Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees - GCIR

This book Ddescribes the growth and population characteristics of immigrants in new settlement states and examines the implications for the integration of immigrants moving into areas that lack a tradition of receiving newcomers. It Pprovides case studies of new immigrant settlements in North Carolina, Atlanta, Minnesota, Virginia, Utah, and Arkansas. The book aims to improve communication between immigrants and the institutions they interact with, and enhance the flow of information between communities facing similar challenges in different regions.

BRIDGE is a tool for all organizers, community groups, educators, activists, advocates, and leaders—anyone committed to supporting the rights of immigrants, refugees, and the communities where we all live. This workbook contains tools for immigrant communities to build alliances and find common ground for action with others fighting for economic, social, and racial justice, and to envision alternatives and resistance in these times of global exclusion, racism, and human rights abuses.

This study reports the results of a comprehensive, 18- month community planning effort in California’s Silicon Valley, where immigrants and their children comprise more than 60 percent of the population. The planning effort engaged multiple stakeholders, including immigrants and established residents, who identified 16 action areas. The detailed research findings, analysis, and policy recommendations cover wages and working conditions, housing, healthcare access, mental health, criminal justice, domestic violence, food, employment training, language access, child care, and legal services.

A report on the declining levels of civic participation--or volunteerism--that have been a source of concern for some time in California. Even more troubling are the persistent differences in civic participation among the state's racial, ethnic, and immigrant-generation groups. Relying on focus groups, interviews, and case studies, this report examines immigrant views of volunteerism and investigates the dynamics of community organizations. The authors find that immigrants face numerous barriers to civic participation and that community organizations are themselves confronting new challenges.

Looks at how collective remittances and the 3x1 Program have improved the living conditions for the general population in the communities of origin, where hundreds of basic infrastructure projects have been implemented. The report is also available in Spanish.

The Mexican population tripled in New York City between 1990 and 2000, but these new migrants mostly came from south central Mexico, a region that typically did not migrate to New York City. This study examines the growth of Hometown Associations (HTAs) among these new migrant communities, identifying 20 Mexican HTAs and six other HTAs in the larger metropolitan area. It finds the context of the development of Mexican HTAs in New York City to be unique compared to other parts of the United States.

This study by the Applied Research Center addresses the question, "How can established community-based and philanthropic organizations more effectively work with emerging mutual assistance and immigrant rights organizations to address the concerns of immigrant and refugee families?" It Eexamines models of immigrant and refugee organizations by evaluating data from interviews with over more than 120 key leaders, and explores case studies of six local organizations,; and assesses the effect of the post-September 11 political environment on immigrant and refugee communities.

Examines the increasing civic and political participation of Mexican migrants organized through hometown associations (HTAs) and reveals that these organizations have been a powerful force for social support for their members in the United States, as well as an important mechanism for philanthropic work in Mexico.

This report analyzes the information needs of over 120 immigrant advocacy and service organizations around the country, as well as the methods used by these groups to obtain and impart information. The authors compile the most popular listservs and websites and identify key unmet information needs. They recommend greater collaboration among information providers, education initiatives to improve technology use, new information products to address unmet needs, and creation of greatly expanded communications and information networks.

Nebraska, once an immigrant destination for Europeans, has emerged as a new immigrant gateway. The state provides many challenges and opportunities for foundations to support the integration of its newcomers.

Colorado has become a gateway for immigrants and refugees. These newcomers, who come from countries around the world, represent the widest possible range of ethnic groups, religious beliefs and education levels. They bring change to communities and, at times, pose challenges for municipal leaders. For example, multiple languages and cultural differences can make communication and interactions challenging for police, paramedics, librarians, code enforcement officers and other city departments.

This book, which was one of two follow-up reports to the Ford Foundation’s Changing Relations Project from 1987 to 1991, placed multicultural research teams in a variety of U.S. cities. The research revealed that participation across groups in a shared task helps to reduce competition as well as build bonds of trust.