Who We Are
Minds Matter Portland was founded in 2006 as a chapter of Minds Matter, a National non-profit currently operating with 14 chapters.
Our mission is to connect highly motivated high school students from low-income backgrounds with dedicated mentors and academic support, empowering them to achieve success in higher education and beyond.
Every Saturday, our students—sophomores, juniors, and seniors—participate in rigorous academic enrichment and mentoring. They receive instruction in writing, math, study skills, and critical thinking, along with SAT preparation, career panels, debates, and resume workshops. Each student is paired with two college-educated mentors from Portland’s professional, business, and educational communities, with whom they stay partnered for their full three-year Minds Matter journey.
With the help of roughly 80 volunteers each year, our program serves about 50 high school students through long-term, personalized mentoring and tutoring. We provide students with the tools, opportunities, and confidence to gain admission to and graduate from four-year colleges, empowering them to achieve their dreams and shape their future.”
Expanding Our Impact
In 2024, we launched a second site in Hillsboro, thanks to growing demand from students in the area who had been traveling to Portland each weekend. Through our partnership with Portland Community College, Minds Matter Portland now also operates at PCC’s Hillsboro Center Campus—bringing our program closer to local schools and students.
We are thrilled to welcome the inaugural class of 8 sophomores to our Hillsboro site, with plans to grow enrollment to 30 students by year three. Alongside this expansion, we aim to increase our capacity at our Northeast Portland site, bringing our total student reach from 50 to 90 students by 2026.
This growth is possible thanks to the unwavering support of our volunteers, donors, and partners.