Joint Foundation Statement on Immigration

Monday, February 6, 2017

More than 200 philanthropic institutions have signed in support of this statement, representing local, state, regional, and national foundations from across the country. 

Statement

The United States stands at a historic crossroads. Founded as a refuge from religious persecution and built by generations of immigrants, our country has been the standard bearer internationally for the assertion and protection of inalienable rights and freedoms, a beacon of hope for refugees facing oppression and persecution, and a land of opportunity for immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

As philanthropic institutions, we have built our missions on this proud and rich tradition. We have invested in creating healthy communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, building a vibrant democracy, and advancing equity and equality for all people, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, immigration status, and national origin.

The recently issued immigration executive orders compromise our nation’s founding principles and the Constitution, our standing in the world, and our core values of liberty, justice, and due process. They weaken our moral leadership, fuel the efforts of those who wish us ill, harm our global competitiveness, and fray our social fabric.

Our foundations support diverse issues, strategies, and communities across the country, but we are united in the belief that immigrants and refugees are integral to every aspect of our society. Newcomers enrich our culture and tradition as artists, playwrights, and dancers. Naturalized citizens strengthen our civic life as voters, jurors, school-board members, and elected officials. Immigrant entrepreneurs and refugee-owned businesses revitalize neighborhoods, towns, and cities across America. Foreign-born scientists and engineers fuel innovations and help our country prosper. Farmworkers put food on our tables, and caregivers nurture our children, care for our elders, and nurse our ill. Young newcomers—including DACA beneficiaries—demonstrate their patriotism and enthusiasm for American ideals in schools, communities, workplaces, and the armed forces. Without the contributions of immigrants and refugees now and throughout our history, our collective wellbeing and economic vitality would be greatly diminished.

We, the undersigned philanthropies, join public officials, the faith community, business leaders, and the American public in supporting policies that protect our national security, strengthen our economy, and uphold core American values. We stand with our grantees—advocates, organizers, researchers, and service providers—in calling for policies that reflect our nation’s founding principles, promote cohesion and inclusion, instill hope, and show compassion. Policies that recognize our global interdependence, that honor our tradition of welcoming those seeking refuge and a better life, and that keep families together will make our communities stronger, safer, and more prosperous.

We expect additional challenges in the weeks and months ahead on the immigration front, including expanded detention and deportations, and on policies affecting the rights of women, African Americans, the LGBTQ community, and other vulnerable groups. The issues, communities, and core values that our foundations have sought to advance are under serious and imminent danger. With history and morality as our guide, we reject discriminatory policies that target individuals based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender expression, and other grounds. We stand committed to the inherent value and dignity of every person at home and abroad. We stand together for the American Dream.

 

Signatories

Lateefah Simon, President
Akonadi Foundation
Oakland, CA
 

Iris Krieg, Executive Director
Albert Pick, Jr. Fund
Chicago, IL
   

Eileen Coogan, President & CEO
Allegany Franciscan Ministries
Palm Harbor, CA

Minna R. Buck, Founder
Aloha Foundation
   

James D. McDonough, Executive Director
Alphawood Foundation
Chicago, IL

Leticia Peguero, Executive Director
Andrus Family Fund & Family Philanthropy Program
New York, NY
   
Audrey Yamamoto, President & Executive Director
Asian Pacific Fund
San Francisco, CA 

Thomas E. Wilcox, President
Baltimore Community Foundation
Baltimore, MD

   

Jim Canales, President & Trustee
Barr Foundation
Boston, MA

Robert C. Kirkwood, Board Chair
Bella Vista Foundation
San Francisco, CA
   
Jerry Greenfield, President
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation
South Burlington, VT

Claire M. Solot, Managing Director
Bigglesworth Family Foundation
San Francisco, CA

   
Cecilia C. Clarke, President & CEO
Brooklyn Community Foundation
Brooklyn, NY

Sonia Gonzales, Executive Director
California Bar Foundation
San Francisco, CA

   
Antonia Hernández, President & CEO
California Community Foundation
Los Angeles, CA
Geri Mannion, Director, Strengthening Democracy Program and Special Opportunities Fund
Carnegie Corporation of New York
New York, NY
   
Hussien Y. Shousher, Board Chair
Center for Arab American Philanthropy
Dearborn, MI
Karen A. Simmons, President & CEO
Chester County Community Foundation
West Chester, PA
   

