Y’all, in full transparency, the transition into Fall hasn’t been easy for a lot of us. Life has been lifing heavily and at times showing up in unexpected ways this year: some of them beautiful, some of them heartbreaking. It feels like we’ve been saying “these past few years have been hard” for a long time and that sentiment still feels true today. The COVID-19 virus is still affecting lives; the twin epidemics of anti-Blackness and transphobia are raging on, we are witnesses to unprecedented humanitarian catastrophes globally. And as we move closer to an election year, we know the hateful rhetoric against marginalized communities will only become more prevalent.

We are in the deep end of the pool right now. How do we keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our community safe as we swim to safer waters without the constant feeling of drowning?

SJF believes we do this by coming together, by celebrating small wins, and by infusing joy in our work. We don’t suggest this because life seems light and fun right now, but because sustaining joy in our lives and in our movement is critical to ensuring we are around for the long haul. That we are able to keep fighting for Black liberation, for Trans rights, for our collective well-being. A determined, grounded and hard-fought joy is our theme this year at Social Justice Fund. And that focus has allowed us to do great things, including:

• Our 2023 Reproductive Justice Grant which distributed 14, one-time grants of $20,000 to radical organizations. These grants will support movement work that increases access to self-determination, bodily autonomy, and reproductive/sexual health throughout our five-state region—more news soon to come!
• We are currently in the process of reviewing one-year grants of $50,000 to community based-projects in the Seattle area that cultivate long-term economic empowerment. We plan to re-distribute a total of $500,000.
• And looking forward to 2024, SJF is excited to invite you to deepen your understanding of environmental and climate issues by being part of our 2024 Environmental Justice Giving Project! In this Giving Project, we’ll come together to resource the future of grassroots environmental justice organizing in our region with Black liberation and Indigenous sovereignty as our guide. Want to learn more or apply? Visit bit.ly/applyEJGP24.

We know that as times get tough, it can be instinctual to isolate. To only focus on your personal well-being or the well-being of those who are close to you, who look like you do. But our team at SJF wants to encourage everyone to utilize these times to be more generous, more expansive, and more hopeful than ever. To ensure those of us with more economic and political clout are able to utilize it justly so that everyone in our networks can be supported and safe. This is a time to boldly step into our values of Abundance and Collective Power.

SJF invites you to donate today and be part of a multiracial, cross-class member-led community that is determined to lead with audacious joy and camaraderie.

With liberation,

Valériana Chikoti-Bandua Estes

SJF Executive Director