Background & History
Grantmaking Philosophy
Grantmaking Committees
Board
Staff
Volunteer Opportunities
The McKenzie River Gathering Foundation inspires people to work together for justice and mobilizes resources for Oregon communities as they build collective power to change the world.
MRG envisions a joyful world where people, cultures and ecosystems thrive. We seek to create a just world where…
We live in harmony with one another and the natural world we all share, and we commit to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
We all have the freedom, support and resources to pursue our dreams and live out our full potential as communities and as individuals.
We cherish and gain strength from the richness of our diverse experiences and the depth of our common humanity. We nurture our interdependence and actively care for one another.
We believe that everyone plays a role in creating and sustaining this world. By building community, living our values, and working together towards this vision, we participate in the creation of justice and inspire hope for the future.
We have a clear vision of the world we want to live in. But to get there, we need to understand the challenges that stand in our way.
At MRG, we believe that the root cause of injustice is the consolidation of power, control and wealth among a small group of people who protect their power by using systems of oppression and privilege to control other people and the natural environment.
In the United States today, we see three dominant strategies being used to do this. They are the expansion of corporate power, the growing use of military tactics in foreign and domestic policy, and the manipulation of core human values to exert social and political control.
The consolidation of power, control and wealth in the hands of a few people depends on the rest of us feeling powerless and isolated.
Racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ableism and other systems of oppression are used to separate us from one another and to convince us that we don't share the same hopes and values. They are also used to drive wedges between groups that would otherwise be powerful allies.
The McKenzie River Gathering Foundation provides critical support for social justice throughout Oregon. MRG is funded by community donations and is the link between donors and grantees working for human rights, environmental protection and economic justice. Since 1976, we've awarded more than $9 million in grants.
By joining with us, you too can participate in nurturing newly emerging movements as well as lending support to ongoing, long-term struggles.
Review the list of MRG Foundation grantees to see the kinds of innovative, courageous and important organizing work we are funding. To learn more about us and the groups we fund, review the various pages of our website. And always feel free to contact us for more information.
More than 30 years ago, MRG Foundation was founded to support the progressive movement in Oregon. MRG Foundation and its national network, the Funding Exchange, pioneered the idea of social change philanthropy based on two primary characteristics: the work we support and the people involved.
The work we support. MRG Foundation supports progressive community-based organizations that address the root causes of social problems. We reach beyond direct services (valuable as they are) to directly address the underlying conditions that foster inequity, lack of opportunity, discrimination, and economic exploitation.
The people who are involved. In keeping a vision based on democratic values, our decision-making bodies are representative of the communities served by our programs including those most impacted by the issues grantees are addressing. Community activists participate in governance and grantmaking, along with donors, many of whom are themselves activists.
While traditional charities generally respond to the symptoms of entrenched social problems, MRG Foundation supports those who identify underlying causes and work to change these conditions. This is a core value of progressive social change as reflected in the phrase, Change, not Charity. Social change organizing has a number of components including:
Progressive social change expands the meaning and practice of "democracy" by involving those closest to social problems in determining their solutions. At its best, people of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, abilities and ages join together in developing and implementing solutions to problems.
Because progressive social change involves making significant changes on a systemic level, conflict with those who hold power is often inevitable. The value that social change organizations bring to the table is their ability to organize, to educate and to mobilize.
Money alone does not bring about change; nor do individuals. But when people band together and form organizations to focus their collective vision, social change can happen. When a large number of organizations work together toward a common goal, that's a movement. And movements create change.
On the surface, social change movements appear to be spontaneous bursts of energy, a sweep of people, outraged and energized, rising forth to demand some form of change. But in truth, social change movements flow from careful organizing, massive public education, sustained agitation, and, at times, inspired collaboration across the divides of race, gender and class. These movements are driven by human energy, intelligence, courage -- as well as money.
Social change movements are by their very nature creative, forward thinking and visionary. MRG Foundation and other social change organizations have been at the forefront of numerous efforts that, while once seemingly obscure, are now widely recognized as important transforming social movements. Over the years, MRG Foundation grantees:
These are simply examples of our funding. Much more has been done - but there is so much more than must be accomplished.
MRG Foundation remains at the forefront of today's most critical issues, including low-wage workers rights, civil rights protections, youth organizing, criminal justice, and the intersection of environmental protection and environmental racism, among many other issues.
Of all the philanthropic giving in America, only 2-4% goes toward funding progressive social change. On the other hand, tens of millions of dollars in corporate and individual contributions underwrite the conservative movement.
Our challenge is to move more money into social change organizing and progressive social change foundations. We are dedicated to movement building and grassroots organizing of a kind that will always be the basis for deep and lasting change. For people concerned about the health of the environment, a fair economy, a healthy democracy and equal rights for all, there is an enormous amount of work to be done...and more history to be made.
Statements in this section draw upon Change, not Charity, Chapter 2 of Robin Hood Was Right and studies by the National Network of Grantmakers and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.