At MRG Foundation, we have a somewhat unique opportunity to see across issues, across communities, and across the state. From Ashland to Scappoose and from Coos Bay to La Grande, MRG’s grantees, donors, and leaders work in nearly every county and come from every movement. Read our analysis of the current issues, strategies, and events that are shaping Oregon's social justice movements.
In January of 2016, MRG launched the Capacity Building Initiative (CBI). The CBI provides multi-year funding, individualized technical assistance, and peer learning opportunities to ten grassroots social change organizations across the state. Our pilot project is currently being funded in partnership with Meyer Memorial Trust. Oregon has over 300 registered farm worker housing camps and […]
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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 […]
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MRG Foundation has a long history of funding new, radical, and risky groups that other foundations, and many donors, won’t fund. Before they gained recognition, we funded groups like Cascade AIDS Project, Street Roots, Causa, and UNITE Oregon. This spring we continued this important work by providing $162,000 to 14 grassroots groups across Oregon. These […]
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The rent is too darn high for non-profits too, a headline from a Washington Post article last fall, is a story we at MRG can relate to right now. I found the article as I struggle with having to find new office space for MRG and think about how gentrification impacts our entire community. None […]
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I think about the time before I met Valaida Fullwood, the creative genius behind the book Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists. This was a time before I knew someone had attempted to quantify and qualify the phenomenal giving of people of African descent. A time before what I have always […]
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As our leaders and institutions attempt to silence women, activists, and especially women activists, now more than ever, we need to lift each other up. MRG is celebrating, elevating, and sharing women’s voices through our Lilla Jewel Fund. Women tell their own stories: the stories of their friends, families, and neighbors, and allow us to […]
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As a grant-making foundation focused on racial and social justice, we have a unique responsibility rooted in our privilege and power. We engage in challenging conversations and build partnerships that confront institutional oppression to build communities where people, cultures, and ecosystems thrive. A little over a year ago, we started the journey of bringing Giving […]
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Dimeji Onafuwa is the Portland Exhibit Designer of Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy, Reframed and Exhibited. He also serves as the Communications Designer for the national exhibit and his company designed the book Giving Back: A Tribute to Generations of African American Philanthropists by Valaida Fullwood and Charles W. Thomas, Jr. He sat down […]
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I recently had the pleasure of sitting down over lunch with my long-time friend, community elder, and MRG volunteer and long time supporter, Romaine Harris. We talked about giving back and her experience visiting Giving Back: The Soul of Philanthropy, Reframed and Exhibited. Stephan Herrera: What does giving back mean to you? Romaine Harris: Giving […]
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MRG’s Reaction to Inauguration Day and Our Work Ahead On Friday January 20, 2017 the 45th President of the United States was inaugurated and our country entered into a political era rooted in hate and fear that is trying to silence and divide us. Each of us at MRG Foundation marked this transition by choosing […]
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