About Mercy Corps: Global Headquarters:

Our New Home

Mercy Corps is a premier global relief and development organization that has been headquartered in Portland for nearly 30 years. Our community can be proud of our work abroad — and we know that many people in the Pacific Northwest consider us leaders among our peers. In 2008, for the third consecutive year, the Portland Business Journal selected Mercy Corps as one of the most admired companies in Oregon; 2,000 state CEOs recognize it as Oregon’s top nonprofit. Among our private donors, more of our support (32 percent) comes from the Pacific Northwest than from any other region in the United States.

Portland: A city where people put good ideas into action. No wonder that Mercy Corps has made its home here for nearly 30 years. Soon we’ll be at the heart of the action, supporting the city’s efforts to create a better world.

Mercy Corps’ unique organizational culture also sets it apart — a culture that encourages entrepreneurial, socially innovative solutions. In 2008, Mercy Corps earned a Fast Company/Monitor Group Social Capitalist Award for its original and market-focused approaches to tackling the world’s most challenging problems.

A Reflection of our Values

For Portlanders, the Mercy Corps headquarters will be a destination, a source of pride and a model of environmental sustainability. For Mercy Corps, it is the business opportunity of a lifetime.

Located at 28 SW First Avenue in the historic Old Town Chinatown neighborhood, Mercy Corps’ new headquarters is visible from the Burnside Bridge and Willamette River waterfront and is accessible by MAX.

With this move, Mercy Corps joins the University of Oregon, Portland Saturday Market and other organizations contributing to the revitalization of the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. Each workday,

Mercy Corps will bring 160 employees to the district. In the evenings, the headquarters will also attract visitors with events hosted by Mercy Corps and other community groups: international speaker series, seminars, meetings and other public functions.

Photo: THA Architecture

In every aspect of its search, Mercy Corps has been committed to finding a new home that is affordable and accessible and that reflects its organizational values of efficiency and wise stewardship of resources. With the help of some amazing supporters, we found it.

The Portland Development Commission recognized that Mercy Corps is good for the region. Every year we bring to the local economy a payroll of $16 million and a budget of more than $300 million. PDC helped us select the Skidmore Fountain Building and purchase it with significant public support.

For Portlanders, the Mercy Corps headquarters will be a destination, a source of pride and a model of environmental sustainability.

The headquarters project team, led by THA Architecture, also worked hard to ensure that Mercy Corps’ new home reflected its values. Aiming for a LEED Platinum rating, the highest green standard, they designed a building with environmental features such as rooftop solar panels, resource-friendly landscaping and natural ventilation. In addition to their environmental benefits, these design elements will improve Mercy Corps’ energy efficiency and keep its overhead costs low.

The entire headquarters project costs $37 million, of which $27 million is already committed from sources that include public support and long-term financing. Mercy Corps received generous subsidies from PDC, the New Markets Tax Credit and the Historic Tax Credit; these made the Skidmore Fountain Building the most cost-effective option by far. Mercy Corps will raise the last $10 million for the project in private funds.

Over the past five years, more than 89 percent of Mercy Corps’ resources has been directly allocated to programs that help people in need. We are committed to upholding this excellent record of responsible stewardship. Buying this building will let Mercy Corps continue to allocate a high percentage of resources to its programs, giving the organization an appreciating asset and long-term hedge against inflation.

We are asking our supporters to help us reach our $10 million goal with a gift to the Mercy Corps Headquarters Campaign. These gifts are an investment in Mercy Corps’ continued work to help people around the world and here at home. Change starts here.