K. Sujata, President & CEO
Chicago Foundation for Women
Chicago, IL

John Boettiger, Chair
Christopher Reynolds Foundation
Boston, MA

   
Farhad Ebrahimi, Founder & Chair
Chorus Foundation
Boston, MA
 
   

Mary Pounder, Program Director
Comer Family Foundation
Chicago, IL

Laura Livoti, CEO
Common Counsel Foundation
Oakland, CA
   

Jeff Hirota, CEO
Community Foundation Boulder County
Boulder, CO

Ellen Friedman, Executive Director
Compton Foundation
San Francisco, CA
   

Leslie Ramyk, Executive Director
Conant Family Foundation
Chicago, IL

Yanique Redwood, President & CEO
Consumer Health Foundation
Washington D.C.
   

Marco Antonio Quiroga, Program Director of the Contigo Fund
Contigo Fund, an initiative of Our Fund Foundation
Wilton Manors, FL

Elizabeth Sak, Executive Director
Cricket Island Foundation 
New York, NY

   

Jeanne Kracher, Executive Director
Crossroads Fund
Chicago, IL

Maryanne Mott, Founder & Trustee
CS Fund
Freestone, CA
   

Lukas Haynes, Executive Director
David Rockefeller Fund
New York, NY

Joe Goldman, President
Democracy Fund
Washington D.C.

   
Lori Bezahler, President
Edward W. Hazen Foundation
New York, NY
Jacqueline Mann, President
Elias Foundation
Brooklyn, NJ
   
Dr. Arthur E. Roswell, President
Elizabeth B. and Arthur E. Roswell Foundation
Baltimore, MD

Lauren Embrey, President
Embrey Family Foundation
Dallas, TX

   

Richard England, Jr., Board President
Julia Baer-Cooper, Philanthropic Advisor
England Family Foundation        

Elena M. Marks, President & CEO
Episcopal Health Foundation
Houston, TX
   

Nicky Goren, President & CEO
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
Washington, D.C.

Jennie Lehua Watson, Interim President
Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
San Francisco, CA

   

Sandor Straus, President
Faye Straus, Vice-President
Firedoll Foundation
Walnut Creek, CA

Kim Belshé, Executive Director
First 5 LA
Los Angeles, CA
 

   
Darren Walker, President
Ford Foundation  
New York, NY
Mimi Frankel, Founder & Trustee
Frankel Family Foundation
Chicago, IL
   

Nancy Brain, Board President
Frances Hollis Brain Foundation
Atlanta, GA

Marnie Thompson, Co-Managing Director
Ed Whitfield, Co-Managing Director
Fund for Democratic Communities
Greensborro, NC

   
Marcos Vargas, Executive Director
Fund for Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA
Christine H. Russell, Trustee
Mark Schlesinger, Trustee
Susan Clark, Director of Programs
Gaia Fund 
San Francisco, CA
   
Dimple Abichandani, Executive Director
General Service Foundation
Aspen, CO

Nancy Bales, Executive Director
Nicholas Walrod, Board Chair
Gray Family Foundation
Portland, OR

   
Vanessa Daniel, Executive Director
Groundswell Fund
Oakland, CA
Eva Grove, Founder & Board Member
Leslie Dorosin, Executive Director
Grove Foundation
Los Altos, CA
   
Darren Sandow, Executive Director
Hagedorn Foundation
Roslyn, NY

Lisa K. Simmons, President
Serena Simmons Connelly, Director of Philanthropy
Harold Simmons Foundation
Dallas, TX

   

Barbara Harman, Executive Director
Megan Quitkin, Director of International and New York Programs
Harman Family Foundation
Los Angeles, CA

David Nicholson, Executive Director
Headwaters Foundation for Justice
Minneapolis, MN

   
Liz Simons, Chair of the Board
Deanna Gomby, President & CEO
Heising-Simons Foundation
Los Altos, CA
Tricia Hellman Gibbs, MD, Board President
Susan Mayer Hirsch, Executive Director
Hellman Foundation
San Francisco, CA
   
Nat Williams, Ph.D, Executive Director
Hill-Snowdon Foundation
Washington D.C.

Roger Doughty, President
Horizons Foundation
San Francisco, CA

   
Ann B. Stern, President & CEO
Houston Endowment
Houston, TX

Julia Kaemmer, President
Kathleen Fluegel, Executive Director
HRK Foundation
St.Paul, MN

   
 

Sasha Rabsey, Founder
HOW Fund
 

   

Randy Newcomb, President & CEO
Humanity United
San Francisco, CA

Julie Gersten, Co-Founder
Interfailth Refugee Project

 

   
Janet Froetscher, President
J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation
Chicago, IL
Peter W. Davidson, Chairman
Amy L. Freitag, Executive Director
J.M. Kaplan Fund
New York, NY
   

John Goldman, President 
John & Marcia Goldman Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Jennifer Rainin, Ph.D., CEO
Kenneth Rainin Foundation
Oakland, CA

   
Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO
Latino Community Foundation
San Francisco, CA
Debora Ortega, Ph.D., Board Chair
Carlos Martinez, Executive Director
Latino Community Foundation of Colorado
Denver, CO
   
Kara L. Masters, Board President
Caitlin W. Davis, Executive Director
Legal Foundation of Washington
Seattle, WA

James S. Farley, Esquire, President & CEO
Leichtag Foundation
San Diego, CA

   

Daniel Lee, Executive Director
Levi Strauss Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Shane Murphy Goldsmith, President & CEO
Liberty Hill Foundation
Los Angeles, CA
   

Unmi Song, President
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation
Chicago, IL

David M. Okorn, Executive Director
Long Island Community Foundation
Long Island, NY

   

Mitch Lynn, Founder
David Lynn, Advisor
Lynn Family Fund at The San Diego Foundation
San Diego, CA

 
   
Luz A. Vega-Marquis, President & CEO
Marguerite Casey Foundation
Seattle, WA

Thomas Peters, Ph.D., President & CEO
Marin Community Foundation /
Buck Family Fund of MCF
Novato, CA

   
Justin Maxson, Executive Director
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation
Winston-Salem, NC
Helen Brunner, Foundation Director
Media Democracy Fund
Washington D.C.
   

Jenny Russell, Executive Director
Merck Family Fund
Milton Village, MA

Charles Wilhoite, Board Chair
Doug Stamm, CEO
Meyer Memorial Trust 
Portland, OR
   

Minette A. Kwok, Co-Founder & Board Member
Minami Tamaki Yamauchi Kwok & Lee Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Jeannie Blaustein, Ph.D., President
Morton and Jane Blaustein Foundation
Baltimore, MD

   
Roberta Phillip-Robbins, J.D., Executive Director
MRG Foundation
Portlnd, OR

Frank I. Sanchez, Executive Director
Needmor Fund
Perrysburg, OH

   

Nicholas Donohue, President & CEO
Nellie Mae Education Foundation
Quincy, MA

Michele Lord, President
NEO Philanthropy
New York, NY
   

Lorie A. Slutsky, President
New York Community Trust
New York, NY

Maria Mottola, Executive Director
New York Foundation
New York, NY

   

Kristin Hull, Founder, Director
Nia Community Foundation
Oakland, CA

 
   
Kevin F. Walker, President & CEO
Northwest Area Foundation
St. Paul, MN

Nichole June Maher, President and CEO
Vanetta Abdellatif, Chair, Board of Directors
Northwest Health Foundation
Portland, OR

   

Pamela Shifman, Executor Director
NoVo Foundation
New York, NY

Ken Zimmerman, Director of U.S. Programs
Open Society Foundations
New York, NY
   

Judith Baker, Executive Director
Traci Ray, President
Oregon Law Foundation
Tigrid, OR

Veronica Reed, Board Chair
Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund
Novato, CA

   
Gillian Darlow, CEO
Polk Bros. Foundation
Chicago, IL
Mary E. McClymont, President & CEO
Public Welfare Foundation
Washington D.C.
   
Pamela Reis, President
Reis Foundation
Rolling Hills, CA
Stephen Heintz, President
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
New York, NY
   

Melissa A. Berman, President & CEO
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
New York, NY

Timothy P. Silard, President
Rosenberg Foundation
San Francisco, CA
   
Aixa N. Cintrón-Vélez, Ph.D., Program Director
Russell Sage Foundation
New York, NY
Sarah Martinez-Helfman, President
Samuel S. Fels Fund
Philadelphia, PA
   

Sarah Walczyk, Executive Director
Satterberg Foundation
Seattle, WA

Ann Alpers, President
S.H. Cowell Foundation
San Francisco, CA

   
Fo-ChingLu, President
Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation
Redmont, WA
Chet P. Hewitt, President & CEO
Sierra Health Foundation
Oakland, CA
   

