When the Trump administration came into power, I called my father. An immigrant to the United States who resisted and escaped an imperialist military coup of his home country, my father survived unthinkable histories that are becoming potential futures. As I unloaded my fears of the unknown, he simply responded, “We have to wait and watch.” This call for inaction felt like reformist fear; wait for what, our impending doom?

Later, I realized his patience came from the certainty of change as undeniable – impossible to stop. While we cannot know the future, we know change is inevitable. What direction change moves towards is where the movement and struggle lies, and in this, we hold power to reimagine futures centering justice and liberation.

Grants Reimagine Process

Embracing change is essential as MRG responds to the current political climate, staffing changes, and our impending move from our office space, alongside the end of our Movement Building Fund. All of this has pushed MRG to reimagine the future of our grantmaking programs to continue to fund organizing in Oregon.

Our reimagine honors the needs of organizers across the state, makes funding more accessible, grows our activist grantmaking committees, centers Critical Race Theory as the framework to support the work of dismantling white supremacy and anti-blackness in our communities, and expands our arts activism funding because we are nothing without activist art.

Responsive Grants Program is Accepting Applicants

The work of our grantees is changing the landscape of the social justice movement, and we know there is more to be done. Rooted in this need, MRG is launching a new Responsive Grants Program. Organizations are now invited to apply for Micro, Critical Response, and Travel Grants to support unforeseen and urgent work. This program provides grassroots groups across the state with access to up to $3,000 on short timelines, using a simple application process. Click here for additional information about these programs and how to apply.