Supporting our neighbors on the peninsula
From the Old Port to the Eastern Prom, the Foundation partners with the City of Portland to meet our most vulnerable residents where they are — with dignity, resources, and a message of progress. Portland is thriving. We make sure everyone hears it.
In partnership with the Office of the Mayor · Broadcast services by PNN
Program One · Classic
Walk Commercial Street the traditional way. Meet the community. Resolve misunderstandings directly, block by block.
Enter the street →
Program Two · Immersive
Step into a fully three-dimensional Portland after dark — eight rendered chapters, the whole crew, one long night. Our most immersive program yet.
Enter the initiative →
Best experienced with sound on. Keyboard: WASD to move · J punch · K heavy · SPACE jump-kick · L special.
The Soft Name Foundation was established in 2021, in the hopeful months following the Broadcast Modernization Act. Where others saw a city struggling with an unprecedented public-health signal, some saw an opportunity: to give hard problems softer names, and to make sure every resident — housed or unhoused, well or unwell — received the message that things are getting better.
Today we operate across eight districts, from the working waterfront to the pines, in close coordination with the Office of the Mayor, municipal enforcement partners, and our valued broadcast affiliate PNN. Our uniformed outreach specialists — you may know them by their friendly windbreakers — are on the street every night, keeping the message moving.
Our Mission
“A cleaner word for a harder city.”
Values
Dignity · Coverage · Compliance · Optimism
14,000+
Neighbors reached
8
Districts served
100%
Message coverage
“Everything is under control.”
“The towers were never about coverage.”
“They're not the enemy.”
Every contribution keeps our streets covered. One hundred percent of every gift goes directly to the message.
The Soft Name Foundation is a fictional organization from the game ZATO Portland. No payment is collected, no card is charged, and no money changes hands — much like our programs, the button simply makes you feel like something happened.