Susanna H. Krey, President
Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland
Cleavland, OH

Tom Keith, President
Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
   

Cheryl Brownd, Program Director
Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation
Belmont, NC

Sister Regina Fox, SSND, Executive Director
Sisters of St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation
Orange, CA

   
Sally Osberg, President & CEO
Skoll Foundation
Palo Alto, CA
Molly Gochman, Founder
Stardust Fund
Houston, TX
   

Phillip W. Henderson, President
Surdna Foundation
New York, NY

John  F. Swift, President
Jennifer Astone, Executive Director
Swift Foundation 
Santa Barbara, CA

   
Jennifer Leith, Executive Director
The Alfred & Mary Douty Foundation
Philadelphia, CA

Jim Durkan, Interim President
The Arthur Foundation
Riverside, IL

   
Paul Grogan, President & CEO
The Boston Foundation
Boston, MA
 
   
Robert K. Ross, M.D., President & CEO
The California Endowment
Los Angeles, CA
Judy Belk, President & CEO
The California Wellness Foundation
Woodland Hills, CA
   
Truman Collins, President
Cynthia G. Addams, CEO
The Collins Foundation
Portland, OR
Karen McNeil-Miller, President & CEO
The Colorado Health Foundation
Denver, CO
   
Alicia Phillip, President
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta
Atlanta, GA
William W. Ginsberg, President & CEO
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
New Haven, CT
 
   
Elizabeth Brazas, President
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina
Asheville, NC

Virginia Bayless, Board Chair
Christine Márquez-Hudson, President & CEO
The Denver Foundation
Denver, CO

   
Trent Stamp, CEO
The Eisner Foundation
Beverly Hills, CA

Angelique Power, President
The Field Foundation of Illinois
Chicago, IL

   
Drew Fink, Director
The Fink Family Foundation
Westport, CA
Brooke Hisle, Executive Director
The Fund for Change
Baltimore, MD
   
Deborah T. Poritz, Board Chair
Kiki Jamieson, President
The Fund for New Jersey
Princeton, NJ
 
   
Grant Oliphant, President
The Heinz Endowments
Pittsburgh, PA
Marti Wilson-Taylor, Chair, Board of Trustees
Jocelyn V. Sargent, Executive Director
The Hyams Foundation, Inc.
Boston, MA
   
Don Howard, President & CEO
The James Irvine Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Ruth Hennig, Executive Director
The John Merck Fund
Boston, MA

   
Keith Swayne, Co-founder
Anne Swayne, President
The Keith and Judy Swayne Family Foundation
Laguna Beach, CA
Rip Rapson, President & CEO
The Kresge Foundation
Troy, MI
   
Alexandra A. Herzan, President
The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc.
New York, NY
Patricia Blakely, Executive Director
The Merchants Fund
Philadelphia, PA
   
R.T. Rybak, President & CEO
The Minneapolis Foundation
Minneapolis, MN

Michael Gelman, Director
Susie Gelman, Director
The Morningstar Foundation
Bethesda, MD

   
Ana L. Oliveira, President & CEO
The New York Women’s Foundation
New York, NY
Craig Harwood, Director
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
New York, NY
   
Martha McCoy, President
The Paul J. Aicher Foundation
East Hartford, CT
Pedro Ramos, President & CEO
The Philadelphia Foundation
Philadelphia, PA
   

Bryan Traubert, Trustee
Cindy Moelis, President
The Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation
Chicago, IL

The Resilience Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation
Washington, D.C.

   

Richard Woo, CEO
The Russell Family Foundation
Gig Harbor, WA

Fred Blackwell, CEO
The San Francisco Foundation
San Francisco, CA 
   
Irene Reynolds Schier, Board President
Christine Reeves Strigaro, Executive Director
The Sapelo Foundation
Brunswick, GA
Dan Chu, Executive Director
The Sierra Club Foundation
Oakland, CA
   
Amanda Cloud, President & CEO
The Simmons Foundation
Houston, TX
Rick Kinsel, President
The Vilcek Foundation
New York, NY
   
Stacie Ma'a, President
The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation
San Francisco, CA
Edward Kissam, Trustee
The Werner-Kohnstamm Family Fund
Oakland, CA
   

John Esterle, Co-Executive Director
Pia Infante, Co-Executive Director
The Whitman Institute
San Francisco, CA

