In a previous post, Community Outreach committee member Dominique Whittaker announced the board’s approval to award $10,000 in micro-grants to community organizations that are focused on critical issues to the Black Lives Matter movement:

This year, 2020, has brought societal issues to the forefront of the American consciousness — from having frank conversations about systemic racism and police brutality, to asking what diversity and inclusion means and what the expectations of allies are. The 107IST itself has been called upon to reflect on the ways in which it has historically not been perceived as inclusive and how that can be changed going forward. Community, inclusion, and action are more paramount than ever and, while more can (and will) be done, the 107IST and the Community Outreach Committee are awarding $10,000 in micro-grants to community organizations whose mission and efforts center on furthering local efforts central to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Our second micro-grant recipient is The Black United Fund of Oregon, an organization serving BIPOC youth and young adults, with an emphasis on first-in-family college students and students from families with socioeconomic barriers. They also work to address systemic inequity through community-driven solutions for youth, both during and after high school, working to guide them to postsecondary success. About 65% of the individuals served identify as Black or African Diaspora, more than 80% identify as persons of color, and nearly 100% qualify as low-income. These individuals face the trauma of generational poverty, racial inequity, unequal opportunity, and — for immigrant students — a potentially painful and uncertain adjustment to life in a new country.

The Black United Fund’s primary activities include:

• One-on-one postsecondary support and workshops for 1,000 students annually using the culturally congruent Path to Scholarships^®️ curriculum
• Community outreach events, such as large-scale workshops and college fairs
• Culturally specific professional development for BIPOC young professionals (“BUF Talks” and their alumni program)
• Postsecondary scholarships for students of color (funded through workplace giving)
• Mentoring BIPOC-led nonprofits to help them leverage resources and become more sustainable
• Grassroots grants (funded through workplace-giving) to smaller organizations reaching youth of color in creative and meaningful ways
• No- and low-cost rental space for female/queer-identifying and majority BIPOC-led nonprofits and groups, addressing the root causes of inequity to meet, rally, and organize in a safe space

Funds donated to the Black United Fund will support these activities, as well as others specifically geared to meet community needs in the midst of a pandemic, including:

• Exploring how the community has been impacted by COVID-19, making materials available remotely
• Increasing staff time to manage an expanded virtual program for program participants
• Providing educational materials and supplies for students, parents, and volunteers
• Remaining responsive to the community as they navigate the economic and educational consequences of the pandemic

In particular, the Black United Fund is concerned with the multimonth gap in education that is occurring, which will have long-term effects on BIPOC and low-income communities, setting our most vulnerable students up for failure. The Black United Fund is stepping up during the coming school year to give BIPOC youth the resources their white peers access to ensure they are on track next year — advancing to college, trade schools, careers, and more.

If you’d like to know more about the Black United Fund of Oregon, check them out here. If you’d like to support their work, you can donate here through December 31st as part of Willamette Week’s Give!Guide.

Since 2010, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust has been advocating for supporters’ rights, supporting the activities of the Timbers Army and the Rose City Riveters, and giving back to our communities through charitable donations and volunteer organization.

As the organization has grown and evolved over the years, the 107IST has been working through organizational changes as well. What started out as a leadership group born out of the Timbers Army, the board now comprises supporters from both of Portland’s professional clubs. We recently announced the formation of the Timbers Army Steering Committee, a formalized leadership team that can steer the day-to-day, match-to-match activities of the Timbers Army, much like the Rose City Riveters Steering Committee. With two steering committees working with the 107IST board, the 107IST can focus on activities that deepen our relationships with members to be better representatives, expand our relationships with our communities, and focus on our mission.

A key part of this change was to update our crest to reflect our future, and to give a nod to our city and our supporters. We’ll be updating the website and our member materials to include the new crest going forward.

