FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 18, 2025
The Jubitz Family Foundation will continue its commitment to peace, the environment, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) in 2025 and Beyond
[PORTLAND, OREGON] – The current moment in the United States challenges our core values of empathy, nonviolence, planetary loyalty, and the moral imagination as we witness a daily assault on the possibility of a more peaceful and just world.
We grieve as climate change denial limits our ability to protect and conserve the natural environment for current and future generations. Sudden and illegal federal funding freezes strip vital economic support from our communities and core institutions. Cutting funding to projects that promote global economic security and disengaging from global organizations is short-sighted. We are also appalled by the embrace of violence, threats, and disrespect for the rule of law. These inflict irreparable harm on our freedoms, communities, our country, and the world.
At the Jubitz Family Foundation, we are unwavering in our commitment to promoting peace, protecting the environment, and including the concerns and opinions of all stakeholders. We believe that a more just and peaceful world is only possible when we protect and conserve the natural environment, respect a diversity of perspectives and experiences, and reject violence and militarism to solve conflict.
Guided by an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, we approach our funding and work through this lens. We will continue to use these principles in our initiatives and commit to fairness and respect across races, backgrounds, and genders. In response to recent executive orders and other actions by the Trump Administration that undermine these values, we are taking the following steps:
Sustaining Support for Peace, Justice, and Environmental Protection
- Continued financial support to organizations committed to working toward peace, justice, and environmental protection in the U.S.
- Offer flexible, responsive funding by frontloading grants where necessary to contribute to organizational resource needs in this critical moment.
- Ensure that our funding decisions reflect our deep commitment to peace, equity, and environmental protection.
Using Our Voice and Platform
- Publicly support organizations and individuals advancing peace, social justice, and environmental protection.
- Sign on to sector-wide letters and calls to action that align with our mission and values.
Strengthening Our Relationships with Partners
- Regularly check in with our grantee partners to understand their evolving challenges and needs.
- Participate in collective calls for information gathering and strategic organizing to ensure we are responsive and aligned with movements for peace, justice, and environmental protection.
- Facilitate connections among our partners to strengthen collaboration and solidarity.
We remind ourselves that, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” The bend towards justice happens because of our collective action and commitment to a better world, not by “magic” or by sitting on the sidelines. We will continue our work.
In peace,
Board of Trustees
Jubitz Family Foundation