Stories & Initiatives

Young people today face tough challenges, and you can help them. If we each stand up and do something, there will be lasting results.

SAGE encourages you to give forward through causes that are important to you. As an organization, we advance causes that strengthen education, restore our environment, and promote economic security. We call these the “3 Es,” and we believe these areas of impact enable younger and future generations to thrive. Click on the links for the 3 Es directly below to learn more about the importance of this work and our partners. We also recognize that most initiatives encompass these and other priorities and we promote comprehensive or cross-cutting actions as well.

  • Education promotes justice, critical thinking, democracy and opportunity.
  • Environment sustains life with clean air and water, and functioning ecosystems.
  • Economy enables people to provide for their families, and contribute to society.

Each year we seek to inspire, train, and support over 1,000 people to give forward in their communities. We pursue this work through two approaches.

First, we spotlight the work of our Sages - people who share their give forward stories in order to inspire and support others to make a difference in their communities. We have many great examples of Sages who are giving forward. For examples, see our StoryTree, Annual Reports, Legacy Fellow Summaries, Social Media, and sign-up for our newsletter.  Through the power of story, we inspire and support people to find their own pathway to engagement.

Second, we offer four programs or initiatives to inspire, train, and support people to give forward by getting involved in the work of our partners or directly through SAGE. Read on to learn how to get involved.

Visiting SAGE Speakers

Our annual Visiting SAGE speakers elevate a major challenge facing the future and inspire people to make a difference.

SAGE has hosted the following Visiting SAGE speakers. Click on the links below to learn more.

Connect & Engage Discussions and Workshops

Provide inspiration, training, and support to help people find a meaningful service or advocacy role anywhere, including with our partners or with SAGE.

SAGE offers over ten types of discussion and workshops that range from simple, one-hour Lunch & Learns to more involved, multi-session workshops on giving forward with your time, money, and voice. We also regularly partner with other organizations to co-create and co-sponsor events.

Learn more about our discussions and workshops.

Legacy Fellowships

Provide inspiration, training and support over a nine month program to help people lead their own community benefit projects, often in partnership with nonprofits or governmental organizations.

SAGE has trained and supported seven cohorts (nearly 80 Legacy Fellows) to lead community-benefit projects of their own design. These projects run the gamut from establishing community parks, gardens and centers, to funding scholarships for higher education, to leading efforts to reduce reliance on fossil fuels across large geographic regions.

Learn more about the Legacy Fellowship.

Click on these links for a summary of projects: Cohort 1, Cohort 2, Cohort 3, Cohort 4, Cohort 5, Cohort 6, Cohort 7.

Teams

SAGE Teams involve groups of people and partners who work together to achieve a common goal consistent with our three priority areas in education, the environment and economic opportunity. Each SAGE team has different people and partners involved, and they are all facilitated by SAGE to advance an important community initiative.

We currently facilitate teams in these arenas:

  • Citizen Project addresses political polarization by bringing people together across differences to solve problems.
  • Vision 2030 educates students about Portland's 2030 climate goals, solutions, and workforce opportunities.
  • SAGE Mentors provide free and reliable online mentoring to Parkrose Middle School students who are developing proficiency in English.
  • EVs for All offers education, outreach, electric vehicle charging stations and vehicles to increase awareness and use of electric vehicles.
  • Young Leaders Advisory Board (LAB) engages young leaders to serve as an intergenerational bridge to advance solutions to our shared future.

Everything we do has an impact.

Contact a SAGE Connector and learn how to get involved.

Contact Us