Portland Business Alliance and Affiliates Update Strategic Plans

Dear Alliance members and partners,

We are pleased to present the second long-term plan for the Portland Business Alliance (Alliance) and its affiliates. The Alliance is a collective of three affiliated organizations and is over 150 years old. The plans are designed to be responsive to the needs of today, so we can know what success looks like tomorrow.

This is the second, long-term, strategic plan for the Portland Business Alliance (Alliance) and its affiliates.

We are pleased to continue the work that began during the 2020-2023 Strategic Plan. What a difference three years has made! The 2020 strategy was developed prior to the pandemic, then adopted in its first days, when we believed the public health closures would be in place for a few short months. The 2023-2026 plan is built on the already established mission, vision, and values of the Alliance, coupled with an inclusive and thorough process detailed below. You can find a copy of the plans at [hyperlink site].

Among many differences from the last three years, this strategic plan is actually four unique strategies that reflect the Alliance and the three affiliates. The Alliance plan serves as the governance and operational guiding star for the collective. The three plans of the affiliates direct the long-term strategy of the Portland Metro Chamber, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, and The Charitable Institute, where Partners in Diversity and other programs reside.

Key highlights of the strategic plans of the affiliates are as follows:

• Re-activate our downtown and central city with urgency and a laser focus on livability, safety, cleanliness, and economic vibrancy. And provide the highest quality and efficient enhanced services to the core.
• Hold the line against all new taxes, advocating for regional revenue models that support our competitiveness relative to other regions, and support core services.
• With record business taxes flowing into community safety, homelessness, and other quality of life issues, ensure accountability to a return on these investments. If we are paying some of the highest taxes in the nation, we should expect the highest quality outcomes.
• Capitalize on economic development and infrastructure opportunities with seminal projects like the I-5 Bridge, Broadway Corridor, OMSI, Rose Quarter, 82nd Avenue, the State of Sport, alongside our semiconductor industries supported by the CHIPS Act and so much more. We must not lose out on these game-changing investments.
• Ensure our members’ voices are heard when it comes to elections. We have demonstrated time and again that we are committed to positive change, and we have to build on that success moving forward.

Lastly, none of these priorities matter without the highest functioning Alliance team and board(s). An inclusive and highly functional organization is necessary to achieve success. While many non-profits and advocates struggled during the pandemic, we have endured, innovated and thrived. We are stronger today than we were before, and that can be achieved only through continued investment in our staff and board cultures, as well as commitment to a more equitable organizational structure and adaptation along the way.

The Strategic Planning Committee that developed this plan worked diligently over seven months. The Committee was comprised of the incoming board chairs of the affiliates, supplemented with a diverse group of board members and staff to provide additional input to the process. Many thanks to the Committee for the time and expertise each member brought to this work. Our methodology included significant inputs, including anonymous surveys, meetings with staff, board(s), members, prior Alliance chairs, downtown businesses, focused retreat sessions, multiple rounds of drafting and calls for input, along with votes across the Alliance and all affiliates.

Thank you to the Strategic Planning Committee members (Art Avitia, JT Hutchinson, Tracey Lam, Tim Leavitt, Melinda Rogers, Alando Simpson, Vanessa Sturgeon, and Mari Watanabe), Andrew Hoan and Chelsie Kinney from the Alliance, and Chiara Erickson from Cambia. And finally, a significant thank you to Adele Hughes Hromco, from Bridge Connections Consulting, whose work facilitating the planning process was key to achieving these plans.

The 2023-2026 Strategic Plan will help guide the Alliance’s work to ensure a vibrant, safe, and prosperous greater Portland and SW Washington Region.

Sincerely,

Lisa Murphy
Chief of Staff, Cambia Health Solutions
PBA Strategic Planning Committee Chair

Portland Business Alliance and Affiliate Strategic Plans