Renting space at Equi.

Creating Community

At The Marie Equi Center, we believe that community is essential to health and wellbeing. Healing doesn't happen in isolation. It happens when people have spaces where they can gather, learn, organize, celebrate, create, and simply be together. Opening our doors for rentals is one way we help cultivate the kind of connected, resilient community we want to see.

We see our event spaces as an extension of our mission. Every workshop, support group, meeting, celebration, art show, training, or community gathering contributes to a broader ecosystem of belonging. Whether your event is directly connected to our mission or simply brings people together with care and intention, we believe that creating opportunities for connection strengthens our community as a whole.

Renting at Equi means more than reserving a venue. When you rent space at The Marie Equi Center, you're gathering in a place intentionally designed around dignity, accessibility, and belonging. You're also helping ensure this community resource remains available and participating in the ongoing work of creating a place where people can come together and where community continues to grow.

Sustainable Care

The Marie Equi Center is committed to being a place where community can gather, connect, and thrive for years to come. To do that, we need a rental program that reflects both the true cost of maintaining our spaces and our commitment to making them accessible.

During the first year of our rental program, our pricing was intentionally kept low to help reduce barriers and encourage community use of the space. Over the past year, uncertainty around public funding also reinforced something we already knew: a thriving community resource is strongest when it's sustained by many forms of community investment. As demand for our spaces and services continues to grow, we've reimagined our rental model as one part of a broader strategy to strengthen the Center's long-term sustainability while continuing to prioritize equitable access. Rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all pricing model, we've created an updated sliding scale that recognizes differences in organizational resources, financial hardship, and community impact.

Our goal is to ensure that The Marie Equi Center remains a vibrant, welcoming place where people can gather while sustaining the infrastructure that makes our broader mission possible. Every rental helps sustain a place where queer and trans community members can find safety, connection, stability, and care. Rental income is one way our community invests in keeping this shared space vibrant, welcoming, and available for the people who rely on it every day.

If you're able, we also invite you to deepen that investment by joining our Circle of Giving as a monthly donor or by making a one-time donation beyond your rental fee. Together, these forms of community support help create the long-term stability that allows the Center to continue showing up for our community every day.

Centering Equity

Our Vision

At The Marie Equi Center, equity means recognizing that equal treatment does not always create equal opportunity. Different communities face different barriers to accessing safe, welcoming gathering spaces, and our rental structure reflects that reality by creating pathways for more people to access the space while helping sustain it for the future.

Our sliding-scale pricing is designed to reduce barriers for trans-led organizations, BIPOC-led organizations, groups experiencing financial hardship, and those providing mission-aligned services or community offerings. By considering both financial capacity and community impact, we're able to make our spaces more accessible to the people and organizations who are often priced out of traditional venues while ensuring The Marie Equi Center has the resources to continue serving our community. We know that community spaces are an important part of building healthy, resilient communities, and we want our spaces to be available to grassroots organizers, mutual aid efforts, artists, educators, support groups, and others working to strengthen our communities.

For us, equity isn't just a value. It's something we practice by designing systems that expand access, strengthen community, and help this shared space remain welcoming and available for years to come. At the same time, equity also means ensuring the sustainability of the necessary services provided by The Marie Equi Center. By centering equity in our rental structure, we're creating a model that reflects our values in practice by supporting the ongoing operation of our facilities sustainably so that more people can gather, connect, organize, and build community together.

Explore Our Available spaces

The Back Yard

95’x45’ – 3,600sqft – Capacity 200

A spacious gymnasium with soaring ceilings and rubber flooring. Ideal for health or resource fairs, large social gatherings, distribution events, and community markets.

Starting at $75/hour

The Den/AC’s Art Corner

15’x40’ – 600sqft – Capacity 40

A beautiful open space designed for medium size group gatherings, support circles, art or healing workshops, and community meetings. The Den offers a warm, quiet environment with flexible seating and a welcoming vibe, ideal for peer-led sessions or quieter events.

Starting at $30/hour

The Bloom Room

50’x30’ – 1,500sqft – Capacity 100

A large multi-use meeting room equipped with a projector, screen, modular furniture, and sound system. Ideal for workshops, presentations, movie screenings, and social events. 

Starting at $50/hour

The Living Room

50’x26’ – 1,300sqft – Capacity 65

A spacious, homey area built for connection and comfort. The Living Room is perfect for casual events, community hangouts, discussions, or creative workshops. With comfy seating and an open layout, it invites people to settle in, share stories, and build community. 

Starting at $40/hour

Carter’s Hearth

25’x12’ – 300sqft – Capacity 12

A cozy meeting room designed for smaller groups and intimate gatherings. Ideal for small meetings, peer support groups, recovery meetings, board meetings, and co-working space. 

