These grants were for up to $3,000 -- Awarded to help organizations increase their skills in areas such as fundraising, organizational development and leadership, organizational diversity, management, networking, and long-range strategic planning. TA grants were awarded quarterly in 2004.
Total Awarded - $62,681
Seattle, WA: African Youth United (AYU) is a new group working to build bridges between African immigrant youth, local African American youth and the African American community in general by working on issues of shared concern including criminal justice reform, police accountability, and education. The TA grant supported a strategic planning and training retreat.
Portland, OR: Alliance for Police and Community Accountability is a multicultural alliance of organizations and individuals who work to pro-actively create mutual respect, responsibility, and accountability between the Portland Police Bureau and the communities and neighborhoods it serves. This grant helped to increase their techinical capacity by assisting with the purchase of a computer system, data base software, digital camera,and website. This will help keep membership and the public informed about their work and opportunities for involvement.
Seattle, WA: Banchero Friends Services (BFS) works with developmentally disabled and mentally ill people. The grant was used to train developmentally disabled and mentally ill people in civic participation, especially lobbying, to insure that this constituency will be protected against traditional abuses such as forced sterilizations, denial of voting, rights, etc.
Portland, OR: Brother to Brother - Portland's mission is to provide support and advocacy for African American Gay and Bi-sexual males and their families living in the Portland Metropolitan area. Funding from this grant allowed the reconstituted Board of Directors to engage in a cohesive strategic planning retreat resulting in an annual work plan for the board, organization restructure, and annual fundraising initiatives.
Seattle, WA: CASA Latina's mission is to empower Latino immigrants through educational and economic opportunities. This grant allowed 12 people from CASA Latina to participate in the Community Strategic Training Initiative (CSTI) in Portland from July 29 - August 1, 2004.
Chinook, WA: The Chinook Tribe is one of many illegally terminated tribes. The tribe is currently operating under a volunteer tribal government and working to restore sovereignty, preserve their culture, address historical trauma and rebuild the community. This grant helped the tribe to develop a fundraising plan and grants tracking system.
Portland, OR: Community Alliance of Tenants (CAT) works to educate and empower renters in Oregon to demand safe, stable, and affordable rental housing. This grant provided leadership training for members and staff through the Western State Center's Community Strategic Training Initiative (CSTI), and helped with strategic planning support for CAT's collaborative Affordable Housing NOW! campaign.
Seattle, WA: Community Coalition for Environmental Justice advocates for the elimination of environmental injustice and mobilizes low income communities of color to fight for their rights. This grant allowed two new community organizers on staff to attend the Community Strategic Training Initiative in Portland from July 29 - August 2, 2004.
Portland, OR: Enlace is a membership organization comprised of worker centers and immigrant unions who organize the working poor. Enlace joins and strengthens the efforts of member groups to change the balance of power between the rich and poor through peer support and campaign support and coordination. This grant helped Enlace to diversify its sources of income.
Seattle, WA: Helping Link's mission is to contribute to the well being of the Vietnamese community and to promote and preserve their cultural heritage. This grant was used to hire a consultant to help staff and volunteers create a viable, sustaining funding plan for the future.
Spokane, WA: The Interfaith Council organizes and mobilizes a broad alliance of people representing diverse faith communities in Eastern Washington to address issues of intolerance, domestic violence, poverty, and other social justice concerns. This grant was used for board leadership development and strategic planning.
Portland, OR: Kurdish Human Rights Watch advocates for Kurdish refugees and new arrivals in the Portland-area, building a sense of community, and addressing community concerns including anti-immigrant prejudice and human rights abuses. The grant was used to develop group leaders' ability to conduct outreach and develop new leaders.
Mountlake Terrace, WA: This grant is to a newly formed group organizing the fast growing Latino community in Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan and Island counties to collectively participate in and reform the electoral system. The grant is for establishing the group as a formal organization and for organizational development, and program planning.
Helena, MT: Founded in 1990, Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN) is dedicated to promoting democratic values such as pluralism, equality and justice; challenging bigotry and intolerance; and organizing grassroots leaders to speak out in support of democratic values and institutions. MHRN used the grant to help send at least one staff member to the Western State Center’s Community Strategic Training Initiative (CSTI) in Portland, OR in July 2004.
