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We can shape a more just southwest Washington with our collective power.

About the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund

In a time of heightened uncertainty, a swift response makes all the difference. This is one of many lessons we’ve learned after a year of navigating an array of unimaginable hardships amidst a pandemic. When the Community Foundation launched the SW Washington COVID Response Fund in 2020, we committed to supporting local nonprofit relief efforts working on the frontlines with economically vulnerable families and delivered more than $8.5 million in rapid-response grants. As our region begins to shift from relief to recovery, we recognize that our region’s most marginalized communities are too often left out of larger economic gains, especially in the wake of crises. This past year further highlighted this reality and the need for equitable and sustainable solutions. From this and invaluable feedback from the community, our Social Justice and Resiliency Fund was born.

The Social Justice and Resiliency Fund provides rapid-response funding to organizations that address emerging challenges that continue to impact historically marginalized and underserved communities in Clark, Cowlitz, and Skamania counties. These grants focus on:

  • Operating support for organizations led by Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, culturally specific organizations and coalitions seeking to reimagine the systems they work in.
  • Investments in organizations focused on systemic change, policy and advocacy efforts; and/or
  • Capacity-building support to organizations to invest in equity work and address the disparities within their organization and/or programming.

Building trust begins with extending trust.

Communities know best what they need to thrive. We learned from our COVID Response Fund that flexible, unrestricted funding leads to meaningful impact and we are continuing this trust-based approach through the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund. This emerging fund provides support in the form of two types of unrestricted grants:

Proactive Grants – Awarded based on outreach and ongoing conversations with our Program Staff; and

Responsive Grants – Awarded based on a simple and brief application process through our website.

The Social Justice and Resiliency Fund provides nonprofits with the sustained support needed to address systemic issues facing our community. This work will ensure that when the next crisis hits—be it financial, environmental, or health-related—our region will have a more robust and reflective coalition of community-based organizations poised to respond quickly and equitably. Our community organizations demonstrate steadfast resiliency in the face of turbulent times and we are committed to supporting their capacity to continue meaningful work in southwest Washington.

Donate

Apply for a Grant from the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund

If your organization has a request that aligns with the priorities above, please fill out the following information to apply for funding. If you have questions about alignment or would like to vet a proposal concept before submitting, please contact a Community Foundation Program Officer at [email protected].




  • Please provide a brief description of funding need. Include information about how your funding request aligns with the Fund criteria and the timing of your request.
  • If you have any additional documents, organization narratives, budget information, or other existing files you’d like to share, please upload them here.
    Max. file size: 512 MB.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

List of Grantees

$178,000 has been awarded to organizations in southwest Washington to date.

December 2023

Ashby Family LEAD & Engagement Services – $30,000

Pasitos Gigantes/Hispanic Disability Support SWWA – $25,000

Pasitos Gigantes is a grassroots organization that advocates for Hispanic/Latinx children, families and individuals with developmental disabilities. Funds will be used to support programs and services in Clark and Cowlitz counties.

Nch’i Wana Housing – $50,000

Southwest Washington Equity Coalition (SWEC) – $150,000 over 3 Years

SWEC is a diverse cross-section of community leaders and nonprofit leaders working to advance racial equity by dismantling structural white supremacy and creating systems for transformational action in southwest Washington. Funds will be used to support the development of SWEC’s first paid position.

OneAmerica – $50,000

OneAmerica builds immigrant power for collective change. Funds will be used to grow immigrant leaders’ skills to advocate for and co-create an education system that centers multilingualism and immigrants’ and refugees’ needs and assets.

December 22, 2021

OneAmerica– $30,000

December 1, 2021

LULAC Grows – $30,000

November 19, 2021

Red Sea Road Consulting LLC – $84,480

Living for Christ Church – $5,000

YWCA Clark County – $35,000

October 28, 2021

Children’s Center – $7,500

Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington – $5,000

October 6, 2021

OneAmerica – $1,000

June 14, 2021

Comunidades – $40,000

Comunidades is a Latina/o/x-led group in the Columbia River Gorge working to advance environmental and social justice by increasing Latina/o/x engagement and leadership. Fund will support capacity building, outreach and organizing in Skamania County.

