neighborhood Association. Mobile waste management and clean-up solution addressing livability concerns surrounding houseless residents in the inner-eastside core.
• Central Eastside Industrial CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Clean Start PDX partnership addressing urban livability issues through mobile waste management and clean-up services.
• Eliot Neighborhood AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Clean Start PDX partnership addressing livability concerns and houselessness impacts in the inner-eastside core.
• Portland Office of Civic and Community LifecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Since 2006, NECN and the Office of Civic and Community Life have partnered to provide grants to neighborhood and community organizations working to strengthen North and Northeast Portland. The 2026 partnership distributes $42,000 in community small grants.
• Portland's Office of Community and Civic LifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNECN operates as one of four neighborhood coalitions affiliated with Portland's Office of Community and Civic Life, serving as the District 2 Coalition Office. All neighborhood coalitions are affiliated with Portland's Office of Community and Civic Life.
• Oregon Environmental CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to create Air Pollution Fact Sheets in English and Spanish to inform Portland residents about air quality concerns.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Central City Concern: Portland-based social services and affordable housing nonprofit that is an active Clean Start PDX partner with NECN. Shares focus on inner-city neighborhood livability, housing insecurity, and community-based program delivery in overlapping Portland geographies.
• Neighbors West-Northwest: A coalition office representing District 4 (West and Northwest) neighborhoods under the same Portland civic coalition framework as NECN. Shares the same city-affiliation model, neighborhood association support structure, and small-grants administration role.
• Southeast Uplift: Another of the four neighborhood coalitions affiliated with Portland's Office of Community and Civic Life, serving Southeast Portland districts. Operates the same coalition model with similar grants administration, neighborhood association support, and civic engagement programs, making it the closest structural peer to NECN.
• Neighborhood Empowerment Network (San Francisco): San Francisco's municipal program supporting neighborhood associations and civic participation across city districts. Operates with the same city-affiliated coalition framework as NECN, though serving a different geography.

Emerging players

• Urban League of Portland: Portland-based civic and economic empowerment nonprofit that engages residents in community development, advocacy, and neighborhood-level programming — overlapping with NECN's community development and civic engagement focus in the same metro.
• Habitat for Humanity Portland Region: Portland-area affordable housing and community development nonprofit that partners with neighborhood coalitions and grassroots groups on community strengthening projects — overlapping with NECN's community development work and grant-funded partnership model.
• Unite Oregon: Oregon-based civic engagement and immigrant/refugee advocacy nonprofit that runs grassroots organizing programs similar to NECN's community-led model, including civic participation and neighborhood-level coalition building across Portland.
• Coalition of Communities of Color: Portland-based coalition of culturally specific community organizations advancing equity and civic participation. Shares NECN's grassroots organizing and community development focus, though centered on member organizations rather than neighborhood associations.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development financial institution supporting neighborhood-level organizations through grants, loans, and capacity building. Comparable to NECN in mission around community development and grassroots organization support, but operating at far greater scale and breadth.
• National Civic League: National nonprofit supporting civic engagement, coalition building, and democratic participation across U.S. cities. Operates a broader portfolio than NECN but is conceptually aligned on the neighborhood coalition and civic infrastructure model.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northeast-coalition-of-neighborhoods

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods