Citizenship and Civic Participation

CitizenshipWorks.org Launches!

Author: 
Immigration Advocates Network and Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Year: 
2011
Publisher: 
Pro Bono Net
Description: 

CitizenshipWorks, a new resource funded by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, provides eligibility screening, online tutorials and legal resources to legal permanent residents of the United States who want to become naturalized citizens.

The website developed by the Immigration Advocates Network in partnership with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, provides a virtual location for clients seeking information and assistance with the naturalization process. The site is run by Pro Bono Net, a national nonprofit that works to increase access to justice.

National Citizenship Webinar

DESCRIPTION * AGENDA  * RESOURCES

Program Details

Date:  Thursday, January 19, 2012

Time: 10am – 11:15am PST | 11am – 12:15pm MST | 12pm – 1:15pm CST | 1pm – 2:15pm EST

Webinar: 

National Citizenship Webinar

Date: 
01/19/2012
Time: 
10am – 11:15am PST | 11am – 12:15pm MST | 12pm – 1:15pm CST | 1pm – 2:15pm EST
Location: 
Webinar
Event Description: 

In the United States, an estimated 8.2 million immigrants are currently eligible for citizenship. More than half live in California (2.5 million), New York (950,000), and Texas (900,000). And in over a dozen other states—including Florida, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Arizona, Washington, and North Carolina—there are at least 100,000 naturalization-eligible persons.

Naturalization brings significant social, economic, and civic benefits not only to newcomers and their families but also to local communities, individual states, and the country as a whole. However, in order to help large numbers of immigrants become U.S. citizens, national, state, and local funders must work together to build a stronger immigrant integration infrastructure that expands access to immigration legal services, citizenship application assistance, and English language instruction.

Grantmaking colleagues from around the country joined GCIR’s first webinar of 2012 to learn about GCIR’s national citizenship initiative as well as:

  • Never-before-released federal data (from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service) on naturalization-eligible immigrants by county and metropolitan area in the United States.
  • The economic impact of citizenship, using preliminary methods to gauge potential gains in immigrant income.
  • Opportunities to partner with funding colleagues and leverage philanthropic investments.
  • New technology to help promote citizenship, including a demonstration of CitizenshipWorks, which provides online tools and resources for applicants and the nonprofit providers that assist them.

Speakers

  • Manuel Pastor, Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration at the University of Southern California.
  • Leslie Dorosin, Chief Financial Officer and Immigrant Program Director, Grove Foundation, Geri Mannion, Program Director, U.S. Democracy and Special Opportunities Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York, and Manuel Santamaria, Grantmaking Director, Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
  • Matthew Burnett, Director, Immigration Advocates Network (IAN is a co-creator of CitizenshipWorks, with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and Pro Bono Net).

For more information about this program, please contact GCIR’s Director of Special Projects, Felecia Bartow.

GCIR 2012 National Convening, Global Trends, National Implications, Local Innovations

Date: 
06/13/2012 - 06/15/2012
Location: 
the Nines, Portland, Oregon
Event Description: 

ABOUT THE CONVENING

GCIR's 2012 National Convening, Global Trends, National Implications, Local Innovations, June 13-15 in Portland, Oregon, will bring together a community of grantmakers who share a commitment to helping immigrants become full and active members of our society.  It will offer funders an opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences and expertise. And it will uplift a range of perspectives, strategies, and innovations from some of the field’s most inspiring leaders, thinkers, activists, and advocates.

  • Understand the latest demographic trends and policy issues and what funders can do to improve the well-being of immigrant workers and families.
     
  • Explore cutting-edge innovations that advance the social, economic, and civic integration of immigrants.
     
  • Sharpen grantmaking skills in the areas such as capacity building and evaluation.
     
  • Deepen knowledge on wide-ranging issues from ESL to civic participation—and wide-ranging strategies from direct services to leadership development. 


"What really struck me was how many different kinds of funders from different parts of the country are involved in immigration…this was an opportunity for me to meet people who have
more expertise, making the experience really valuable."

REGISTRATION

Open registration for GCIR members and non-members is now open. GCIR members can register at a special discounted rate! If you’re not a member, join now and receive this exclusive discount!

Statewide Immigrant Mobilization Strategies for 2012 Elections

Date: 
11/07/2011
Time: 
12:00-1:00pm PT [3:00-4:00pm ET]
Location: 
Webinar
Event Description: 

Co-Sponsored by: Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA), the Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP), Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), Neighborhood Funders Group (NFG), and the Women Donors Network (WDN).

Immigrants and refugees working with native-born Americans play a vital role in building secure, vibrant and cohesive communities. The power of immigrants and refugees is growing, and communities are proactively organizing a political voice that demands to be heard. Though first- and second-generation Americans make up 54% of newly registered voters, immigrant voters continue to face barriers to full participation in the democratic process and are the targets of new state immigration reform laws that would hinder their ability to contribute to and participate in their communities.

With the 2012 elections just a year away, what can we learn from past strategies for mobilizing immigrant communities and their allies, and how will immigrant communities become engaged in shaping policy decisions on the local and national level? Join us for a webinar and discussion on the future of immigrant civic engagement and learn how statewide immigrant organizing campaigns are encouraging leadership development, engaging non-eligible voters, and working across multiple issues to make a difference in 2012 and beyond.
 
Moderator:

  • Geri Mannion, Director, U.S. Democracy Program and of the Special Opportunties Fund, Carnegie Corporation of New York [bio]

Presenters:

  • Aparna Shah, Executive Director, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote [bio]
  • Stephen Fotopulos, Executive Director, Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition [bio]
  • Kimberley Propeack, Political Action and Communications Director, CASA de Maryland

This will be a timely and engaging event. We hope you can join us!
 
Registration:
 
To register for this webinar here by Monday, November 7th.
 
Please note that the subject matter of these funder-only calls is strictly limited to discussion of nonpartisan civic participation work as set forth in the agenda.

A Special Funder Webinar Series on the 2012 Elections

Date: 
11/07/2011 - 01/09/2012
Time: 
3:00pm - 4:00pm ET [12:00pm -1:00pm PT]
Location: 
Webinar
Event Description: 

Join Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation, Neighborhood Funders Group, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Environmental Grantmakers Association and Women Donors Network for a thought-provoking series of teleconferences/webinars geared to help you prepare your 2012 election-related funding strategies. Come learn about the political landscape, pivotal issues, and strategies and collaborations designed to inspire broad civic participation in the next election!

  • Statewide Immigrant Mobilization Strategies for 2012
    NEW DATE: Monday, November 7, 2011 at 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET
  • Supporting Community Organizations, Coalitions and State Tables in 2012*
    Wednesday, November 16, 2011 at 3:00pm – 4:00pm ET [12:00pm – 1:00pm PT]
  • Environmental Voters and Issues in 2012*
    NEW DATE: Monday, January 9, 2012 at 3:00pm - 4:00pm ET [12:00pm - 1:00pm PT]

*Title and time are subject to change.
 
For more information about this webinar series, please contact Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation’s Program Associate, Jordan Thierry.
 
Registration
To RSVP to any of these webinars and learn more about funders’ role in supporting civic engagement in the 2012 elections, please visit the event registration page.
 
Please note that the subject matter of these funder-only webinars is strictly limited to discussion of nonpartisan civic participation work as set forth in the agenda.

National Citizenship Campaign Briefing

Date: 
09/16/2011
Time: 
9:00am - 11:00am PT
Location: 
California Community Foundation, Figueroa Courtyard, 281 S. Figueroa, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Event Description: 

Sponsored by the California Community Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Southern California Grantmakers, the Knight Foundation, The California Endowment, the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.

This briefing will look at why citizenship is important and how local funders can get involved and leverage the national investments being made around citizenship.

For more information on the campaign, contact Virginia Mosqueda.

Registration

To RSVP, please contact Becky Gross.

Additional details, including parking instructions, will be provided in a confirmation email.

Learning from Legalization: The Experience of IRCA-Era Mexicans in Los Angeles County

Author: 
Rob Paral and Associates
Year: 
2011
Month: 
June
Date: 
06/15/2011
Publisher: 
Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration, University of Southern California
Publication Location: 
Los Angeles, CA
Description: 

Los Angeles County has long been a destination favored by immigrants, and a portion of the immigrant population has resided in the county for quite some time.  Of interest to the region is how well the immigrant population integrates over time, particularly in terms of social and economic progress.  This report examines these indicators for a group of Mexican immigrants who represent those that legalized their status under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA).  It finds improvement in education, lowered poverty rates, and an increase in home ownership among this group of Mexicans who arrived in Los Angeles County in the 1975-1981 period.

Making Partnership a Habit: Margie McHugh and the New York Immigration Coalition

Author: 
Dodge, Jennifer, Sonia Ospina and Roy Sparrow
Year: 
2004
Publisher: 
The Synergos Institute
Publication Location: 
New York, NY
Description: 

 This examines bridging leadership between NGOs and government. This case focuses on the work of Margie McHugh and her associates at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC). During the 1990's, they labored to turn a respected, though loose-knit and somewhat ill-defined coalition of community-based immigrant organizations into a high-performing institution, which has become a major force at the national level in the area of immigration and immigrant policy. The strategies and methods used by the NYIC are based on the concepts of partnership or "bridge-building", and have attracted attention for their "sustainable collaborative systems that address critical social and economic needs." This case study documents how the NYIC has evolved over the years to the point in which today, it represents a new model for linking people to organizations and felt needs to strategies, and eventually, to policy change.

21st Century Engagement: Lessons From the Youth Movement

Date: 
12/08/2010
Time: 
9:45am – 10:30am
Location: 
Washington, DC
Event Description: 

Dreamers. Facebook Friends. Climate Warriors. Text Messengers. Equality Champions. YouTube-makers. Health Care Heroes. Youth! While pundits tend to put young voters in a   one-size fits all box, we know that this critical sector of the Rising American Electorate is driven by compelling and very diverse agendas.  What can funders learn from this amazing landscape about the best ways to engage the citizens of the future? This session will explore winning strategies that help issue and constituency-based youth movements connect and draw upon each other’s strengths to create new models for political organizing and build long-term alliances for change.

Speakers:

  • Mohammad Abdollahi, DREAMActivist.org
  •  Matt Singer, The Bus Federation
  • Christina Hollenback, Generation Alliance
  • Victor Sanchez, United States Student Association

Moderator:  Jessy Tolkan, NOI Fellow

Register Now.

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