About the crest:

At the base, rests the distinctive arches of our cathedral, Providence Park, the birthplace and nexus of the 107IST. Light from inside illuminates and welcomes all who wish to join us in our support. The 107IST text advances above the stadium, which like our organization is always moving forward. Over this is the hyperbolic star from the iconic City of Portland flag, which serves to remind us of our incredible city and its place within the Cascadia region. An equilateral triangle encases the entire design, the strength of which symbolizes both our strength together and approach to our work with its three equal sides. The left represents the teams we support, the right side our supporters, both of which support the top, our mission: to support soccer in and around Portland, Oregon, from the grassroots to the highest professional level.

Since 2010, the 107 Independent Supporters Trust has focused on supporting soccer in and around Portland, Oregon, from the grassroots to the highest professional level. As an organization, we continue to grow and evolve: “107IST” used to be synonymous with “Timbers Army” and only Timbers Army; however, the 107IST has also been the engine behind the Rose City Riveters since 2013. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be updating our website to more accurately reflect the organization. Coupled with a fresh new look and updated crests, we’ll be moving content around to create sections with Timbers Army content, Rose City Riveters content, and 107IST content.

If something looks wrong or links are broken, please let us know! The best place to reach our website team about changes is the Website Help members forum (login required).

As we have discussed in past posts [scroll down to see several], the board has committed to improvement in five areas this year. We have promised to:

1. Improve accessibility.
2. Hear from members.
3. Communicate more.
4. Increase accountability.
5. Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.

We’d like to share some of the steps we’ve taken in these areas with our members and with the general public.

This week, we’ll look at our successes and our next steps to Communicate more.

What we’ve accomplished

Audited our email groups. As the organization has matured, we’ve realized that we have had legacy email groups that were forwarding to the wrong people, which meant we had a broken chain of communication in some cases. We reviewed, analyzed, sorted, and reorganized email groups under 107ist.org.

Posted committee and board meetings on the website and on social media. In the past, not all committees and work groups publicly posted dates and times for meetings. We have been posting these to the website, with the option to sign up to attend those that are open to membership and/or to the general public. We also post reminders of these meetings on social media, along with links for members to sign up if they wish to attend.

Created a process for members to be able to submit questions/feedback to the Front Office. While the 107IST board has had regular monthly meetings with the PTFC Front Office for years, we hadn’t formalized ways for members to submit questions. Now we do, and we follow up with members after the fact.

Updated the newsletter to include contact information for the board, as well as reminders of board meeting dates and times.

In progress

We are in the process of organizing TA and 107IST website and blogs to reflect the organization’s structure.

Ongoing

We post the 107IST board meeting agenda ahead of every meeting, we post board meeting minutes after every meeting, and the Comms team follows ongoing processes for communicating weekly meetings and events via the newsletter and social media channels.

The following is a post from Dominique Whittaker.

This year, 2020, has brought societal issues to the forefront of the American consciousness — from having frank conversations about systemic racism and police brutality, to asking what diversity and inclusion means and the what the expectations of allies are. The 107IST itself has been called upon to reflect on the ways in which it has historically not been perceived as inclusive and how that can be changed going forward. Community, inclusion, and action are more paramount than ever and, while more can (and will) be done, the 107IST and Community Outreach Committee are awarding $10,000 in micro-grants to community organizations whose mission and efforts center on furthering local efforts central to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The first recipient of micro-grant funds is the Black & Beyond the Binary Collective, an organization dedicated to the advocacy and healing for transgender and gender-variant Oregonians who are Black and have lived experiences as a member of the African Diaspora. While the Black Lives Matter movement has brought racial inequality, systemic racism, and police brutality/abuse to the forefront of the conversation, Black Trans and non-binary folx are often left out of the conversation, even though they are at the forefront of every major Civil Rights movement, dealing with homophobia, transphobia and misogyny. The Human Rights Campaign reports that, in 2020 alone, more than 36 transgender or non-conforming people have been fatally short or killed by other means, and too often these stories go unreported or in some cases, misreported. This monetary award will enable them to provide deepened support for the Trans and Nonbinary community, specifically around harm reduction and suicide prevention and enable them to start providing many of the needs of Black Queer, Trans, and Nonbinary Portlanders.

