Consulting and Counseling Organizations

Business Oregon works closely with the following consulting and counseling organizations to assist small business growth.

Avita & Associates
5257 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Suite 201 Portland, OR 97211
Telephone: 503-998-9560
AVITA is committed to providing businesses, government and nonprofit agencies, and financial institutions business services that enhance cultural expansion by targeting women and minorities, persons with disabilities and veterans bridging the gap of economic development and community diversity.

East County One Stop (ECOS)
Portland, Oregon, 503-661-3981
Through its support of market-vendor businesses in distressed and rural communities, ECOS assists minority and low-income businesses by providing small business training and technical assistance to promote microenterprise growth.

eDev—Entreprenuerial Development Services
Eugene, Oregon, 541-463-4606
eDev is a nonprofit microenterprise development organization located in Eugene, Oregon. Its evolving mission is to provide business development services to both individuals who are wanting to either start a small business or to build its existing business, and to communities that are wanting to economically strengthen and diversify their economies. Se Habla Español—spanish language services

Interface Network
Salem, Oregon, 503-365-0088
The Interface Network provides bilingual/bicultural assistance to Spanish speaking business owners throughout the Willamette Valley, and southern and central Oregon. Se Habla Español—Spanish language services

Lewis & Clark Law School Small Business Legal Clinic (SBLC)
310 SW Fourth Ave., Suite 1000, Portland Oregon, 97204.
Phone:  503-768-6940, Fax: 503-546-8863
Lewis & Clark Law School's Small Business Legal Clinic (SBLC) provides business transactional legal advice to new and emerging businesses, primarily those owned by women, minorities, and recent immigrants. The SBLC provides its services to clients through two distinct programs: the Intern Program and the Pro Bono Project. Since opening its doors in September 2006, the SBLC has assisted small businesses in legal matters, the majority of which are owned by women, minorities or recent immigrants.

Mercy Enterprise Corporation
2069 NE Hoyt, Portland Oregon; 503-236-1580
Mercy Corps Northwest assists low-income individuals, including minorities, women, refugees, and immigrants in the Portland-Vancouver metro region, to increase their economic self-sufficiency through microenterprise development and self-employment.
Mercy Corps works to support low-income entrepreneurial individuals in the region by:

• assisting individuals to develop and start up business ventures in economically distressed communities;
• supporting residents in their wealth-creation efforts through IDAs;
• providing financial education and money management training;
• financing microenterprise ventures with character-based loans;
• promoting economic development opportunities for low-income individuals and neighborhoods;
• advancing business opportunities for low-income individuals and neighborhoods; and
• supporting communities’ efforts to create and improve economic infrastructure.

Microenterprise Inventors Program of Oregon (MIPO)
5257 NE Martin Luther King JR. Blvd., Suite 201,  Portland 97211.
Phone: 503-998-9560, Fax: 503-961-8489
MIPO is a program created through East County One-stop of Portland, Oregon. MIPO's mission is to provide business services and resources for the micro-enterprise independent inventors. MIPO provides business consulting for inventors, classes with expert instructors, webinars through partner programs, computer lab access, Oregon's Inventors Web site, quarterly e-newsletters, networking events and the Inventor's Trade Show.

Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs (OAME)
Portland, Oregon, 503-249-7744
The association was formed to promote and develop entrepreneurship and economic development for ethnic minorities in Oregon and southwest Washington. Se Habla Español—Spanish language services

Oregon Native American Business Network (ONABEN)
Tigard, Oregon, 503-968-1500
ONABEN is a nonprofit, public-benefit organization created by Northwest tribes to increase the success of private businesses owned by Native Americans. The network offers training and support focused on developing entrepreneurship in Native American communities.

Partnership to End Poverty
Redmond, Oregon,  541-504-1389
This program provides microenterprise training, counseling and specialty services to microenterprises in east Cascade counties' rural and distressed communities.

Philippine American Chamber of Commerce (PACCO)
Portland, Oregon,  503-285-1994
PACCO serves as a clearinghouse for Philippine-American trade, tourism and economic information as well as acts as a liaison for government agencies. PACCO provides its members and the community with a direct link toward achieving their full business potential through networking opportunities, referrals, business resources and business seminars.

Rural Development Initiatives, Inc. (RDI)
2620 River Road, Suite 205; Eugene, Oregon 97404.  Phone: 541-684-9077.
Rural Development Initiatives (RDI)
RDI is an Oregon-based nonprofit dedicated to serving as a catalyst for rural community vitality. It works with rural leaders and volunteers to expand their knowledge, skills and networks so that they can undertake successful community and economic development projects. RDI works at the local, regional and statewide levels to foster strong rural communities. It also works to address the issues in Indian Country through providing training in the areas of: Native American leadership, economic development, facilitation, and grassroots community development. RDI’s Youth Leadership program similarly exposes elementary, middle and high school students to a variety of leadership and community development theory and practice in order for them to more successfully engage with their schools and communities.