Our Story

Our Beginnings

Shay Berkowitz and Phyllis Wiener have been dedicated, lifelong activists for social justice in Minnesota and beyond.

In 1999, we found a new way to support the movement when we inherited family money. At that time we invited activists and community members into a conversation imagining how this inheritance could help transform the world around us. From those conversations came a foundation with a deep commitment to social justice - Still Ain’t Satisfied, A Foundation With Attitude (SAS).

Over the years we have funded a wide array of work, from the arts and reproductive rights, to immigrant and LGBTQ communities. We have invested in the fight against climate chaos and worked to protect human rights and affordable housing. We’ve helped exciting new projects get off the ground. We’ve funded those providing needed direct services and powerful grassroots organizing for long-term changes. At our core, we have been committed to investing in work for social change that is often overlooked or deemed too radical.

As we wrote in our original mission:

“We have a passionate commitment to radical action that affirms the dignity of all. A belief in the collective power and responsibility of people to make change. A vision of a world where unity and justice replace division and inequality.”

That core purpose and dream for our communities hasn’t changed, but it has, over time, become more focused and strategic. A pivotal moment for us came during the 2012 campaign to defeat the proposed voter ID and marriage discrimination amendments in Minnesota. Nearly all progressive organizers and leaders felt that we couldn’t possibly defeat both these attacks on our community at once. Feeling called to fight back, we convened a group of progressive organizations and partners to build a united campaign despite the long odds. It brought disparate and usually disconnected pieces of our movement together - and by uniting, Minnesota activists, progressive organizations and allies did the impossible and defeated both on Election Day.

It was a decisive moment in Minnesota and around the country where we experienced the power that is possible when we make the connections between struggles and unite for our collective liberation.