Our Organization
Founded in 1999, Proud Ground stands as one of the nation's foremost Community Land Trusts and is the largest Community Land Trust in the Pacific Northwest.
Working with our partners, we provide HUD-certified financial education and guidance to predominantly first-time, and often first-generation, homebuyers earning 80% or less of the area median income (AMI).
Through grant funding (public support) and charitable giving (private support), Proud Ground’s affordable homebuying opportunities, whether scattered single-family homes or new developments, are 20-50% LESS than a market-rate home.
Our commitment safeguards neighborhoods, guaranteeing that working families can reside in their community of choice.
By maintaining the land in our portfolio as a community land trust, we are able to ensure the homes remain permanently affordable for future generations. This puts an end to the gentrification and redlining that kept BIPOC and low- to moderate-income households from stability and wealth accumulation.
How Homes Remain Permanently Affordable
Proud Ground homeowners agree to pay it forward for the next owner of their home. The resale arrangement provides the seller with a share of the home's equity. The home remains a Proud Ground home, ensuring the home remains affordable for another income-qualified homebuyer.
This arrangement is guaranteed through a legal agreement between Proud Ground and the homeowner. Homebuyers review these legal agreements with an attorney independent of Proud Ground to understand all the details before buying a home.
Our Reach
Over the years, our reach has extended to six counties – Clackamas, Clark, Lincoln, Multnomah, Jackson and Washington – where we have assisted more than 700 families in achieving their dream of becoming first-time homeowners.
Our Members
Proud Ground operates as a membership-based organization, bestowing voting rights upon homeowners and donors (annual giving of $25 or more) in shaping our organizational decisions. This ensures that the very community members we serve have a direct role in steering our mission-driven initiatives.
Donate to become a member and contribute to this vital cause.
Our Mission, Vision, and Values
Create permanently affordable homeownership opportunities using the community land trust model to ensure multi-generational stability.
Mission
A livable, equitable, and economically viable community where every family has access to affordable homes in the community of their choice.
Vision
Deliver inclusive, equitable, accessible services for racial justice
Prioritize support for marginalized groups: People of Color and low-income households
Be passionate and committed to organizational impact
Be open and eager to commit to leading with equity.
Values
Land Acknowledgment
Proud Ground respectfully acknowledges that we operate on the traditional homelands of a diverse array of indigenous tribes and bands, including the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and others, who historically inhabited this area along the Columbia River. Today, it is home to a thriving native community representing over 600 tribal nations.