Starting at $25/hour

Add-Ons

  • Projector & Screen: $60+ *Bloom Room Only

  • Mounted Screen: $40+ **Carter’s Hearth Only

  • Meeting OWL: $60+ ***Not in The Back yard

  • Speakers: $30+

  • Kitchen/Pantry/Fridge: $25+

  • Microphones: $10+

  • White Board & Markers: $10+

*All add-ons subject to availability

Submit A Rental Request

Frequently Asked Questions

    • The first step is to check out our list of rental spaces, which you can find here. Once you’ve found the event space that best suits your needs, fill out a Rental Request Form. Please note that any form submitted is not a guarantee for space, nor is it binding; it provides us with the information we need to begin a conversation with you.

    • Based on our capacity and the high volume of building activity, we are unable to accommodate requests that are submitted with less than 2 weeks notice.

    • We offer hourly rates for event rental spaces that vary by capacity and add-ons. These rates are based on a sliding scale that takes into account if the group is BIPOC- and/or Trans- led, if the event provides a mission-aligned service or offering, and the overall organizational budget. If you have any questions about the sliding-scale, we will be happy to review finances with you further.

    • If you would like to make a donation to support the accessibility and sustainability of The Marie Equi Center beyond the cost of your event space and add-ons , please do so through our Donation page.

  • We are proud to host a wide range of events here at The Marie Equi Center, both public and private. Some examples of reservations at The Marie Equi Center include social groups, recovery meetings, song circles, martial arts classes, board meetings, retreats, fundraisers, performances, memorials, and more. The only requirements we have are that all event rentals support Our Mission & Values.

    • It is possible to rent space during the following hours:

      • Saturday & Sunday: 10am to 9pm

      • Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 10am to 9pm

      • Fridays: 10am to 4pm

    • Availability is affected by existing reservations (Reservation Calendar), holidays (Center Service Calendar), and staff capacity.

    • When planning your request, please include the event start time as well as the additional time needed for set up prior to and clean up after the event.

  • We ask that requests be made at least 3 weeks in advance. For larger-scale events, like fundraisers or memorials, we ask for at least 5 weeks notice to properly coordinate logistical arrangements (including a walk-through to coordinate your set-up, connect with your team, etc).

    • Rental requests are typically handled during similar hours to the Center Service Calendar.

    • If you’re looking to connect with us during working hours, email to schedule an appointment since we don’t have the ability to accommodate walk-ins.

    • While we try to respond to all requests as quickly as possible (within 5 business days), response times may be slower (2+ weeks) during periods of high volume or limited capacity. Please do not submit duplicate requests.

    • Our building is ADA compliant and features 7 parking spots with one designated ADA parking space. Street parking is also available. For larger events, please put in a request for the overflow parking lot, which must be reserved well in advance and is only available nights and weekends. 

    • The building has three single stall all-user restrooms.

    • Furniture at The Marie Equi Center designed to be comfortable for larger bodies guests. Only wider chairs have armrests. With the exception of the brown metal folding chairs, all seating has high weight limits.

    • The Marie Equi Center is located at 4434 SE 25th Ave., Portland, OR 97202. We are 7 blocks from a yellow line MAX stop and less than 1 block from a bus stop, line 17.

    • There is WiFi throughout The Marie Equi Center for all guests. 

    • The Bloom Room is equipped with a screen, projector, and an in-room sound system with 2 wireless microphones, and Carter’s Hearth has a wall-mounted TV. 

    • There is a Meeting Owl for use with hybrid events in all rooms except The Back Yard.

    • We also have small portable speakers (200w) and associated wired microphones available for use in all rooms.

    • All equipment can be added to a rental for the fees listed in Add-Ons and must be returned in its original state; please alert us to any issues so we can address them before the next groups’ use.

    • We provide the space and the equipment itself (projector, speakers, microphones, etc.) but do not provide a device for connection (laptop or phone).

    • Minimal A/V support is available on the day for setup and troubleshooting, but we are unable to run your media during the event. 

    • If you are planning an event with technical needs beyond plug & play music or a slide presentation, we recommend setting up a technical walkthrough ahead of time to physically review what equipment The Marie Equi Center has to offer, what equipment or cables you may need to bring, as well as how to set them up.

    • We have a kitchenette with limited food prep space and capabilities.

    • We do not have an ice machine or offer in-house catering services.

    • If you are working with a caterer, please confirm their prep and storage needs so we can verify what is within the scope of onsite capacity.

  • No alcohol may be served at rental events. There is also no smoking, vaping, or substance use of any kind allowed within the building or near the picnic tables, ramp, and building entrance.

    • We are unable to store advance deliveries and cannot be responsible for any mail sent to The Marie Equi Center for your event. Please coordinate with staff so we can determine capacity to accommodate any day-of deliveries.

    • All materials must arrive and be removed from the building within your rental time.

The Marie Equi Center offers a range of event spaces and add-ons on a sliding-scale based on organizational budget including price reductions for BIPOC- and/or Trans- led, and events providing mission-aligned services.

Submit A Rental Request