Next Up Action Fund

youth spotlight moment: meet Marae! 💟

Marae T. has been familiar with our organization since it was called the Bus Project (throwback!). but it wasn’t until she saw a photo of our Advocacy Manager, Jasia, in our email newsletter that she decided to officially get involved with Next Up; joining our first-ever Community Action Team back in 2023.

ever since then—whether she’s hosting a screening of Sudan, Remember Us, or planning a collab benefit show (stay tuned for that, btw)—Marae has become a pillar of our organization; bringing her insight, knowledge and innately collaborative leadership style to everything she does.

“Next Up is really awesome because we’re trying to have these [difficult] conversations in fun ways, so that it’s not so intimidating,” says Marae. “We’re creating spaces that allow for us to be vulnerable, and learn together, and ask questions, and like, start on different pages. It’s OK to start on different pages.”

Next Up Action Fund provides accessible community building opportunities for 100+ young people across our programs. becoming a monthly donor helps us to sustain our work in championing youth voices! 📣

🔗 head to the link in our bio to read Marae’s full story & become a Disruptor today! 💜

we’re in the most important week for passing the City of Portland Budget‼️

on April 20th, Mayor Keith Wilson released a 408 page proposed city budget. last Friday, Council amendments were released to the public.

these amendments are opportunites to invest in our communities and ensure the budget is not balanced against the young people’s future and the will of the voters is not overturned. 📣

🔗 today and tomorrow are the LAST days to submit written testimony to be considered for the FY ‘26-‘27 budget! 🗓️

Team Next Up jumped into action this morning to give testimony—s/o devin rowan and zac🗣️—but we need more voices in this process, so submit your testimony today! 📝