The 2016 Rural Justice Giving Project raised $130,587 to help fund organizations outside of Seattle and Portland that are building momentum in rural communities, small towns, reservations, and smaller cities in our area.  From building new models for cross-racial organizing to advocating for public infrastructure for all to health care access, these grantees are building lasting power in rural regions and beyond.    

                                 

Rural Justice Giving Project Members: JulieAnne Behar, Mary Kummer, Ariana Milman, Peter Abrahamsen, Sandy Restrepo, Anneka Olson, Heidi Park, Alex Bacon, Riley Jones, Rivka Burstein-Stein, Clayton Aldern, Victor de los Santos, Tom Barry.  Not Pictured: Mike McGinn

Organizations marked with a * after their name have hit SJF’s annual funding cap with this grant, meaning that they have received $30,000 in funding from Giving Projects in a single year. Hitting the funding cap means that their work has been funded across multiple Giving Projects and areas of focus.

MIJA | Helena, MT

The Montana Immigrant Justice Alliance (“MIJA”) is a statewide organization dedicated to giving voice to the immigrant communities in Montana and working to improve their lives over the long term. MIJA works to educate the public about our migrant communities, and provide services to empower these communities.

Native Youth Leadership Alliance | Ferndale, WA

The Native Youth Leadership Alliance invests in young Native American leaders and communities to create culturally based community change. NYLA is led by young adult Native leaders (ages 22-37) and elders, and serves as a bridge generation to activate and support youth (ages 12-18) through training, capacity building and leadership development focused on youth-led, elder-advised community organizing and policy development.

Oregon Action | Medford, OR

After several decades organizing for social justice in rural Southern Oregon, Oregon Action is at a pivotal and exciting moment; deepening diverse partnerships, merging with the Center for Intercultural Organizing to become Unite Oregon, Rogue Valley, and participating in MRG Foundation’s Capacity Building Initiative. Racism, xenophobia and the Patriot-militia movement are on the rise in rural communities, making this the moment to invest in Unite Oregon, Rogue Valley as we empower leaders and communities on the frontlines of the rural movement for social justice. This application is for general funding to support our ongoing work over the next two years.

Peace and Justice League of Spokane | Spokane, WA

The Peace & Justice Action League of Spokane engages everyday people to build a just and nonviolent world through community organizing and grassroots leadership development for human rights, economic justice, and peace. In our conservative-dominated region, we unite the voices and actions of isolated but progressive everyday people across issues to advance criminal justice reform and police accountability, defeat anti-immigrant bigotry and racism, and mobilize against war and militarism. We support youth and other grassroots people as leaders to build our inter-generational, regional movement organizing with an intersectional racial equity lens.

Rural Organizing Project* | Scappoose, OR

ROP’s mission is to strengthen the skills, resources, and vision of primary leadership in local autonomous human dignity groups with a goal of keeping such groups a vibrant source for a just democracy. ROP’s greatest accomplishment is building a movement in rural Oregon based on inclusion, human rights, and participatory democracy, with the human dignity groups as its basic structure. Our success is in developing and maintaining local pro-justice organizations that allow small town Oregonians to demand true democracy and dignity; to challenge white supremacy, bigotry, and anti-democratic policies at every turn; and to transform the culture of rural Oregon.

Western Native Voice | Billings, MT

Western Native Voice’s mission is to strengthen Native American communities through education, leadership, engagement and advocacy. WNV strives to create sustainable change driven from the grassroots level. WNV’s unique cultural approach has proven effective and there is room to grow into more families and communities in rural Montana.