Who We Are

The West / Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation is a network of broad-based organizations building power to revitalize our democracy for constructive social and economic change.

Each of the collectives that make up the W/SWIAF is an organization of
dues-paying member institutions, including religious congregations, schools,
civic associations, labor and professional organizations, and non-profits. Each
organization seeks to:

Build relationships of trust among people and institutions across the
racial, denominational, economic and geographic boundaries that
divide our cities

Strengthen congregations and community institutions by developing
the skills and capacity of their leaders

Create a vehicle for ordinary families to have a powerful voice in the
decisions that affect their lives and communities, instead of leaving
decision-making in the hands of a select few

Take action on concrete, winnable issues, that are transforming our
communities every day.

We believe in independence. All the organizations of the W/SWIAF are
politically non-partisan. We will not endorse any candidate or party for
elected office, and we will not pursue or accept government funding for any
of our organizations.

We believe in education. Our mission is to build organizations that
are “universities of public life”, dedicated to developing citizens in the fullest
sense: participants in our democracy and agents in the creation of a more just
society.

The W/SWIAF includes 29 organizations throughout California, Nevada,
Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska
and Iowa. We are part of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the oldest
and largest organizing and leadership development network in the United
States.


Additional Reading:

Click here for writings about the W/SWIAF