By Sam Diaz | 5-minute read
At 1000 Friends of Oregon, we are beginning the new year with gratitude and clear priorities. We got there in part due to a year-end staff retreat where we reflected on what we learned in 2025 and what we want to carry into 2026. We all felt that the most important lessons have come directly from our friends and collaborators: Thousands of Oregonians; our board of directors; our affiliate network; our Forestry Agricultural Advisory Committee (FAAC); partners like Ag for Oregon, Central Oregon LandWatch, and Crag Law; our Land Use Leadership Initiative (LULI) alumni; and more.
Your ideas, questions, concerns help us to hone in on focus areas for our Great Communities and Working Lands Programs and help us to improve our communications, events, and other crucial areas of our work. What you share—whether it's an email or whether it’s a phone call—matters to us and helps us shape our priorities.
With your help, we have built our 2026 resolutions
1. Line up the land conservation and development actions we need for shared prosperity
There’s a lot of debate about the “economy,” an abstract word that we use to measure human activity. Oregon’s land use planning program—if it’s honored and strengthened—helps Oregonians start businesses, get jobs, and be part of educational programs in industries both inside and outside our urban growth boundaries.
As I shared in a recent op-ed in Capital Press: “If Oregonians’ wellbeing isn’t part of a corporation’s business plan, then we shouldn’t give away our lands, water, energy, and taxpayer money to that company. Instead, let’s call on our leaders to prioritize businesses rooted in stewardship, ingenuity, and partnerships right here in Oregon.”
2. Finish the 2026 short legislative session strong—and in a way that tees up a productive 2027 session
I am excited to learn from, and work with, Cassie Wilson as she takes on her new role of legislative manager. Now, Cassie is representing 1000 Friends of Oregon at the state legislature, building relationships to strengthen our land use protections and secure resources and funds for all Oregon communities. She also works with our Great Communities and Working Lands Program staff to develop bill concepts that reflect the needs of Oregonians.
The bottom line: We’re heading into the 2026 short session to build hope and political will to improve all Oregonians’ quality of life, combat misinformation, and set our state up for long-term success. And, if you’re a member, join our Legislative Preview Webinar on Wednesday, January 28.
3. Launch a new resource for all Oregonians: The Housing Solutions Center
Thanks to the tireless efforts of associate director Mary Kyle McCurdy, 1000 Friends has long been a nexus for organizing Oregonians, developers, neighborhood associations, community-based and community-serving organizations, elected officials and agency staff, religious leaders, foundations, and more.
From our Anti-displacement PDX Coalition, to our Portland for Everyone coalition, to our 2025 statewide housing coalition, 1000 Friends has been consistently working to create pathways to real housing solutions for communities of all sizes across the state. And recently, we saw a significant victory for abundant and affordable housing throughout Oregon: In December, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission adopted the Oregon Housing Needs Analysis (OHNA) rules.
But, victories like these don’t always translate into quick, strategic action. Figuring out how to get more housing built in a community can be confusing and frustrating. The Housing Solutions Center is built to help you, your local officials, city manager, planners, and developers learn how to meet your community’s housing needs through strategic policymaking, advocacy, building community resilience, and more. This new resource will launch at the end of the month—getting one of our key goals done right out the gate in 2026!
4. Celebrating and strengthening relationships with our Forestry Agricultural Advisory Committee and Affiliate Network
For over 20 years, 1000 Friends has enjoyed the wisdom, energy, and partnership of our Forestry and Agricultural Advisory Committee (FAAC) and our affiliate network. In 2025, we were able to bring back our annual Affiliate Conference at Oregon State University thanks to the hard work of our team, especially Anna Kemper (then our membership experience manager, now our new Great Communities Program director). We’re excited to keep the momentum going and host another Affiliate Conference in 2026!
5. Update our website for improved clarity and connection
Our team is doing an amazing job meeting with media reporters, presenting at important community events around the state, and recruiting more activists to our campaigns. Thanks to all these efforts, our base is growing. More and more people are understanding how important it is to strengthen our land use planning program and to be thoughtful and intentional about how we plan for this place we call home.
But, that also means we have more eyes on our website, and we’re receiving really helpful, constructive feedback. In short: We need a new one. So, our big communications goal for 2026 will be bringing you a new website, complete with videos, improved mobile compatibility, and a format that makes getting involved more straightforward. We’ll be sharing a survey to gather feedback—keep an eye out!
A heartfelt thank you for a record-setting year-end
I also wanted to thank you for helping us end 2025 in a strong position. Year after year, we’ve been able to advocate wholeheartedly—using all of the tools in the advocacy toolkit—because of the incredibly generous individual support. Your support is the true power of this movement.
A special highlight for us was another successful year of being featured in Willamette Week’s Give!Guide. Thanks to over 300 individual donors, we were able to not only hit our Give!Guide campaign goal of $60,000, but we were also able to inspire two more matches: One from a generous farmer in Gaston and one from Organically Grown Co.
We can’t thank you enough for helping us win our match, meet our other fundraising goals, and connect thousands of Oregonians with our cause throughout the holiday season. Our 2025 campaign featured our first-ever Oregon Arts and Agriculture Holiday Market and great collaborations with our amazing business partners, Barry’s Portland, CASCADA Thermal Springs + Hotel, Modo Yoga, and Parkrose Coffee Shop.
We feel so grateful for the support of our community and we are ready to move forward in 2026—together.