$7,500 one-year grants awarded for general support or project-specific needs. This is the best entry point for general operating funds for new or emerging groups. In 2005 Social Justice Fund NW awarded $187,500 in Basic Grants to a total of 25 organizations.
The Asian and Pacific Islander Family Safety Center was created by women in the movement to end violence against women in order to "prevent violence against women through community organizing and education; provide safe, culturally relevant services for women, youth and children; and create housing resources for families who face domestic and sexual violence, and victimization from human trafficking in Asian and Pacific Islander communities."
Brother to Brother supports and advocates for African American gay and bisexual men and their community in Portland, with a focus on raising awareness of issues facing people of color and sexual minorities, building community among gay and bi African American men, and gaining full inclusion in the general community. The organization is raising the visibility of African American gay and bi men by participating in demonstrations and marches; organizing educational events and campaigns; addressing the disproportionate impact of HIV/AIDS in the African American community through prevention education and treatment advocacy; and confronting racism in the HIV industry.
Community Alliance of Lane County is a 39 year old human rights organization founded 1966 as Clergy and Laity Concerned About the War. CALC is dedicated to working for a society that is free of bigotry and upholds human rights and human dignity for all. CALC seeks to educate and organize the community to promote public policies based on social and economic justice. The grant will support their anti-bigotry work, especially efforts to counter white supremacist hate activity; advocate for diversity training for students in the University of Oregon School of Education; and organize LGBTQ youth in area high schools and the community at-large.
CARA is a multi-racial, multi-gender, intergenerational organization led by women of color that is organizing communities marginalized from the mainstream criminal justice-based response to sexual and domestic violence to address these issues. CARA is currently involved in organizing currently and formerly incarcerated women and girls who are survivors of violence to form the core base for organizing strategies against the prison industry.
CCEJ is a multi-ethnic, multi-issue group of people and organizations working to organize and mobilize low-income people and people of color to fight for and achieve environmental, economic and social justice. CCEJ is involved in a wide array of projects including Environmental Justice Youth Advocates, the Northwest Environmental and Economic Justice Alliance, the Toxic Beauty Project, and the South Seattle Toxics Project. CCEJ is currently involved organizing opposition to the Seattle Housing Authority's Yesler Terrace "redevelopment" plan, which would displace low-income families.
The Human Dignity Coalition is a hub organization of the progressive community in Central Oregon, the fastest growing part of the state. The group was originally founded to combat an anti-gay statewide ballot measure and has since then continued to "promote and safeguard human rights, honor diversity, and achieve social justice for all" in this largely rural part of Oregon. The Coalition recently won a campaign to get the Bend City Council to enact an Equal Rights Ordinance, and is involved in efforts to address disability access, combat hate crimes, and organize Gay-Straight Alliances on area high school campuses. The Coalition was the sponsor of Bend's first GLBT Pride Celebration in 2005.
The Center is a regional organization that creates opportunities for rural working people, particularly contingent workers in natural resource-based industries, to unite across languages and cultures to achieve economic, environmental and social justice. They are achieving this goal through a process of peer education and networking that begins with workers stories of their lives, builds a structural analysis from among the common threads of these stories, and moves toward transformative action.
Justice Works! is a developing statewide organization that was inspired by the Black Prisoners Caucus at the Washington State Reformatory. Justice Works! is creating a community where incarcerated and previously incarcerated African Americans could work with family members and allies to address injustice in the criminal justice system. The organization publishes a newsletter and works with African Americans re-entering society after prison through a combination of re-entry support groups and services and public education and issue campaigns.
KHRN is an all-volunteer, Kitsap County-wide organization that strives to provide communities, public leadership, schools, and law enforcement agencies with education and information that promotes inclusion, respect and diversity in society. KHRN has won wide recognition for its work to eliminate the causes of hate and bias, including hate groups, while supporting those who have been victimized and building strong, empowered community-based coalitions prepared to vigorously defend human and civil rights.
La Radio is a community-based, progressive low-power FM station serving the Spanish speaking communities of Laramie, Wyoming with the goal of heightening community awareness of cultural diversity and creating a voice for the Latino community. The grant will be used to increase the engineering and technical capacities of the radio station; create a training program to develop a base of volunteers from the community; and identify issues of concern to community members.
Latinos Unidos Siempre is a Latino youth-led grassroots organization that works in Salem and the surrounding Mid-Willamette Valley communities to advance the educational, cultural, social and political development of Latino youth by organizing and advocating for social justice. The grant will support their continuing work of developing Latino youth leadership; advocating for educational access and equity; and creating a just and fair criminal justice system that does not target and scapegoat Latino youth.
The Lummi CEDAR Project was created by tribal leaders in order to address problems affecting the Lummi community such as domestic violence, substance abuse, high unemployment, drug trafficking, poor health and widespread disengagement from tribal policy and decision-making. The Project is achieving its goals through developing youth leadership, community organizing, and building bridges between youth and elders across which knowledge leading to "respect and recognition of the role of traditional values in supporting healthy choices" is transferred.
