2022 Rivermark Community Fund grant recipient.

We are excited to announce that the Rivermark Community Fund, a philanthropic arm of Rivermark Community Credit Union, has directed its 2022 grant of $20,000 to Community Roots Collaborative (C-Roots), a non-profit organization aimed at creating stable and affordable housing. The donation will be used to help develop permanent, cottage-style tiny homes in Clark County for the unhoused.

As a result of the turmoil caused by the pandemic and its lasting effects, Portland and much of the country has been experiencing severe housing problems. Over the past few years, high rents combined with a lack of affordable housing opportunities have compounded into a much larger issue.

“At Rivermark, we recognize the importance of affordable housing as one of several foundational elements in support of our larger financial wellness strategic initiative to support local families. For this year’s grant, we intentionally sought out a nonprofit whose mission extends beyond affordable housing and includes a network of community support services to address the underlying issues of houselessness,” said Seth Schaefer, Rivermark’s President/CEO.

According to the Joint Office for Homeless Services (JOHS), the number of individuals experiencing homelessness continues to rise. “I’m confident that our grant to the Community Roots Collaborative is part of a longer-term solution as a result of their more holistic approach,” continued Schaefer.

“With our second 23-home development now under construction and a third development slated to start later next year, we have fully reached the limits of our current working board model. Rivermark’s grant will be instrumental in giving C-Roots enough reserves to start the process of hiring our first full-time Executive Director in the first quarter of 2023. This grant will allow us to scale our concept of building modular, factory-built, tiny homes to areas outside of Vancouver, WA,” said Dan Whiteley, President of C-Roots.

About Community Roots Collaborative

The Community Roots Collaborative’s mission is to create affordable housing solutions with integrated support services for those who are currently unhoused. They are currently working on a project to build 21 tiny homes on a 1.5-acre neighborhood to permanently house those in need. Through this, they are also designing integrated services within the community to provide on-site support and create a more balanced wellness plan for this demographic.