Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

Congratulations, Taryn and Geri!

GCIR is delighted to announce that longtime GCIR leaders, Taryn Higashi and Geri Mannion, have been named co-recipients of the 2009 Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking. Established in 1985, the Scrivner Award recognizes grantmakers who have demonstrated outstanding creativity. It honors grantmakers who—with a combination of vision, principle, and personal commitment—are making a critical difference in a creative way.

Taryn and Geri are being honored for their co-founding of the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF), a national funding collaborative that has helped build and sustain a national network of grassroots, regional, and state organizations to protect the rights of immigrants and their integration into our civic life. Since its creation in 2003, FFF has invested nearly $25 million in more than 85 grantees working in 33 states.

Taryn is executive director of Unbound Philanthropy and former deputy director of the Human Rights Unit and program officer for Migrant and Refugee Rights at the Ford Foundation. She served as co-chair of the GCIR board of directors for nine years and currently serves on GCIR's 20th anniversary planning committee.

Geri is director of the U.S. Democracy Program at Carnegie Corporation of New York. She is a member of the GCIR board of directors and recently concluded a second term as co-chair of the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation.

Geri and Taryn have influenced their colleagues to think more strategically and inclusively about their grantmaking, and they have played a pivotal role in strengthening the immigrant rights field. Last year, they received the Center for Community Change’s Community Change Champion Award for their collaborative grantmaking to advance immigrant rights and integration.

Q & A with the Honorees

Geri and Taryn reflect on what sparked them to create the Four Freedoms Fund and how collaborative grantmaking builds a better national policy conversation on immigration and integration. And what comes after comprehensive immigration reform? Read the interview.

Freedom From Fear Award

Taryn and Geri will use the Scrivner cash prize of $10,000 to establish a new award, the Freedom from Fear Award, to honor “ordinary people who demonstrate extraordinary acts of courage in defense of immigrant and refugee rights.” The prize, named after one of the four freedoms cited by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, will be administered by the Center for New Community, which is a fearless leader in the fight against hate speech and violence. In recognition of Taryn's and Geri's leadership, visit Network for Good to make an online contribution today! Gifts should be made to Public Interest Projects and designated to the "Freedom From Fear Award".

Celebration Events at COF, Atlanta, GA

Presentation of COF Philanthropic Awards, Tuesday, May 5, 5:30 – 7:00 pm

Taryn and Geri will receive the Scrivner Award, make their acceptance speeches, and announce the Freedom from Fear Award.

Post‐Awards Party!  Tuesday, May 5, 7:30 – 11:00 pm

Eat, drink and be merry with Taryn and Geri at Café Circa with a live band & buffet dinner. Founding contributers to the Freedom from Fear Award will also be recognized. RSVP by April 17th to rholmes@publicinterestprojects.org. Registration for the COF conference is not required for the post-awards party.

Co-sponsored by the Four Freedoms Fund, Public Interest Projects, Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Unbound Philanthropy, Funders' Committee for Civic Participation, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.

Related Events at COF

Immigration Matters: Local Solutions to a National Imperative, Monday, May 4, 10:15 - 11:45 am

This session will explore innovative policy and programmatic models that help communities leverage the contributions immigrants make as workers, taxpayers, and consumers. Presenters will also discuss effective strategies to address the challenges of increased immigration and the roles that foundations can play as grantmakers and civic leaders in response to this global phenomenon.

Presenters: Joshua W. Hoyt, Executive Director, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights; Kica Matos, Community Services Administrator, City of New Haven; and Manuel Pastor, Professor and Co-Director, Center for Study of Immigrant Integration, USC.

Funding Social Movements: A Peer Learning and Joint Strategy Discussion, Monday, May 4, 1:30 - 2:30 pm

Social movements have advanced democracy and equality by building authentic bases, strong institutions, and agenda-setting power. Discuss the findings of the newly released report, How Social Movements Work and How to Support Them and learn what makes for a successful social movement and what capacities need to be developed. Examine funding strategies that are critical to long-term movement building.

Presenter and Facilitator: Manuel Pastor, Professor and Co-Director, Center for Study of Immigrant Integration, USC.