The newly established 1803 Fund in Portland, Oregon, has announced a $400 million investment in the city’s Albina neighborhood from Nike co-founder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny.
The fund will combine elements of private investing and philanthropy with a focus on helping people thrive and communities prosper. To that end, Knights’ pledge will support the inaugural project of the fund, Rebuild Albina, which aims to transform current and future generations of Black Portland through investments in education, place, culture, and belonging in the community.
Albina has long been a vital regional economic and transportation hub and a place of business and commerce, social and cultural institutions, and homeownership for the Black community. As with numerous neighborhoods across the country, however, redlining and predatory lending in Albina, combined with urban renewal, have displaced Black families and businesses, destroying wealth and portions of the urban landscape.
Knight was instrumental in creating the Albina Nike Community Store, where profits were shared with the Albina community.
“Penny and I have long believed in the community of Portland. Some of my most important memories are connected to the Eastside of Portland, including in Lower Albina,” said Knight. “Jefferson High School, under the leadership of coaches Bill Sorsby and Doug Basham, was the center of the ‘all comers’ track meets of my youth. The handshake deal with Bill Bowerman that launched Nike happened in Lower Albina near Memorial Coliseum. And Lower Albina was the focus of the initial agreement struck with Ron Herndon and Tony Hopson to build a Nike retail store with a share of the profits invested back into the community.”
(Photo credit: Getty Images/Shunyu Fan)
