Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest is a youth-mentoring agency based in Portland that serves the metropolitan Portland area and southwest Washington. The agency matches children (Littles) with screened adult volunteer mentors (Bigs) in one-to-one relationships supported by professional staff, across a six-county region that spans the Oregon-Washington border. Beach Pace serves as CEO, and the agency uses the rallying line that, together, its supporters are the defenders of potential. Website itsbigtime.org; phone 503-249-4859.
The agency matches a child (a Little) with a volunteer adult mentor (a Big) in a one-to-one relationship supported by professional staff. It describes its mission as helping children realize their full potential and build their futures by providing a dedicated one-to-one mentor to each child who comes through the door.
Funded by local investment, the agency focuses its resources on the Portland metro and southwest Washington, building matches that give children a consistent, caring adult presence.
BBBS Columbia Northwest serves Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties in Oregon and Clark, Skamania, and Cowlitz counties in Washington. The Portland metro spans the Columbia River into Washington, so a bi-state footprint reflects how the region actually lives and works.
From its office on Southwest Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway in Portland, the agency recruits and supports mentors across the six-county region, reaching both the urban core and the suburban and exurban communities around it.
The agency notes that it is funded by local investments, which keeps its work tied closely to the Portland-area community. Beach Pace serves as CEO, leading the agency's mentoring programs and its fundraising across the region.
Its public identity, captured in the line defenders of potential, frames mentoring as a way for the community to invest directly in local children's futures.
The agency's six-county footprint puts a Big Brothers Big Sisters presence on both sides of the Columbia River. That reach is important because families and volunteers in the Portland metro routinely cross the state line for work, school, and daily life.
As with most BBBS agencies, demand for mentors exceeds the number of screened volunteers, so recruiting Bigs across the metro is an ongoing priority.
To become a Big, visit itsbigtime.org or call 503-249-4859. Volunteers complete an application and screening process, then are matched with a Little and supported by agency staff throughout the relationship.
Mentoring across a bi-state metro means volunteers can find opportunities on either side of the river, close to where they live or work.
Donations can be made at itsbigtime.org. The agency is a 501(c)(3) organization, so gifts are tax-deductible. As a locally funded agency, it relies on Portland-area corporate partnerships, foundation grants, and individual giving.
Gifts that fund match support, the staff time behind each match, help keep relationships safe and lasting.
The Portland metro has many youth-serving organizations, including Boys and Girls Clubs and after-school networks that reach children through group programming. For one-to-one, professionally supported mentoring across the bi-state metro, BBBS Columbia Northwest is the dedicated agency.
Its locally funded, one-to-one model complements group programs by giving a child a sustained individual relationship with a caring adult.
Last updated June 2026. BBBS Columbia Northwest service area (Portland metro and southwest Washington: Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Clark, Skamania, Cowlitz counties), CEO Beach Pace, Portland office, and locally funded model from the agency (itsbigtime.org); EIN 93-1303640 from Charity Navigator and ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. We are not affiliated with Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
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