Mercy Corps Northwest transitions away from client services in the Pacific Northwest

Since 1998, Mercy Corps Northwest had the privilege of serving communities across the Pacific Northwest with entrepreneurial support. We proudly served as home to Oregon Women’s Business Center and microloan lender in partnership with the Small Business Administration (SBA), and an Oregon IDA grant provider. We also hosted one of Oregon’s most impactful prison entrepreneurship programs that reduced participant recidivism rates by nearly 50 percent, and built capacity at nonprofits across Oregon and Washington as host of a regional AmeriCorps VISTA program.

The impact of this work has accumulated to $16.5 million dollars in grants and loans disbursed to entrepreneurs, more than 130,000 hours of small business education, and over twelve-thousand clients receiving services from Mercy Corps Northwest.

In tandem with the launch of our new 10-year Pathway to Possibility strategy, we have taken time to reflect on our impact as an organization. As part of this, we reviewed our approach to programming in the Pacific Northwest and our direct-to-client programs. In June 2024 Mercy Corps Northwest initiatives moved under the greater Mercy Corps organization and name.

We aimed to be intentional in this process by ensuring that our participants and partners received clear communication regarding our next steps. We transitioned our core business development services programs to other agencies throughout 2023-2024 and completed all programs by September 2024.   

We handed off the following programs on the following dates:

  • Mercy Corps Northwest completed our term as host of Oregon Women’s Business Center (WBC) on September 30, 2023, after more than a decade of service to the community. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has officially announced Livelihood NW as the next home of the Oregon WBC. Click here or email hello@livelihoodnw.org to learn more about the center's new home. If you reached this page as an entrepreneur interested in Oregon or SW Washington resources for small business owners, please check out our downloadable resource guide here.
     
  • The Oregon IDA Initiative program proctored from our organization will be transitioned to new providers under Neighborhood Partnerships’ leadership. We will continue to service IDA clients enrolled before 2023. 
     
  • Our small business microloan program accepted its last open applications for funding up to $10,000 in October of 2023. Current loan terms remain unchanged, and we reached out directly with changes to contacts or servicing. New inquiries will be referred to other local providers.
  • All small business services in Southern Washington were closed in 2024.   

  • The Clackamas County Nonprofit Capacity Building Recovery Assistance Program (CBRA) program and all technical assistance for qualified non-profit 501(c)(3) or 501 (c)(19) organizations closed September 2024. 

Frequently Asked Questions

When will I no longer be able to access Mercy Corps Northwest services?

Due to the nature of our funding, we have defined final service dates by program below. All educational offerings, loans, and Oregon IDAs were serviced throughout their offering period.

In June of 2024, Mercy Corps Northwest merged under the Mercy Corps name and in September 2024, all Mercy Corps Northwest programming was completed.

Clients will not be able to access new services past the following dates:

January 1, 2023 - Final Oregon IDA Grant Enrollment
October 1, 2023 - Final Oregon Women’s Business Center education offerings at Mercy Corps Northwest    
October 31, 2023 - Final loan application date

Can I still access Oregon Women’s Business Center and business education at Mercy Corps Northwest?

Mercy Corps Northwest completed its term as host of Oregon Women’s Business Center (WBC) on September 30, 2023, after more than a decade of service to the community. The Small Business Administration (SBA) has officially announced Livelihood NW as the next home of the Oregon WBC. Click here or email hello@livelihoodnw.org to learn more about the center's new home. If you reached this page as an entrepreneur interested in Oregon or SW Washington resources for small business owners, please check out our downloadable resource guide here.

Can I enroll in the Oregon IDA initiative with Mercy Corps Northwest?

We completed our final IDA application process in January 2023. We are not accepting new savers at this time and will not re-open the program in the future. You can find a list of current Oregon IDA Initiative new providers at oregonidainitiative.org.

Can I apply for a small business loan at Mercy Corps Northwest?

No, but all interested applicants should visit the Small Business Administration’s loan finder to apply for loans at sba.gov/funding-programs/loans.

I am located in Southern Washington, when will my programs close?

Small business services in Southern Washington closed December 2023.

I am located outside of Oregon and Southern Washington, can I access services?

Mercy Corps Northwest does not currently offer any programs outside of Oregon and Southern Washington.

What is the status of the LIFE prison and re-entry program?

Mercy Corps is no longer offering our LIFE programming.

What is the status of the AmeriCorps VISTA program?

Our AmeriCorps VISTA program celebrated its final cohort of volunteers in February 2023. To learn more about the current AmeriCorps opportunities, please visit americorps.gov.

What programming are you offering in Clackamas County?

The Clackamas County Nonprofit Capacity Building Recovery Assistance Program (CBRA) program and all technical assistance for qualified non-profit 501(c)(3) or 501 (c)(19) organizations closed September 2024.

Why have you made this decision to no longer offer these services?

In January 2022 Mercy Corps Northwest began the process of reviewing our program model in the Pacific Northwest and its alignment with Mercy Corps new 10-year Pathway to Possibility strategy. After this review process, we made the tough decision in March 2023 to close our programs. The wind down and closure of these services and programs was completed in September 2024.

 

Last updated 10/15/2024