Zimmerman Community Center Project Description

Brief overview, mission and history Zimmerman Community Center (ZCC) was started by the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist with a bequest from Isobel Faith Zimmerman to create a community center serving the neighborhoods of the River District of Portland, Oregon. Miss Zimmerman was a science teacher at Franklin High School and life-long resident of the East Multnomah County home her grandparents built when they homesteaded there in the 19th Century. She wanted her gift to support a center that would bring people together and, in particular, serve children and youth. ZCC is a secular organization. In 2008 we focused our program on urban families and created Isobels Clubhouse, to foster and promote a caring community of families and neighbors, and create child-intentioned space in the River District. We use a combination of staff and volunteers to provide programs and activities that meet communitydefined needs. These programs focus on an underserved, growing population: hundreds of families living downtown without strong social institutions and ways to create community around their children. Examples of our programs include Creative Learning, Field Trips, Charitable Projects, Language Groups, New Parent Groups, an Urban Vegetable Garden, and Neighborhood Clean Ups. Our current space, generously donated by the Denhart Family, is 490 square feet with cement floors and no bathrooms. Despite these limitations, we serve approximately 180 parents, grandparents, caregivers and children each month with approximately 48 hours of programming. This diverse mix comes from affordable and market rate housing, includes native Portlanders as well as tremendous in-migration, and families speak more than a dozen languages at home. Due to the success of these programs, the support of the community and an obvious need for a neighborhood community center, in 2011 we are expanding substantially, moving into a new permanent space and growing our programs. Description of the program In 2011 Zimmerman Community Center is opening a nonprofit community space, programmed to meet the prioritized needs of our diverse neighborhood, and affordable to a wide range of incomes. The River District, with visionary planning on the part of the City, investment by the community at large and a decade of maturation, has grown into a vibrant urban center. In coming decades, the challenge is to keep it a viable residential city neighborhood by building the services needed to support the community that lives, works and studies here, a community that increasingly includes families. ZCCs new center will be the hub of a neighborhood where people of all ages and incomes thrive. The River District, which includes the Pearl District and Old Town/Chinatown, has an estimated 12,000 residents. This area has tremendous socioeconomic Page 1 of 4

Zimmerman Community Center Project Description diversity: 44% of the population rents, and almost 65% of available rental units are affordable to families earning less than 80% of MFI. There is age diversity as well: children are born in the River District at a rate of almost 50 per year. Proximity is necessary but not sufficient to create a thriving urban neighborhood. To build a mixed-income neighborhood - to make a true community - we need spaces and programs that fight isolation and foster connection. Neighborhoods benefit from developing strong relationships with people across the socioeconomic spectrum: its a reason that city planners mix affordable and market-rate housing. At the same time, we believe these relationships need to be fostered in a way that is authentic, not contrived. A well-programmed community center can foster these authentic relationship-building opportunities. We have had considerable success with this in our family program, as parents and grandparents connect around their children, volunteer together, and bond over shared needs and interests. Tangible evidence of these intangibles includes the children from families of diverse incomes that we see at neighborhood birthday parties, ZCC volunteers living in affordable housing using their volunteer experience to leverage paid work, and personal friendships that have blossomed across socioeconomic classes. During our two years building programs for families, ZCC has heard from adults that they need community-building programs and activities as well. ZCC is expanding in response to the success of our family programs and the community need for adult programming that the family program identified. In May 2011, we will move in to leased space in The Ramona Apartments at NW 14th and Quimby in Portland, OR. This under-construction building offers a unique opportunity to create community across socio-economic and age strata: it will be the first building in the River District to have primarily 3 and 2 bedroom units, and is income qualified at 60% of median family income. Our space in The Ramona is 1760 square feet, with two rooms for programs, an office, kitchen area, and two bathrooms. We aspire to create programming for our new space that interests people of all ages, backgrounds and incomes. We will do this through a carefully planned and professionally led community engagement process through which the community itself will identify and prioritize its program needs. In 2011, we expect to serve at least 1,000 people, including families, young children, non-parenting adults, college students, and seniors, all living in a diverse mix of affordable and market rate housing. The number served will grow as more neighbors learn about ZCC and engage in defining and leading programs.

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Zimmerman Community Center Project Description Goal and outcomes Zimmerman Community Center is opening a nonprofit community space, programmed to meet the prioritized needs of our diverse neighborhood, that will be affordable to a wide range of incomes. Outcomes: Program planning and implementation will foster community connections, fight isolation, and promote a caring community of neighbors. Neighbors will have a voice in developing programs. Neighbors will volunteer with their community center. Customers will reflect the diversity of the River District.

Activities to meet this goal, and associated outcomes 1) Design, build out and furnish a welcoming facility. Outcomes are: Space is designed for maximum program flexibility Space is accessible and welcoming to all ages

2) Engage 500 individuals in helping to design programs for the new space. Outcomes are: Reliable market research from prospective and current customers. Promotion to create greater community awareness of ZCC. Outreach to ensure that ZCC serves a mixed income customer base.

3) Develop popular programs based on top priority needs that fit our mission and resources. Outcomes are: Open with 25 hours per week of programming, expanding to 35 hours per week by the end of the year Strong attendance and participation in programs. Increased program revenue. Ongoing community input to continually improve ZCC and its programs.

4) Recruit partners to deliver programs in our new space. Outcomes are: Stronger programs that take advantage of local expertise. Robust program calendar from day one. Diverse revenue model with additional program revenue and/or space rental income.

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Zimmerman Community Center Project Description Lower staff costs allowing ZCC to put revenue toward program growth and evaluation during the first year of expansion.

5) Develop and implement a sliding scale system to foster and promote mixedincome clientele. Outcomes are: Community center is financially accessible to our mixed-income neighbors. Customers reflect the income diversity of the River District We are able to document and track the income mix of people who come to the center Scholarship income replaces fees at the low end of the sliding scale

6) Develop and implement a Volunteer Management System. Outcomes are: New volunteers. Support for past volunteers to encourage retention. Increase in total volunteer hours Additional connections to our community. Lower staff costs allowing ZCC to put revenue toward program growth and evaluation during the first year of expansion. Volunteers in our mixed-income community contribute through time and talent, regardless of ability to make a financial donation. Volunteer hours reduce fees for low-income participants

Summary and conclusion The Zimmerman Community Center is entering the most significant year of its history. We have demonstrated the need for a community center in the River District through the robust success of Isobels Clubhouse, which we have developed these past 2 years in a very small, donated facility. We have planned and budgeted carefully for this transition year. We invite you to join our growing donor base by making a donation toward Zimmerman Community Centers opening and program expansion in 2011.

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