Our Organization
Why Proud Ground
For many households, owning a home can feel out of reach. The Community Land Trust (CLT) model creates another path.
Through public funding and private philanthropy, Proud Ground helps income-qualified households—generally those earning 80% or less of Area Median Income (AMI)—purchase homes at affordable prices that are significantly below market value.
To put that in perspective, 80% AMI in the Portland metro area is approximately $71,900 for an individual or $102,650 for a family of four. Many working households fall within this range, including early-career professionals, single parents, empty nesters, siblings, multigenerational families, and foster parents.
These are households with jobs, incomes, and dreams of homeownership.
Homeownership Changes What’s Possible
When housing costs consume too much of a household’s income, renting may feel like the only option. The CLT model changes that equation.
Households gain stability.
Homeowners aren't forced to move simply because rents increase or a landlord decides to sell. Children can stay in their schools. Adults may be able to reduce long commutes. Families can establish roots, build relationships with neighbors, and make their home their own.
And once the goal of homeownership is within reach, other possibilities can emerge: going back to school, starting a business, saving for the future, supporting children through college, welcoming an aging parent, planting a garden, or simply having the security of knowing you have a place to call home.
Communities benefit, too.
Stable homeowners are able to participate more fully in the places they call home. Homeownership can create opportunities for families to invest in their futures while contributing to the strength and vitality of their neighborhoods.
Homes Remain Permanently Affordable
As a CLT, Proud Ground owns the land, while the homeowner owns the home. Through a long-term legal agreement, the homeowner agrees to certain resale restrictions that help keep the home affordable for another income-qualified buyer when the home is sold.
In this way, a single home can serve multiple families over generations rather than becoming unaffordable as the surrounding market rises.
Our Reach
Today, our service area spans six Oregon counties—Clackamas, Jackson, Lincoln, Multnomah, Tillamook, and Washington—as well as Clark County, Washington.
More than 785 households have become homeowners through Proud Ground, creating stability for families today while preserving affordable homes for generations to come.
Key Milestones
1999 – Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development (BHCD) provides fiscal sponsorship and loans Housing Program Manager Trell Anderson to establish the Portland Community Land Trust (PCLT); incorporates Dec. 9 with 501(c)(3) status. Launches “Buyer Initiated Program” in the Interstate Corridor.
2000 – Mary Bradshaw named Executive Director.
2001 – First PCLT homeowner closes in North Portland and joins the founding board.
2003 – Allison Handler becomes Executive Director; partnerships formed with local Community Development Corporations (CDCs) to redevelop tax-foreclosed lots; portfolio reaches 40 homes.
2008 – Jesse Beason becomes Executive Director; portfolio includes 80 homes.
2010 – Acquires Clackamas Community Land Trust; PCLT renamed Proud Ground.
2012 – First homeowner in Washington County.
2014 – Diane Linn named Executive Director; Lincoln Community Land Trust merges; expansion into Clark County,
2019 – 20th anniversary celebration.
2020 – Portfolio grows to 363 homes.
2021 – Launches five-year, $5M Opening Doors campaign to add at least 200 homes (75% BIPOC households).
2023 – Dominique Merriweather appointed Executive Director.
2024 – Expands to Jackson County.
2025 – 25th Anniversary event; 600 homes in trust exceeding campaign goal.
2025 – Office relocates to Portland’s Kearns neighborhood in the historic Hanna Andersson building; expands to Tillamook County.
Meet Proud Ground’s First Homeowner, Percy
A Home That Will Always Be There
When Percy came home one day and saw his children outside, he knew something was wrong. They pointed to a “For Sale” sign the landlord had placed in the yard without warning. “Are we going to have to move?”
His children’s fear changed everything. They had friends in the neighborhood, a school down the street, and a life they knew. Suddenly, all of it felt uncertain.
“As a father, knowing that I’m not able to take care of my children because someone else holds the power of where I’m going to live, how long I’m going to live there—no. It was time for me to make sure that my family stayed rooted.”
Percy picked up the phone and called a friend who knew about Proud Ground. “Let’s make this happen.”
That decision made Percy Proud Ground’s first homeowner—and, more than two decades later, he still owns his home.
What began as a way to protect his children from another unexpected move became something much bigger: a permanent foundation for his family and a lasting connection to his community.
“I still have two children that are in the home and thriving in the community. It’s been great knowing that we are rooted.”
For Percy, that is what homeownership was always supposed to mean—not simply owning a house, but knowing that his children would always have a place to call home.
A Community-Owned Approach
Proud Ground is more than a housing organization. We are a membership-based nonprofit; the people connected to our mission have a voice in shaping our future.
Proud Ground homeowners and donors who contribute $25 or more annually are voting members of the organization. This structure gives community members a direct role in guiding an organization created to serve the community. Furthermore, at least one-third of our board is composed of Proud Ground homeowners, ensuring those we serve have a voice in our governance.
Your membership helps strengthen a community where permanently affordable homeownership remains possible—not just today, but for generations to come.
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.