Oregon Action is a statewide, multi-racial membership organization with a broad economic and social justice agenda. The grant will help them to follow-up on the organizing they did during the last election cycle which resulted in their building a database of 64,000 registered voters in Oregon (over 44,000 new registrations). OA will be strategically developing this base of voters, identifying their political interests and positions and engaging and educating them on issues. They will also launch a permanent field canvass to educate their base, increase membership revenues, and prepare the most motivated to take action on important issues.
People's Institute Northwest is a multi-racial, people of color led organization dedicated to engaging all communities in the struggle to create an anti-racist society with equal opportunity for everyone.
People's Institute Northwest engages in coalition building and community organizing, and provides workshops and technical assistance aimed at addressing the multiple problems associated with racial injustice among individuals and at the institutional level.
SWCSC is the only organization devoted primarily to advocacy for the Somali community in King County. SWCSC's core constituency is women and their families, youth under 25, and elders ages 55-85, the vast majority of whom are low-income recent immigrants living in public housing. A large number of people served by the organization are disabled and struggling with war trauma. The grant will fund their work in the areas of domestic violence, school equity, police accountability, and parent support.
SYPP is a youth-led, adult-supported organization that empowers youth to express themselves and take action on the issues that affect their lives by developing young, progressive leaders, and organizing campaigns to address injustices. SYPP's past successes include winning agreement of the Seattle School District to use Howard Zinn's progressive social history A People's History of the United States in history classes; creating anti-homophobia training for teachers, students and SYPP members; advocating for all Seattle school staff to attend a full day workshop on racism in education. They are currently involved in organizing their 9th annual young women's conference and a summer youth organizing institute.
Stonewall Youth is a 14 year old organization led by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people who work together to lead community organizing efforts and provide support services. Stonewall Youth is seeking funding to develop a Cyber Center that will function as a permanent, safe meeting space for queer youth to meet, and to hire a Co-Director.
The Interfaith Alliance is a statewide organization made up of progressive clergy and people of faith who have united to challenge those who distort and manipulate religion to advance extreme political agendas. They promote the positive role of religion as a healing and constructive force in public life through such programs as Interfaith Forums; Interfaith Religious Leaders Network; Interfaith Youth Alliance; and Finding Common Ground: Undoing Oppression.
Thin Air Community Radio is a non-commercial low power radio station founded in 1989 to serve the people of Spokane. Thin Air Community Radio airs progressive perspectives reflecting values of peace, social, cultural and environmental justice, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, freedom of expression, and social change on important local, national, and global issues. The grant will help them to diversify their fundraising strategies, build their membership, and expand their ethnic and community affairs programming.
Unete is a volunteer-led movement of farm workers and immigrants in rural Southern Oregon educating their community and advocating for worker rights, humane immigration policy, and full participation in the decision-making processes affecting their lives. The grant will fund their organizing program that includes networking with other pro-immigrant and worker rights organizations at the state and national level; increasing their membership; leadership and direct action organizing training; and other activities. Unete is the only Latino-led non-profit in the Rogue Valley.
VOICES is a low-income, grassroots advocacy group created by former welfare recipients and social workers to facilitate the involvement of low-income people as leaders in the community dialogue on poverty and development of policies to achieve economic injustice. The grant will support their ongoing efforts to organize low-income people and serve as a platform for their leadership in policy debates.
VOZ is a worker-led organization whose membership is dedicated to organizing, leadership development and community education among low-wage immigrant workers and their allies (with a special focus on day laborers). The grant will provide general support of their program to build community leadership, defend worker's rights, diversify their support base in the community, deepen their analysis of the issues facing day laborers, and encourage worker participation and leadership on the national level.
WOCA is the only organization of its kind in Idaho. They work to develop a firm institutional foundation for social change activism by and for women of color in Idaho. WOCA is achieving this goal by identifying, networking, and training women of color, with a particular focus on dealing with internalized racist, sexists and class oppression as obstacles to attaining power. WOCA also produces a quarterly newsletter and an annual conference.
WEEL is a grassroots, economic and social justice organization made up of people living in poverty and their allies. Through advocacy, action, and education WEEL's members are working to eradicate the myths, stereotypes and stigmas that are harmful to low-income families. Our priority is to ensure that those most affected by poverty are civically engaged and part of the democratic process, from voting to policy creation and implementation. The grant will fund a campaign to increase access to healthcare for low income people while also helping them grow their membership and increase member engagement and leadership development opportunities.
Wyoming Equality is the only statewide, grassroots organization serving the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender communities of Wyoming. The mission of WE is to "enhance the lives of GLBT people in the Equality State through information, education, networking, support, and activities..."
The grant will be used to work with individual activists to convene local meetings; and conduct training of local activists in leadership, strategic planning, fundraising, networking and lobbying, while providing support to local GLBT groups in two of Wyoming's 23 counties.