PDX Benefits NavigatorA friendly navigator for Portland
About
Made in Portland 2026 AI Portland Build ChallengeNothing stored

Portland has the programs.
We help you find them.

PDX Benefits Navigator is a free, browser-based tool that checks every federal, Oregon, Multnomah County, and City of Portland benefit program against your household’s situation — and hands you a clear, actionable packet in about three minutes.

The project

The breadth problem — and how we fix it.

Most national screening tools check federal programs — SNAP, Medicaid, WIC — and stop there. That leaves a significant gap. Portland and Multnomah County have funded a layer of locally-targeted programs that can add $10,000 – $25,000 a year for an average family, and most residents never hear about them.

We built this to close that gap. We check all 24 programs — federal, state, county, and city — in a single session. Eleven of those 24 are flagged as Hidden gems — locally-funded programs that virtually no national tool will surface.

This tool was built for the 2026 AI Portland Build Challenge — a hackathon asking builders to use AI for genuine community good.

6 of 11 hidden gems
PortlandPortland Renter Relocation
$2,900 – $4,500
PortlandPCEF Home Energy
up to $15,000
Multnomah CountySUN Service System
$1,000 – $6,000
Multnomah CountyMultnomah Eviction Prevention
up to $5,000
PortlandWater Bureau Discount
80% off bill
PortlandTransportation Wallet
$100 – $308 / yr

Values are annual estimates. Confirm eligibility with each program before applying.

The maker

Built by a Portlander, for Portland.

Nathan Pickard
Portland, Oregon

Nathan is a Portland-based senior software engineer who likes pointing technology at problems in his own backyard. His through-line — “building web experiences that connect great ideas to the people who need them”— is exactly what this is.

He built PDX Benefits Navigator for the 2026 AI Portland Build Challenge to help neighbors find the local benefit programs most tools quietly skip.

nathanpickard.comGitHubLinkedInXBluesky
How it works

Your key. Your browser. Your analysis.

1

Bring your own API key

You paste your own Anthropic API key into the app. The analysis is streamed directly from your browser to Anthropic — our server never sees the key, the answers, or the results.

2

The full programs database in context

Instead of a rules engine, we embed every program’s eligibility rules in a system prompt. Claude reads the whole picture at once — federal poverty tables, Oregon statutes, city and county ordinances — and writes you a plain-language brief.

3

Dollar figures from official data

Every estimate is drawn from each program’s official amount_range in programs.json. Claude is never allowed to invent dollar figures — only to apply the official ranges to your situation.

⚖️
Estimates only — not legal advice

Results are a starting point to identify programs worth applying for — not a determination of legal eligibility. Always confirm with each program’s caseworker or official source before applying.

Privacy

Nothing leaves your browser.

No server-side key

Your Anthropic API key is stored only in your browser's localStorage. Our server never sees it — not even for a millisecond.

🗄️
No database

There is no backend database. Your intake answers exist only in your browser's sessionStorage for the duration of your session.

📡
No analytics

We run no analytics scripts, no tracking pixels, no third-party telemetry. The only external request is your browser → Anthropic.

🧹
Nothing stored on our servers

The one server route (/api/packet) renders a PDF from data you POST to it — it is stateless and stores nothing.

No tracking No cookies Nothing stored on our servers Session only
Get involved

Open source. Open doors.

Source code
github.com/NathanPickard

The full codebase — intake form, AI prompt, programs database, PDF renderer — is open source. File an issue, submit a PR, or fork it for your own city.

View on GitHub
Contribute

Know a program we’re missing? Spot a dollar figure that’s out of date? Adding a program is as simple as editing a JSON file — no rules engine to update.

Open an issue
Partner with us

Are you a social services org, housing nonprofit, or city agency? We’d love to discuss integration, co-branding, or translation help.

Contact link coming soon
Friends we’d love: 211info · Multnomah County DCHS · Oregon Food Bank · JOIN PDX · Community Alliance of Tenants
Ready to find what you’re owed?

Three minutes. No login. Nothing stored.

The screening is free, runs entirely in your browser, and gives you a plain-language packet with every program you may qualify for — including the ones national tools miss.

Find what you’re owed
No tracking · No cookies · Nothing stored on our servers