How can you help support Black & Beyond the Binary Collective? They are planning a Trans Day of Remembrance Event on November 20. This is an opportunity to connect, create joy, break bread and collectively heal as they highlight those who have been lost to anti-trans violence. They are looking for volunteers for security and specifically look to white allies to redirect other white folks who show up as this event is POC only. Additionally, they have other needs, ranging from a mini-fridge, microwave, full-size refrigerators and a paper shredder. If you are interested in volunteering or donating please contact Babatunde (Ze/hir) at babatunde@bbbcollective.org.

Our greatest asset as an organization is our dedicated, empathetic, and passionate membership. If you wish you help with other outreach efforts from donation drives, group volunteer activities or want to get involved in the Outreach Committee, please contact community@107ist.org. We want to hear from you and connect on ways to help our community near and far. Thank you for supporting the work of these and other organizations.

107IST Board Elections Update

After a thorough review of the organization’s election by-laws and procedures, and consultation with our legal advisors, it has been determined that a formal election will be held as originally planned.

• On November 15, from noon to 2 p.m., we will host a virtual forum session for all candidates. This session is moderated, and the questions are sent in by members. 
• After the virtual forum, all current 107IST members will be able to post questions to candidates in the member forums on the website.
• Ballots will be sent out on Sunday, November 29, to all 107IST members who renewed their 2020 membership before October 31.
• Voting will take place from November 29 through December 12, and we will announce the results on December 13.
• We request that all candidates attend the December 8 107IST board meeting.

Important: You must have been a member of the 107IST by October 31, 2020, to be eligible to run for the board and/or to vote.

Virtual Forum:

More about the candidates can be found here. If you would like to attend the forum please check your email for a link to RSVP. A link to join will be sent out to registrants by 10 a.m., Sunday morning. Questions and comments you would like addressed can be submitted through the link in your email. 

If you have any questions about the election process, feel free to email our elections committee at elections@107ist.org.

As we discussed in previous posts (original post and our first update), the board has committed to improvement in five areas of focus this year. We have promised to:

This week, we’d like to share some of the steps we’ve taken to Hear from members.

What we’ve accomplished

• Member town hall: We held a town hall on September 19, where — instead of board members setting the agenda — the conversation focused on what members brought to the table. The plan is for the board to continue to hold these town halls mid-year, so members can ask questions, raise concerns, and share their ideas face-to-face with the board.
• Member survey: We recently sent an updated membership survey to 2019 and 2020 107IST members to better understand who we are as an organization. Results will be shared with membership and with the board, workgroups, and committees.
• Board meet-ups: Board members have given stakeholders the opportunity to meet up online and engage in dialogue with individual board members. To date, there have been board meet-ups with Joshua, Dawn, Zach, and Gab; Sheba is next on the schedule in November.

Ongoing

• Grievance process: We’re still working on establishing a process to hear from members about past grievances, ensuring that there is a safe space and process for members who wish to address past issues. This may involve contracting with outside experts for assistance, and we are engaging in research on that front.
• Neutral ombudsman or listening committee: In addition to addressing past grievances, we are working to determine how best to have ongoing means for members to bring concerns to the board.
• Volunteer recognition: We have had volunteer-recognition systems in the past; we are researching ways to establish and implement a volunteer recognition program.

Still to come

• Mingle events in the warehouse: This will be revisited once we can gather in larger groups post-COVID restrictions.
• Social events or gatherings to help foster a social club environment: We will revisit this once we can gather in larger groups post-COVID restrictions.

It's election season again! Once you've cast the most important ballot of 2020, consider turning your eyes toward your next ballot: 107IST board of directors.

This year, we're introducing some changes to the election process and board setup. Check it out here.

For elections, we'll have candidates vying for one of four open positions for a three-year term (2021 through 2023).

• Applications for candidates will be open from October 28 until 11:59 a.m. on November 11.
• We will post the list of candidates and their statements on the website on November 11.
• On November 15, from noon to 2, we will host a virtual forum session for all candidates. This session is moderated, and the questions are sent in from members.
• After the virtual forum, all current 107IST members will be able to post questions to candidates in the member forums on the website.
• Ballots will be sent out on Sunday, November 29, to all 107IST members who renewed their 2020 membership before October 31.
• Voting will take place from November 29 through December 12, and we will announce the results on December 13.
• We request that all candidates attend the December 8 107IST board meeting.

