In order to truly meet the needs of the diverse communities residing in the Portland metro area, there must first be an understanding of the real life experiences of the members of those communities. Accurate data and needs assessments are effective tools for under- standing inequities that are experienced, as well as barriers that exist in the daily lives of people of color. To adequately plan for services and develop appropriate policies, the Coalition believes that local government agencies must first get a picture of what Portland looks like now, of who lives here and who’s moving here, rather than maintaining a picture based on an eight-year-old census that did not effectively reach communities of color.

Since its formal inception in 2001, the Coalition has achieved many successes, including the addition of a culturally specific service provision in Multnomah County's SUN Service System and the creation of a funding formula that allocates a certain percentage of funding to communities of color. At the Coalition's inception, 10% of those served by SUN were people of color; today, it's 60%. Eight years later, the Coalition's voice has grown stronger, and advocacy efforts have expanded into many arenas of public policy that affect communities of color.