SWWA League of United Latin American Citizens Council 47013 – $75,000

SW WA LULAC advances the educational attainment, healthcare, environmental and civil rights of the Latino community. Funds will be used for capacity building, outreach and advocacy in southwest Washington.

Pasitos Gigantes/Hispanic Disability Support SWWA – $38,000

Pasitos Gigantes is a grassroots organization that advocates for Hispanic/Latinx children, families and individuals with developmental disabilities. Funds will support capacity building to expand support and advocacy to families.

Office Moms & Dads – $25,000

Office Moms & Dads (OMD) provides essential support to children entering foster care, in the form of caring companions and basic necessities such as food, clothing and luggage, in Clark and Cowlitz counties. Funds will be used to recruit volunteers who represent the diverse populations of children entering foster care, provide equity and inclusion training, and continued education to all volunteers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible to receive funding?
Based upon the charitable structure of the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund, our grants are limited to 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, groups fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, or other charitable organizations able to receive a tax-deductible contribution, such as schools, faith-based organizations, and other public entities. If your organization is a 501(c)(4), please directly reach out to a Program Officer to discuss your programmatic request. We are not able to fund individuals or businesses directly, labor unions, or other 501(c)(5) and 501(c)(6) organizations.
Who is being prioritized for funding?
Black and Indigenous -led organizations and organizations led by Communities of Color, organizations that are being led by the community for which they are serving, culturally-specific organizations, as well as organizations that are working to implement and operationalize equity and social justice will be prioritized for funding.
What activities will the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund support?
Grants will support capacity building work including advocacy, community mobilization and community organization efforts. The Fund will also support the meaningful advancement of equity, diversity and inclusion for organizations working to institutionalize and operationalize equitable policies, practices and strategies.
Is there a geographic area of focus for the fund?
The Social Justice and Resiliency Fund is restricted to supporting nonprofit organizations that reside or operate programs in Clark, Cowlitz and Skamania counties.
How are grantees identified and selected?
A grant committee comprised of diverse community leaders and Community Foundation staff selects grantees. They select grantees using an equity lens and will award grants to communities most impacted by structural inequities.
Is there a submission deadline for the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund?
There is no deadline for the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund; we will accept and review requests on a rolling basis.
How much can I apply for?
The grants will vary in size and scope. We will provide smaller, responsive grants in the $5K-$25K range. For organizations who have deep alignment with the fund’s criteria and would like to explore a capacity building grant larger than $25K, please contact a CF Program Officer.
Can I apply more than once?
These funds are designed to address emerging and unanticipated needs, as well as building the long-term capacity of culturally-specific organizations. If you have already received a Social Justice and Resiliency Fund grant in the calendar year, please reach out to a Program Officer to discuss your funding needs.
I see the Focus Grant program is not currently accepting applications. Can I apply for funds from the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund?
No, the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund’s funding priorities have been designed to support a different scope of work than the Focus Grant Program. Please reference the Social Justice and Resiliency Fund criteria above. Our Focus Grant will continue to invest in organizations seeking programmatic support as they work to disrupt the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Please reference the Focus Grant guidelines here. If you have further questions about the alignment of your work with our different funding opportunities; please reach out directly to our Program Officers.
How soon will I hear back from CF Staff after submitting my request?
You should hear back from a CFSWW Program Officer within 5-7 business days. Grant awards will typically be made within four weeks of received request.
I want to donate. Can I write a check or gift other assets such as stocks?
Yes. Donations can be made online via credit card through our secure donation page. Checks noted for the fund can be sent to: Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, 610 Esther Street, Suite 201, Vancouver, WA 98660. Please include “Social Justice and Resiliency Fund” in the memo line. If you would like to contribute a gift of stock or other assets, please contact Rachon Hanson at [email protected] or 360.952.4310. All gifts are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the IRS.
Can I restrict my donation to a prioritized grantee?
To ensure we move resources as efficiently as possible and respond to needs of communities most impacted, we are not considering restricted donations at this time. The Social Justice and Resiliency Fund was created to provide a community-led, responsive grantmaking process for our community.