Important: You must have been a member of the 107IST by October 31, 2020, to be eligible to run for the board and/or to vote.

What are our needs?

As always, we are looking for professional, committed people to join our board. Non-profit experience is a definite need. The main requirement is always people who have a history of committed and reliable work with the 107IST and who can put in the time needed for the board. (The time commitment can vary depending on what members take on, but the average is somewhere between 6 to 10 hours a week.)

We continue to work towards moving away from being a working board to being more strategic, so are definitely looking for organizational development skills, as well as proven project management, leadership, and strategic thinking..

We also absolutely recognize the need for the organization to grow in its work toward diversity, equity, and inclusion. We encourage members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA communities to put their names forward.

As the board continues to evolve and grow, and we continue our capital campaign for a permanent home, it would be great to have people with financial or real estate experience.

To apply to run for election to the 107IST board, go here. 

About the board

Our board members help shape the organization and work to make the Timbers and Thorns supporter experience bigger and better, as well as contribute to initiatives in the Portland soccer community. You can find out more about the current board, the positions and committees they serve in, and the initiatives they manage here.

If you have any questions about the election process, feel free to email our elections committee at elections@107ist.org.

Update: Donation drive is postponed until such a time as we can open up again safely and be in line with the governor's orders to slow the covid spread. Fanladen will be closed at least through the end of the year. If you have items, hang on to them. If you wish to contribute directly to FSSW, we will be publishing an address to send donations via check. Thanks for your support!

New donation drive: Friends of Seasonal and Service Workers

In November and December, we'll be supporting Friends of Seasonal and Service Workers. FSSW has supported low-income workers for nearly forty years, providing material support for self-organized groups of Washington County farmworkers and workers in the Medford. They believe that those of us in the Portland area have a responsibility to help our entire state-wide community, and we're honored to support their mission.

We'll be collecting goods that are especially helpful as Oregon heads into our rainy season:
- New socks and underwear (including kids sizes)
- New and like-new clothing for kids and teenagers (especially teenagers)
- Dried pinto beans
- White rice
- Cooking oil
- Non-perishable snacks for kids: granola bars, Goldfish, etc.

- Dishwashing soap - both regular and for dishwashers

As always, donations can be dropped off in the doorway of Fanladen to maintain social distancing and ensure safety. Please wear a mask. If you are doing grocery pick-up or otherwise shopping in a careful and distant manner, these are easy items to add to your order!

Donation drop-offs are temporarily on hold, at least until January 2021. 

As we discussed in past posts, the board has committed to improvement in five areas of focus this year. We have promised to:

• Improve accessibility.
• Hear from members.
• Communicate more.
• Increase accountability.
• Evaluate the organization’s structure and activities.

We’d like to share some of the steps we’ve taken in these areas with our members and with the general public.

This week, we’ll look at our successes and our next steps to Improve accessibility.

All 107IST board meetings are now available by video conferencing. While this has been a necessary step during the pandemic, it also has the added benefit of allowing those who do not live close to Portland to attend board meetings. To avoid meeting-bombing, we do not publish the links for the general public, but anyone who wishes to attend a board meeting by video conferencing may do so by signing up at timbersarmy.org. All registered attendees receive a link to the board meeting by email ahead of time.

Ensure that virtual meetings are properly subtitled. When we hold meetings, we do so using Google Meet, with the captioning option, so that attendees can access the conversation through captioning as well as by audio.

Establish protocols and procedures for accessibility. It’s true that the pandemic has meant that we hold meetings online, which allows for captioning. We have established that this is not only a practice to undertake during a pandemic, but have also added procedures and protocols for accessibility to the board handbook for both in-person meetings (ASL interpreters) and for remote meetings (captioning) going forward.

In progress:
We are in the process of adding alt text to our (prodigious) collection of photos to make them accessible to persons with visual impairments or with low or limited vision.

Look for more information about our efforts in the few weeks!