Boise, ID: Mujeres Unidas de Idaho promotes leadership skills for Latina women so they can be actively involved in their communities and more informed about issues affecting them and their families. They also aim for the creation of networks among Latina women. This fund will allow more women to attend the annual conference they organize as well as to cover any additional costs.
Seattle, WA: Non-profit Assistance Center (NAC) is a resource and training intermediary for organizatons in communities facing discriminiation and injustice. The grant is to continue the Immmigrant and Refugee Scoping Project, a joint project of NAC, the Western States Center, and Social Justice Fund NW to identify the issues and dynamics of organizing and advocacy among refugee and immigrant groups.
Leavenworth, WA: The Coalition explores creative means of promoting an anti-racist society. They have organized several training events and workshops from a diverse, interfaith, and non-sectarian perspective. These funds supported a five-day training to build a strong team of individuals to commit to this work.
Seattle, WA: Northwest Labor and Employment Law Office (LELO) is a people-of-color-led grassroots organization that uses community organizing, popular education, and international networking to develop the leadership and promote the view points of workers of color and women workers to win economic and racial justice. This TA grant supplemented partial scholarships provided by the Western States Center to cover the remaining costs for seven activists and one staff person to attend the 2004 CSTI in Portland.
Spokane, WA: Odyssey Youth Center works with LGBTQ youth and their allies to provide a safe place, education,and advocacy to promote positive growth and self-empowerment. This grant allowed four youth members and two staff members to attend the 2004 Community Strategic Training Initiative (CSTI) in Portland, OR. This training will support the development of their youth leaders and their youth organizing training program, Odyssey Out Loud.
Seattle, WA: This community center is a project of Queen City Community Development. The goal of the project is to provide a center for the LGBT social and political community to address isolation, particularly of vulnerable sectors of the community, and to foster unity and a sense of community identity. The grant was used to create the group's first strategic plan.
Seattle, WA: The Seattle Young People's Project (SYPP) empowers youth to express themselves and take action on the issues that affect their lives by providing a framework for youth organizing. SYPP is a youth led- adult supported - social change organization. This grant will helped eight youth organizors and two new SYPP directors to attend CSTI in Portland. This also helped the two directors attend the Western Institute for Organizing and Leadership Development (WILD) in January 2005.
Kellogg, ID: SVCRC is a membership-based environmental justice organiztion formed in 1986 by residents of Silver Valley to address the health problems facing residents of the area resulting from pollution related to mining. The focus of the work is cleaning up the Bunker Hill Superfund site. The grant is for creating a fundraising plan and for training leaders in fundraising skills.
Spokane, WA: Spokane Task Force on Race Relations is committed to promoting racial equity through mobilizing community response and addressing issues of racism in all its forms. This organization dedicates itself primarily to educating schools, faith communities, and businesses. This fund will help with the development of a crisis response team, HIRTS (Hate Incident Response Team Spokane), to provide 24/7 response service for victims of hate crimes.
Portland, OR: Survivors Advocating for an Effective System is a group of crime survivors that advocate for a deeper understanding of violence through challenging societal values regarding crime. This is engaged through empowerment, community education, and capacity building. This fund helped to strengthen their organization and to identify programs that can be replicated.
Burien, WA: Washington ACORN empowers low income communities through the creation of grassroots, democratic member driven unions. These funds helped send 30 union members to the National ACORN Convention and eight to attend the American Institute for Social Justice Leadership School.
Seattle, WA: Washington State Jobs with Justice is a coalition of different labor, community, and religious groups that actively work together to advocate for workers rights. This grant helped them conduct Undoing Institutional Racism (UIR) training with their leadership.
Seattle, WA: WROC is a statewide group organizing low-income parents, especially those receiving public assistance to effect positive changes in their lives and their communities. The grant supported WROC's 2nd annual membership meeting, which brought together leaders and members to update them and involve them in strategic planning and organizational development.
Meridian, ID: The Women of Color Alliance (WOCA) works to develop a foundation for social change activism led by and on behalf of Native American, African American, Asian American, and Latina women in Idaho. This grant allowed four WOCA women to attend Community Stategic Training Initiative in Portland this summer.
Bozeman, MT: Women’s Voices for Earth empowers women to develop leadership skills to promote sustainability and to address environmental issues that disproportionately affect women. This grant was used to purchase computer equipment and software as well as support newly hired staff to expand their programs.