Volunteer (Non-Paid) Position - Portland Children's Levy Community Council

Full Job Description

The Portland Children’s Levy seeks new Community Council Members!

APPLY HERE: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/019a278a588d774c85c9c243649548e3

The Portland Children’s Levy (PCL) Community Council advises staff and the Allocation Committee on PCL policies and processes, including funding, grant and Levy performance, and community engagement plans and practices.

After 3 years of focus on funding processes and grant-making, the Community Council will turn its attention to reviewing policies and practices used to assess Levy and grant performance.

Council activities for this next term include:

• Providing input about how PCL measures and demonstrates performance,
• Advising staff on questions of grant performance management,
• Providing guidance on criteria used to determine grant renewal decisions, and
• Providing input on future community engagement processes.
  

The Community Council was formed as a response to feedback received during PCL’s 2018 community engagement process. The Community Council launched in 2023 and since its inception:

• Identified goals for community engagement, priority topics for community input, and priority communities to engage for large and small grants funding processes, and
• Shaped the large grants funding process, including: the application and scoring criteria, grant review process, funding priorities (which determine the types of services the Levy funds), funding recommendations, and lessons learned for future grant-making.
• The Community Council is currently shaping the small grants funding process. They provided input on the application, will be scoring the video component of the application, and will be making funding recommendations to the Allocation Committee.

Currently, 7 members are continuing their terms on the Community Council. PCL is looking to recruit 8 community members with the intention of appointing 6 this summer and inviting 2 to standby and fill any seats that open through this next term.

Total number of advisory seats: 13

Number of seats available: 6, plus 2 standby

Requirements

To be eligible for the advisory committee, members must live, go to school, work and/or do business in the City of Portland.

What We Look For

We want people from every part of Portland here to share their voice on this committee, especially people who have not been involved before.

If you want to serve your community and to help government make better choices, then we want to see your application. The attributes listed below are what will guide our selection process.

It is helpful if you are specific in your answers. We do not expect you to be or have everything listed.

• You are committed to the city’s core values of equity, anti-racism, collaboration, communication, transparency, and fiscal responsibility.
• You have experience working collaboratively with diverse groups of people

You do not have a conflict of interest with a current PCL grantee. This means: You aren’t currently employed by a grantee agency and haven’t been for the past 2 years.

You don’t currently serve on the board of a grantee agency. You don’t have immediate family members (spouse, child, parent, sibling) currently employed by a grantee agency.

If you work for a public agency receiving PCL funds, you may apply unless you or an immediate family member work in the PCL-funded program.

See this list of PCL grantees to determine if you meet these requirements.

• You are available to attend 16 – 25 hours of meetings and complete 5 – 10 hours of prep-work per year.
• We invite all Portlanders to apply, including community members who identify as Black, African, Indigenous, Latine, Middle Eastern, Asian, Pacific Islander, LGBTQ2SIA+, disabled, an immigrant or refugee, and/or folks navigating poverty or houselessness.
• In order to ensure a variety of expertise, experience, and geographic representation across the city, we particularly encourage applications from community members with lived, professional, and/or volunteer experience in services for child abuse prevention/intervention, early childhood, and foster care; experience in grantmaking; and residents of Districts 1 or 2.

Time Commitment

• 3 – 5 full Community Council meetings per year, each generally 3 – 4 ½ hours long with 30 – 60 min of prep work/meeting
• Occasional 1:1 or small group meetings with staff, generally 2x/year
• Optional opportunity to collaborate with staff to present Community Council work to the Allocation Committee and City Council
• Hybrid meetings with Zoom and in-person attendance options throughout the Portland area
• Minimum: one 3-year term
• Maximum: no more than 6 consecutive years

We Remove Barriers

Let us know if there are barriers to your participation. We offer stipends of up to $500 per year, accommodations for disabilities, interpretation, translation, parking vouchers as needed, and meals for in-person attendees.

Volunteer Ethics

People who join this committee will become what we call “Public Officials,” which means that while you serve you must behave fair and ethically. We will provide training on this once you are accepted.

Part of following Public Officials Ethics laws means you must tell the group when you or a relative may financially benefit (or avoid fees) by your recommendations.

This is called a “Conflict of Interest.” An applicant must not have conflict of interest with PCL grantees.

This means: You aren’t currently employed by a grantee agency and haven’t been for the past 2 years. You don’t currently serve on the board of a grantee agency.

You don’t have immediate family members (spouse, child, parent, sibling) currently employed by a grantee agency.

If you work for a public agency receiving PCL funds, you may apply unless you or an immediate family member work in the PCL-funded program.

See this list of PCL grantees to determine if you meet these requirements.

Qualifications

APPLY HERE: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/019a278a588d774c85c9c243649548e3
Applications are due by 11:59pm on Monday, March 2nd, 2026.

Applications will be reviewed beginning March 16th, 2026.

You can expect to hear from staff about your application’s status by the beginning of May 2026.

To talk with someone about this opportunity or to receive assistance completing the application, please contact the advisory body staff liaison at katrina.peterson@portlandoregon.gov or call 503-823-8763.

Voluntary & Confidential Demographic Information

The City is committed to diversity, inclusion, and equity. Completing the demographic information on the application is voluntary, but we encourage you to provide that information.

The City uses this information to help ensure that advisory body appointments represent a broad cross-section of community.

Your information will not be used during the recruitment nor the selection process. State and federal law prohibit use of this information to discriminate against you.

Questions about this may be sent to AdvisoryBodies@Portlandoregon.gov

General Questions

For general questions about the Advisory Bodies program, the volunteer recruitment process, or other upcoming advisory body opportunities please email AdvisoryBodies@Portlandoregon.gov.

We Encourage You to Apply

Browse the Portland Children’s Levy website, by clicking here, to learn more about our bureau.

On this page you'll learn more about grantmaking done by the Portland Children's Levy, its past community engagement process, and its current grantee community partners.

To learn more about the Community Council, its recent meetings and current members, click here

Do you have questions or need more information? Email katrina.peterson@portlandoregon.gov or call 503-823-8763.