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We’re here with issue #4 of the California Dignity for Families Fund (CDFF) Newsletter Series: Learning for Immigrant Justice. This month we’ll be spotlighting how to support BIPOC leadership of nonprofit organizations.
In this issue, we introduce the concept of holistic case management and explore how it can be a powerful tool for meeting the legal and humanitarian needs of migrants.
We’re back with issue #2 of the CDFF Newsletter Series: Learning for Immigrant Justice. Today we’ll learn more about nonprofit organizations serving immigrant communities in rural California and explore why investing in rural communities is crucial.
The recent political stunts of relocating migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Washington D.C., and New York City distract us from the urgent needs of the 2.4 million people who arrived and were apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border this year. We invite you to look past the media sensationalism of these stories and learn with us as we focus on the rights, wellbeing, and dignity of migrants and share insights from the work being done at the border to support them.
This month we spoke to several of our CDFF nonprofit partners about the importance of providing legal services and support to migrants. Without legal aid, many migrants would not be able to navigate the complex American legal system and access their right to pursue lifesaving protections and essential services.
In this session, we’ll explore with movement leaders and funders how they are approaching safety and security, and how other grantmakers can contribute to the well-being of the movement ecosystem.
The California Immigrant Inclusion Initiative (CIII) is a community of grantmakers that seek to advance the vision of a just and inclusive California where all immigrants and refugees can live with dignity and respect.
Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar "Securing our People, Securing the Future" here, including the session recording and transcription of the meeting.
The Advancing Economic Justice Community of Practice is designed to bring together funders engaged in, or interested in exploring, grantmaking practices that support positive economic outcomes for immigrant and refugee communities.
In an election year when immigration is the top issue in the minds of many voters, these policies exacerbate xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and racist sentiments that further dehumanize and criminalize immigrant and refugee communities while also expanding state powers to detain, deport, and terrorize undocumented individuals. To respond to this moment, organizations are leveraging different strategies–from litigation to organizing–to prevent the implementation of these policies and create a more welcoming country for all.
Join us for a conversation reflecting on the recent border trip to the Rio Grande Valley along the U.S.-Mexico border hosted by Hispanics in Philanthropy and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. This webinar will explore actions identified to address human rights violations and build long-term power for those on the move. Don't miss this important opportunity to deepen your understanding of border issues and join the call for the philanthropic sector to step up and defend the rights of migrants and refugees.
"I don't have 5-year goals, I have 500-year goals of liberation," declared Rubén Garza of Voces Unidas. He didn't hold back in a room full of funders and community leaders from the Rio Grande Valley.
Rubén set the tone for 15 funders who traveled from across the United States and Mexico to join a learning trip to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) and Reynosa, Mexico. Hosted by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Hispanics in Philanthropy, the experience aimed to amplify the voices of border communities, demonstrate the impacts of unjust immigration policies, and mobilize resources for migrant-serving groups.
GCIR's Amplify series features interviews with immigrant justice field leaders to showcase their work and provide a platform for their perspectives. In this edition, GCIR President Marissa Tirona hosts our very first Amplify podcast episode! She speaks with Paco de Onís and Pamela Yates, who co-founded Skylight Pictures, a nonprofit human rights media organization.
Join the next quarterly meeting of GCIR’s California Immigrant Inclusion Initiative, which facilitates funder engagement, funding coordination and alignment, and member-led initiatives, creating opportunities for funders to leverage the collective impact of their grantmaking and fortify the immigration funding field in California.
The Advancing Economic Justice Community of Practice is designed to bring together funders engaged in, or interested in exploring, grantmaking practices that support positive economic outcomes for immigrant and refugee communities.
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) is a national network of funders who seek to leverage their grantmaking to expand opportunities for and address challenges facing immigrants, refugees, and their communities.
Yesterday, President Biden signed an executive order that fundamentally undermines the right for individuals fleeing dangerous conditions to seek asylum in the United States. The order, with some limited exceptions, including for unaccompanied minors, ends the longstanding US policy of allowing individuals who present at a border the chance to apply for asylum. Instead, the border will be closed to new arrivals once an arbitrary target of 2,500 irregular crossings per day is reached - a figure that is unsurprisingly already being exceeded given push factors including armed conflicts, gender-based violence, and political persecution that have displaced millions around the globe.
Visibilize, mobilize, and amplify: These three goals represented the driving force behind a recent learning trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, organized for 15 funders by Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) and Grantmakers Concerned with Imigrants and Refugees (GCIR). This delgation traveled to McAllen, Texas, and Reynosa, Mexico in early May to connect with nonprofits providing critical services. Humanitarian relief, legal services, power-building, and advocacy are just some examples of the vital work groups are leading in border communities.
The learning trip left a lasting impact on Lincoln Mondy, a Program Officer at the Andrus Family Fund. He joined Ivy O. Suriyopas, GCIR's Vice President of Programs, and Andrea Villaseñor de la Vega, Director of the Migration and Climate Mobility program at HIP, to share his personal reflections and experiences.
Find all program-related materials for GCIR's webinar "Resistance at the Border and Beyond: Frontline Efforts to Oppose Anti-Immigrant Legislation" here, including the session recording and transcription of the meeting.