The Social Justice Fund Northwest (SJF) has announced its 2025 Mountain West Organizing Grant, a two-year funding opportunity focused on grassroots organizing in under-resourced regions of the Mountain West. SJF, known for advancing collective liberation through community-led grantmaking, supports movements for racial, economic, and gender justice across a five-state region including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Historically, a disproportionate amount of SJF’s funding has gone to urban hubs like Seattle and Portland. This new cycle emphasizes equitable redistribution of resources toward rural and reservation communities, particularly those in Idaho, Montana, Oregon (Mountain West region), and Wyoming.
The grant provides $25,000 per year for two years, totaling $50,000 per awarded organization. The funding supports community organizing efforts aimed at building grassroots power. Eligible projects may include public advocacy, base-building, coalition-building, local and state-level policy work, gender-based violence prevention, immigration justice, anti-hate organizing, equitable access to housing and healthcare, labor or farmworker organizing, and more. SJF clarifies that the listed focus areas are not exhaustive, encouraging a broad range of grassroots organizing work that aligns with their framework.
Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations, tribal agencies, or fiscally sponsored projects working within SJF’s community organizing model. Applicants must be operating in the target Mountain West states. Additional priority is given to groups with annual budgets under $500,000, those led by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)—defined as having at least 51% BIPOC leadership—and organizations working in rural areas, small towns, or reservation communities as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Applications for the 2025 cycle opened on July 10, 2025, and will close on August 14, 2025. An optional informational session will be held on Monday, July 28, 2025, from 5:00–6:30 p.m. Mountain Time (4:00–5:30 p.m. Pacific Time). Interested applicants are encouraged to register for the session through the SJF website. Grant award notifications will be announced in October 2025.
SJF accepts applications through their online Grants Portal. Questions regarding eligibility or application procedures should be directed to the Grantmaking & Impact team at Grants@SocialJusticeFund.org. It is advised that applicants contact SJF well before the deadline if clarification is needed, noting that SJF offices are closed on Fridays. All prospective applicants are encouraged to subscribe to the SJF newsletter and follow the funder on social media for updates and additional funding opportunities.
