Act Six
Full-tuition, full-need scholarship for first generation college students from underrepresented communities in Portland
Learn MoreAvenues for College
Housing scholarship for youth aging out of foster care
Learn MoreCity Builders
Partial scholarship in partnership with Warner Pacific College for students with a passion to transform their community
Learn MoreIgnite
Partial scholarship In partnership with Portland State University and Kaiser Permanente with social and academic support to help young diverse leaders succeed in their pursuit of a healthcare career.
Learn MoreAct Six
Act Six is an urban leadership and scholarship initiative of the Portland Leadership Foundation in partnership locally with George Fox University and Warner Pacific College. Regionally, we partner with eight colleges in Washington and Oregon to facilitate an innovative scholarship initiative that equips emerging urban leaders to engage the college campus and their communities at home.
The Program
Act Six uses a simple but powerful four-part strategy
Recruit and Select
Annually recruit and select diverse, multicultural cadres of Oregon’s most promising emerging urban leaders.
Send and Fund
Send the teams together to select colleges across Oregon on full-tuition, full-need scholarships.
Train and Prepare
Intensively train these groups of students in the year prior to college, equipping them to support each other, succeed academically, and grow as service-minded leaders and agents of transformation.
Support and Inspire
Provide strong campus support and ongoing leadership development to nurture these young people as they find their vocation and grow into the next generation of community leaders.
"Act Six is a program that is defined by its members. Act Six Scholars are young, passionate, motivated leaders that define what it means to be an urban leader. They are the future of our city."
- Adam Ristick, Act Six Asst. Director
Act Six scholars are succeeding and thriving on campus and in their communities at home. A remarkable 93% of scholars who began the program are still enrolled or graduated. Even more, Act Six scholars are engaging and demonstrating leadership all across the campus and in their home communities.
Avenues to College
Avenues To College is a partnership
between key community stakeholders including New Avenues for Youth, College Housing Northwest and the Portland Leadership Foundation. This scholarship program exists to ensure that transition-age youth in foster care have the opportunity to attend college and succeed. Avenues to College provides housing, financial guidance, cohort and staff support, and leadership training to each student in the program.
City Builders
More than any other time in our city's history, we need young men and women from historically marginalized communities to step into leadership positions.
We need leaders with a vision for their neighborhood

City Builders is a scholarship partnership with Warner Pacific College. City Builders scholars are local leaders recruited based off of an ability to communicate a vision for the transformation of their neighborhood. City Builder awards are offered with the additional benefit (and requirement) that recipients participate in a cohort-based Asset Based Community Development program during the four months prior to enrollment.
City Builders awards are partial scholarships. To inquire more about how to apply, contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Ignite
Ignite is a leadership and scholarship initiative of Portland Leadership Foundation in partnership with Portland State University and Kaiser Permanente. Ignite seeks to identify pre-health students that are service-minded leaders who want to make PSU and their home communities better through education and building a strong network of support.