Alan S. Davis, Director
The WhyNot Initiative
 
   

Tom Glenn, Chair
The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation
Atlanta, GA

Larry Kramer, President
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Menlo Park, CA

   
Karen Kreisberg, Executive Director
The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund
Baltimore, MD   
 
   
Christina Kind, Managing Trustee
The Patricia Kind Family Foundation
Philadelphia, PA

Kriss Deiglmeier, CEO
Tides
San Francisco, CA

   
Taryn Higashi, Executive Director
Unbound Philanthropy
New York, NY

Richard Xavier Corral, Interim Executive Director
United Latinx Fund Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA

   
Kate Kroeger, Executive Director
Urgent Action Fund
Oakland, CA

Ken Kind, Board President
Hugh Hogan, Executive Director
van Ameringen Foundation
New York, NY

   
Nancy Wiltsek, Executive Director
van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Irene Cooper-Basch, Executive Officer
Victoria Foundation
Newark, NJ

   
Diana Buckhantz, Executor
Vladimir & Araxia Buckhantz Foundation
Los Angeles, CA
John Schwartz, President
Voqal
Boulder, CO
   

William S. Goldman, President of the Board of Trustees
Pamela H. David, Executive Director
Walter & Elise Haas Fund
San Francisco, CA

Fred Ali, President & CEO
Weingart Foundation
Los Angeles, CA
   
Laura Rossi, Esq., Executive Director
Westchester Community Foundation
Hartsdale, NY

Catherine Crystal Foster, Executive Director
Westly Foundation
Menlo Park, CA

   

Jennifer Corrigan, President, Board of Directors
Regina McGraw, Executive Director
Wieboldt Foundation
Chicago, IL

Sherece Y. West-Scantlebury, Ph.D., President & CEO
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
Little Rock, AR

   

La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
East Battle Creek, MI

Libby Wadsworth, CEO
Mary L. Gregory, Administrator
W.L.S. Spencer Foundation
San Francisco, CA
   

Daniel Solomon, President
Woodbury Fund
Bethesda, MD

Grace Hou, President
Woods Fund Chicago
Chicago, IL
   
Bob Uyeki, CEO
Y & H Soda Foundation
Moraga, CA
Maurice "Mo" Green, Executive Director
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation 
Winston-Salem, NC
   

Merryl Snow Zegar, Trustee and Executive Director
Zegar Family Foundation
New York, NY

Allison Magee, Executive Director
Zellerbach Family Foundation
San Francisco, CA

Philanthropy-Supporting Organizations

   

Susan Taylor Batten, President & CEO
ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities

Niamani Mutima, Executive Director
Africa Grantmakers' Affinity Group

   

Sampriti Ganguli, CEO
Arabella Advisors

Cora Mirikitani, President & CEO
Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)
   

Deborah Holmes, Board Chair
Bay Area Blacks in Philanthropy

 
   
Carly Hare, National Director/Coalition Catalyst
CHANGE Philanthropy
Tory Dietel Hopps, Managing Partner
Dietel Partners
   

Mark Randazzo, Executive Director
EDGE Funders Alliance

Rachel Leon, Executive Director
Environmental Grantmakers Association
   

Meg Long, President
Equal Measure

Damon T. Hewitt, Executive Director
Executives’ Alliance for Boys and Men of Color
   

Eric Marshall, Executive Director
Funders' Committee for Civic Participation

John Kania, Global Managing Director
FSG
   

Ben Francisco Maulbeck, President
Funders for LGBTQ Issues

Diana Campoamor, President
Hispanics in Philanthropy
   

Yvonne Moore, Principal Advisor
Moore Philanthropy

Dennis Quirin, President
Neighborhood Funders Group
   
Sarah Stachowiak, CEO
ORS Impact
Lori Villarosa, Executive Director
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity
   

Iimay Ho, Executive Director
Resource Generation

Susan Eaton, Director
Sillerman Center

   
John Mitterholzer, Board Chair
L. Benjamin Starrett, President & CEO
The Funders' Network

Tamara Lucas Copeland, President
Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers

   
Glen Macdonald, Founder and Advisory Board Chair
The Wealth & Giving Forum
Donna P. Hall, President & CEO
Women Donors Network

 

A special thanks to GCIR members and funders for their support in making this statement possible.

 

Photo shared by Flickr user russellbernice under a Creative Commons license.

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