Community Partners: The Cornerstone of our Program
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Uniting for Action on the Economy in Southern Oregon is a is a non-partisan program that brings together Oregonians with wide-ranging views to build relationships across divides, strengthen collaboration skills, explore different views on economic issues, and address local economic challenges. 

In February 2024, we will kick off the second implementation of our Oregon program with a group of 28 Uniters practicing skills that help them understand the views of Oregonians different from themselves.  Over the following nine months they will analyze local economic challenges and work with Community Partners address those challenges in 4 county hubs; Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, and Klamath

​By the end of the program (November 2024), we will have collectively addressed some key economic challenges and developed individual skills to work across divides in the future.

The Oregon Uniters are on a mission to:​
  1. Build relationships across divides
  2. Increase understanding of economic challenges in Southern Oregon              
  3. Strengthen individual collaboration and communication skills 
  4. Tackle economic challenges in Southern Oregon​​​​​​
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​Community Partners are the key to our success!
Community Partners are local non-profits who team up with a group of 6 or 7 Oregon Uniters. Using tools and techniques in the UR Action toolbox and facilitated by our Oregon Team, we will analyze issues impacting the economy in their county, and design and implement a project that:
     1. Materially addresses root causes of those issues, AND
     2. Advances an initiative or goal of the organization.
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There will be one Community Partner and one Uniter team in each of the four county Hubs.
​Program Overview
​Uniting for Action on the Economy in Southern Oregon will follow four phases. ​During each phase, the cohort of Uniters gather in person and online for relationship-building, skill-building, dialogue, analysis, and project design.
Commitments for Community Partners 
​Community Partner commitments to Uniting for Action on the Oregon Economy
  1. Identify economic-related initiatives your organization is involved with that you’d like to advance through collaboration with an Oregon Uniters team
  2. Assign a Community Partner Lead who joins the Uniters cohort beginning in Feb 2024.
  3. Assign a project support team member who will back up the lead and work with the Uniters team in your county to implement the project once it’s designed.
  4. Support recruitment of the Oregon Uniters cohort by sharing the opportunity to apply with community members, including those who are affiliated with your organization.
  5. Participate in 9 program gatherings and serve as project manager for the project once it has designed by the Uniter team in your county
  
Uniting for Action on the Economy in Southern Oregon commitments to Community Partners
  1. Form an Oregon Uniters team that will work with you to implement a 7-month project that  advances our shared goals
  2. Provide a modest grant to support Community Partner participation
  3. Introduce analytical, project design and collaboration tools that your organization can use in other contexts.
  4. Allocate a budget to support project implementation by Oregon Uniters.
  5. Connect your organization with other partner organizations across the state.
  6. Showcase your organization as a partner on our website and promotional materials.
Interested in Applying to Become a Community Partner? 
The first step is to fill out our Community Partner Application to let us know a bit more about you.  We will contact you shortly to discuss a partnership in more detail. 
Community Projects Completed in 2023!
In Uniting for Action on the Oregon Economy in 2023, we worked with Community Partners in 3 county hubs; Benton, Tillamook and Washington/Multnomah.
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Working with Community Outreach Incorporated, the Benton Bunch launched  Better Together Benton County to help vulnerable and homeless individuals to find productive employment.

The team surveyed businesses and service providers to understand existing gaps and the challenges they face hiring, retaining, and supporting vulnerable people in our community, shared our findings, and brainstormed how support could be strengthened. We also cataloged available services in a resource that will enhance collaboration among providers and improve support to the most vulnerable jobseekers.
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​Alongside community partner Financial Beginnings Oregon, the Tillamook “Cowpies” worked together to address financial literacy gaps in Tillamook County.

The team assessed community needs for financial education programming and identified community organizations and schools interested in hosting curricula. Through volunteer recruitment and training, the Tillamook team set the stage for multiple class offerings. We promoted the project via a humanizing approach with inspiring, culturally and linguistically relevant multimedia storytelling to showcase how everyone can benefit from financial education.
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Working with our community partner Rob Routhieaux of the Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Marvels are supporting aspiring entrepreneurs by compiling an online database of resources that can be used to support a business at any stage and in any industry. We are also creating flyers in multiple languages and conducting outreach to community organizations to spread the word and reach a wider audience.
Click here for more information on 2023 implementation of the Uniting for Action on the Oregon Economy program. 
Want information on other Urban Rural Action programs?  See the programs page for information on our programs in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
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On a scavenger hunt in Beaverton.
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Sharing project results in words and pictures.
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Uniters creating a Human Problem Tree!
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Practicing our ABCs; our approach to effective communication.
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Visiting a Tillamook Dairy; a new experience for many urban Uniters.

​Our Oregon Team
​Our program in 2024 will be organized and managed by an Oregon team that lives and works in the communities where we will implement our program.  UR Action was invited by Oregonians who recognize the impact of the serious fissures present in our state, to create a program that addresses those divisions.  It will be headed up by two program Co-Directors and four County Coordinators.

We are currently looking for County Coordinators in four counties (Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, Klamath) to support the Uniter project teams in each county hub.  County Coordinators support recruitment of Uniters within each county and serve as a team advisor for the projects that the Uniters and Community Partners implement. 

​Want to join our Team or want more information?   Contact Ted Volchok ted@uraction.org.
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​About Urban Rural Action
At Urban Rural Action we build relationships across lines of difference by solving problems together, and we solve problems together by building new relationships.  We are guided in our work through the following five principles:
  • Embracing Curiosity
  • Empowering Communities
  • Taking Action
  • Finding Strength in Difference
  • Expanding Participation in our Democracy
Learn more at uraction.org
Interested in Learning More?  
For more information:  Contact Ted Volchok, Oregon Program Director at ted@uraction.org. 

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