Community Vision is a left-of-center community-service and advocacy organization in Portland, Oregon centered around providing services and advocacy for individuals with disabilities. The group promotes left-of-center housing policy and has expressed a commitment to left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology and supports an expansion of rent assistance and “deeply affordable” housing programs. The group is led by Jennifer Knapp, who previously worked for a variety of community groups and left-of-center organizations. Community Vision reported in 2024 that 85 percent of its funding came from government sources; however, the group received a $15 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, in 2024. ^{1 2 3 4}

Background and Programs

Community Vision was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1995 to provide support services to developmentally disabled and low-income individuals. The group’s largest program is its supported living program which provides in-home “services to people with developmental disabilities who wish to live in their own home with one-on-one support.” Participants in the program are referred by their county’s developmental disabilities office and the program is funded by Oregon Developmental Disabilities Services. ⁵

In 2018, Community Vision opened a new headquarters that cost $8.5 million to build on land donated by Multnomah County. The space was built to house eight or nine nonprofits and contains a variety of accessible features. ⁶

Community Vision’s Housing Access program assists individuals looking to buy or rent housing and is open to individuals with a disability that qualifies them for Developmental Disabilities Services or Aging, Disability, and Veteran Services who make at least $943 per month. ⁷

Housing Policy

In addition to its service activities, Community Vision advocates a variety of left-of-center policies. The group has called for more rent assistance programs, and more “deeply affordable” housing which it defines as units for individuals earning 30 percent of average median income in the areas it operates. ⁸

The group has also called for more accessible housing stating that “the number of people with disabilities far exceeds the number of accessible homes required by law” and “Increased accessibility requirements support equity for all marginalized communities.” ⁹

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)

Community Vision has expressed a commitment to left-of-center diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology with goals in its equity plan to “increase access to the disability services system for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with developmental disabilities; and, spread knowledge and experiences among non-disabled community groups and individual members in the Portland Metro Area so they too can become champions of community inclusion of people with developmental disabilities.” ³

The group has hired a DEI consultant, created a DEI taskforce, and “collaborated with Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) to provide disability inclusion and sensitivity trainings to multi-ethnic and multi-cultural staff.” ³

Funding

Community Vision reported in 2024 that 85 percent of its funding came from government sources. Other funders include the Oregon Community Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, and the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation. ^{10 11}

The group received a $15 million gift from MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2024 as part of a set of gifts totaling $300 million. Observer.com reported that Scott’s gifts “largely benefit nonprofits working towards affordable housing and financial equity, range from $65 million to $1.5 million, and have been doled out by Scott since September. They add to the more than $17.3 billion Scott has already given since 2020 to more than 2,300 different nonprofits.” ¹

1. Tremaybe-Pengelly, Alexandra. “MacKenzie Scott Has Quietly Given Away Over $17B Since 2020: Her Latest Donations.” Observer. November 22, 2024.  https://observer.com/2024/11/billionaire-philanthropist-mackenzie-scott-quietly-donates-300m/
2. “Jennifer Knapp.” LinkedIn Profile. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-knapp-890a473/details/experience/
3. “Equity Plan.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025.  https://cvision.org/missionvisionvalues/equity-plan/
4. “Who We Are.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/missionvisionvalues/
5. “Supported Living Program.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/programs/supported-living-program/
6. Harbarger, Molly. “A new way to think about design: People with disabilities centered in nonprofit hub.” The Oregon Live, October 11, 2018. https://www.oregonlive.com/news/erry-2018/10/167def14446075/a-new-way-to-think-about-desig.html
7. “Housing Access Program.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/programs/housing-access-program/
8. “Access Denied: Housing Affordability.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Access-Denied-Housing-Affordability.pdf
9. “Access Denied: Accessible Housing.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Access-Denied-Accessible-Housing.pdf
10. “2022 Annual Report.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Annual-Report-FY2022.pdf
11. “2024 Annual Report.” Community Vision. Accessed January 18, 2025. https://cvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2024-Impact-Report-FINAL-1.pdf