In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged Oregon communities and widely exposed the racial, gender, and economic inequalities in marginalized communities, the Oregon Worker Relief Fund was born.
A coalition of more than 100 immigrant rights and community-based organizations, OWRF came together to launch a relief fund for undocumented workers who, despite being deemed “essential” to the economic health of the state, had been left completely out of state and federal aid efforts.
OWRF had received $10 million from the Oregon Legislature for direct worker relief, but was forced to find additional funding to cover administrative costs, including a technology infrastructure and the hiring and training of staff. There was one problem: they didn’t have a centralized way to receive donations and no one to manage the distribution of the funds.
Seeding Justice stepped in with the largest grant we’ve ever made ($185,000) to kickstart the OWR Infrastructure Fund and effectively leverage our relationships within the philanthropic community to raise more than $2.5 million to cover the coalition’s administrative needs.