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Nike co-founder and owner Phil Knight is making a firm contribution to the Black community in Portland, Oregon by pledging $400 million to an investment fund supporting it.

According to reports, Knight and his wife, Penny,  announced on Monday (April 24th) that they’re donating $400 million to the 1803 Fund, a nonprofit initiative meant to aid those living in the historic Albina neighborhood covering the inner north and northeast sections of the Pacific Northwest city. The fund will be headed by Rukaiyah Adams, a well-known financial advocate and community leader. She will be joined on the board by Albina Head Start CEO Ron Herndon, Self-Enhancement Inc CEO Tony Hopson, Nike CEO John Donahoe, and Larry Miller, chairman of Nike’s Jordan Brand.

In a press release, Adams said the massive investment “has the potential to significantly change the culture and landscape of Portland. A place-based effort of this magnitude is unique and has never been done before in Portland – let alone the United States.” At the event held on Nike’s Beaverton campus, Knight spoke of his connection to the community. “Penny and I have long believed in the community of Portland,” he said. “Some of my most important memories are connected to the Eastside of Portland.” Knight has contributed heavily to community causes before and has a long relationship with Herndon and Adams, whose agreement to head up the board weighed heavily in his decision to donate. “She’s a superstar,” he said.
Albina became the primary neighborhood for Black people dating back to the early 1900s, but it would experience severe decimation throughout the decades due to redlining practices and urban renewal projects such as Interstate 5, the Rose Quarter, and the Legacy Emanuel Medical Center. The fund’s name also has a historic connotation – 1803 is the year that explorers Lewis & Clark began their journey across North America, with a man enslaved by Clark named York also coming along with a promise he’d be freed afterward. That never took place.
The 1803 Fund’s first project is entitled “Rebuild Albina”, an initiative that will “education, place and culture and belonging in the Albina neighborhood.” There were no further details discussed. In a press statement, Herndon said: “Black people have always been central to Portland’s economic success, but have rarely had access to the benefits and advantages that enable wealth creation and collective wellbeing. The Rebuild Albina project hopes to change that trajectory.”