Standing up for the little guy, even against great odds, has always been a value of mine instilled through my parents. Beyond Toxics has never been afraid to stand up for our communities and our mission. In 2004, we stood up and won against an out-of-state multinational corporation, trying to build a power plant in Coburg that would cross through to California and leave residents and farmers to bear the brunt of CO₂ exposure.

MRG was one of the few foundations that stood with us.

We challenge the status quo to guarantee that all members of our community have a voice, which can make finding funding difficult for us. MRG has consistently supported us in order to nurture and grow Beyond Toxics.

We needed to grow Beyond Toxics to meet an escalating need.

The call to stand tall came again when we found that drinking water for some rural families was unsafe, and that farm workers were being sprayed with chemicals while working. We had to prepare ourselves for this next fight and for future injustices that our community of allies will face. We knew what had to be done to organize and support our communities, but our organization was growing and facing a new set of challenges.

MRG stepped in again.

This past year they invited us to apply for, and we were ultimately accepted into, their new Capacity Building Initiative (CBI), a three-year program that offers rich cohort based learning that will allow us and nine other groups to add capacity and elevate our organizing power. The CBI program includes: NAACP Eugene-Springfield, Rogue Valley Oregon Action, Unidos Bridging Community, Right 2 Survive, and more.

MRG has supported our work in many different ways over the years. Please join me in making a donation to MRG by December 31st to fund the next generation of organizations taking a stand for justice.