Introduction

Founded in 1977, Social Justice Fund NW (formerly A Territory Resource) is an organization dedicated to addressing the root causes of social, economic, and environmental inequities. Each year, Social Justice Fund NW raises funds from its members and friends, and then grants that money to non-profit social justice organizations in the Northwest and Northern Rockies . Using an extensive, thoughtful process, we annually give over $720,000 to strategic and effective community-based organizations in Idaho , Montana , Oregon , Washington and Wyoming . Our approach allows you to assist many different social change causes with a single contribution backed by the experience and research of our staff and members.

Mission

Social Justice Fund NW is a member-funded foundation that supports the creation of a just society through fundraising, grantmaking, and member involvement. The foundation provides essential resources to organizations in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming to strengthen grassroots efforts in the broad-based movement for progressive, systemic social change.

Vision

Our vision is of a world that is just, equitable, and environmentally sustainable for all. This multicultural world celebrates and supports diversity, community, intergenerational collaboration, and self-empowerment. Our image of success is a region with a thriving network of community-based organizations and coalitions and an increasingly equitable distribution and sharing of power and wealth.

Our vision of SJF is to be a leader in social change philanthropy and to mobilize philanthropic resources to support social justice. We envision vastly increased funds to finance the work of social change organizations in the Northwest. SJF will continue to support new and established organizations and to empower groups to build internal strength and capacity. We also support networking and collaboration among nonprofits working at the grassroots.

SJF will be a powerful and dynamic regional agent for social change, efficiently applying its resources to the needs of its grantees. We seek high visibility and active presence for SJF in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Through involvement in SJF, we envision members learning together, engaging in social change, and building community throughout each of the five states.

We envision SJF to be a multicultural, antiracist organization that affirms human dignity and struggles against all forms of oppression. We strive to be a broad-based membership organization, collaborating across boundaries of class with our leadership reflecting the communities we serve. We believe that working with those who share a common vision, SJF and our allies will foster positive change.

Values

In society we value:

- Social change activism – we believe in grassroots leadership and community organizing as a vehicle for social change.
- Empowerment – we value efforts to strengthen the voices of disenfranchised communities to promote human dignity and a more just society.
- Undoing systems of oppression – we support the empowerment of disenfranchised communities and the dismantling all systems of oppression that erode human dignity.
- Hope and optimism – we believe that we will achieve our vision through social change.
- Equity and fairness – we believe that resources should be equally available to everyone in society, and that human rights are more important than property rights.