Organizing & Movement Building
In her first President's Message of 2024, GCIR President Marissa Tirona shares how philanthropy can support pro-immigrant work in a challenging political and cultural context.
March 2024
President's Message
News
Cairo Mendes, GCIR's Director of State & Local Programs, reflects on the listening tour that has informed our new state & local strategy.
July 2023
Blog Post
News
In this edition, GCIR President Marissa Tirona speaks with Magaly Urdiales, Co-executive Director of the Western North Carolina Workers' Center. Read on as Magaly shares her insights on organizing workers in her region, the innovative strategies they use to identify campaign issues and effect the changes workers want to see, and the important role philanthropy can play in building immigrant worker power and leadership in rural areas.
May 2023
GCIR Blog Series
News
What do we hope to accomplish? What will success look like? What will it take to get there? These are some of the questions I grapple with as GCIR’s Programs Learning Manager. My position is new, reflecting the organization’s commitment to proactive learning throughout our work. In a nutshell, I aim to support the team in building evaluative capacity, including through the design (and constant iteration) of ways of working that make it easy for people to engage meaningfully in learning processes.
April 2023
GCIR Staff Feature
News
As I reflect on what brings me to this work, I am reminded that these roots run deep. As a Puerto Rican brought up in the United States, I was raised with an awareness of our nation’s history of colonialism and at times violent intervention in Latin America and beyond. I saw how the U.S. government had fought to ensure that the political and economic arrangements in Latin American countries suited its own interests, while then abdicating responsibility for the resulting destabilization.
February 2023
GCIR Board Feature
News
When I began writing this blog post, I was asked “what do you want readers to take away from it?” Immediately I knew my answer: Undocumented people have the right to be in positions of power, to be compensated fairly for their labor, and to be valued for the expertise they bring to the table. Undocumented people deserve much more than we’ve given them.
September 2022
GCIR Staff Feature
News
In this edition, GCIR President Marissa Tirona speaks with Arcenio Lopez, Executive Director of Mixteco/Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP). Read on as Arcenio shares his thoughts about building power for Indigenous immigrants, the importance of forging alliances with other Indigenous communities, and how philanthropy can support and strengthen the work of Indigenous migrants.
September 2022
GCIR Blog Series
News
As a native-born U.S. citizen working in the movement for immigrant justice, I often reflect on what brought me to this work out of the many social justice issues that demand our attention. Navigating the immigration system alongside my wife who immigrated from Albania to pursue her dreams of a better future opened my eyes to the complex and often challenging immigrant experience in America.
July 2022
GCIR Staff Feature
News
I often find myself going back to Davis’ words, especially on days when progress feels so excruciatingly slow and hopelessness begins to set in. Lately this has come in the form of news headlines of another school shooting and continued disappointment with elected officials for not delivering on their promises. Yet Angela Davis’ quote not only reminds me that the fight toward a liberated world takes time, but also that, even on the most difficult days, you must be as bold and far reaching as possible. After all, there is a role for everyone, including those of us in philanthropy, in the long-term fight for equity and justice. Given the considerable influence and power of philanthropy – a $90 billion sector – funders are well-positioned to play a key role in its radical transformation.
January 2022
GCIR Staff Feature
News
GCIR President Marissa Tirona speaks with Kris Hayashi, Executive Director of Transgender Law Center, the largest trans-led organization in the country.
September 2021
GCIR Blog Series
News
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