Immigration strategies

Special collection

Every day, organizations worldwide are engaged in a collective two steps forward, one step back march toward improved immigration services and policies. What hard-earned lessons are these nonprofits, and the foundations that support them, learning from their persistent efforts? This collection of evaluations, case studies, and lessons learned exposes and explores the nuances of effective collaboration, the value of coordinated messaging, the bedrock of ongoing advocacy efforts, and the vital importance of long-term and flexible funding.

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"Immigration"" by Paul_the_Seeker is licensed under CC 2.0

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Building Trust with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices

April 22, 2022

Trust between social service organizations and their clients is crucial to effectively provide services to immigrant and refugee families. Our brief on building trust with these groups explores how we can form these relationships and sustain them long-term to best serve these vulnerable communities.

Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Better Responses to Differing Immigration Statuses: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices

April 22, 2022

What does it take to deliver 2Gen services to families, youth, and children whose various immigrant statuses may dictate different access to benefits and make sure all family members are supported, healthy, and feel welcome and safe in their place? Our brief on immigration status examines how service organizations can provide a sense of stability and security and create a supportive environment in which immigrant and refugee communities feel safe enough to seek help around immigration statuses. When organizations are prepared for this sensitive topic, they can serve an even more valuable role in ensuring that these communities feel safe and prepared for whatever tomorrow may bring.

Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Growing Language Skills with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices

April 22, 2022

What can be done to help immigrant families with the language barrier as they work on improving their language skills? This brief focuses on the linguistic challenges many face as they try to acclimate to life in the United States or abroad when their native language is no longer dominant in their surroundings. From designing ESOL programs and curricula around the needs of families to recognizing and accounting for dialects when sharing resources or providing services, we took an in-depth look at how we can help families overcome the language barrier.

Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Cultural Competency Secrets to Success with Immigrant and Refugee Families: Spreading and Adapting 2Gen Working Practices

April 22, 2022

The cultural shift for immigrant and refugee families can be welcomed for some and terrifying for others, but what are the cultural competency secrets to success that can best support these groups? As service providers build their understanding of and responsiveness to the cultures of their newer customers, they can more equitably engage with and effectively serve them, which leads to better outcomes for immigrant and refugee families and the local communities.

Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Bridging the Cultural Gap

February 10, 2015

As part of a proactive effort to address the cross-cultural barriers that arise in culturally and ethnically diverse communities, in 2009 Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) developed a grant program called Bridging the Cultural Gap. With a focus on using cultural tactics to move hearts and minds in support of immigrant integration, the program was focused expressly on supporting projects that allowed for Silicon Valley residents to come together to discuss shared values and concerns related to immigration. Between 2009 and 2014, SVCF invested $2.4 million in 12 projects that used cultural tactics such as dialogue, film, photography and storytelling to deepen relationships and cross-cultural understanding throughout San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Over the course of five years, these grantees, with support from SVCF, focused their activities on identifying and cementing shared values between immigrants and receiving communities, as well as building relationships within and across various communities in the region.

Capacity Building; Communications & Media; Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Lessons From the Local Level: DACA's Implementation and Impact on Education and Training Success

January 5, 2015

This report examines the ways in which local educational institutions, legal service providers, and immigrant youth advocates have responded to the first phase of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Based on extensive interviews with stakeholders in seven states -- California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, and Texas -- the report identifies initiatives undertaken by educational institutions and other community stakeholders to support DACA youth's education and training success, and examine the impact of deferred action on grantees' academic and career pursuits. It provides examples of promising practices, additional challenges, and key takeaways at the high school, postsecondary, and adult education levels, as well as an exploration of the nature and scope of DACA legal outreach initiatives.

Children; Community-Based Outreach & Activity; Research & Evaluation

Using Volunteers in Naturalization Workshops

September 6, 2014

Volunteers are a critical component of efficient naturalization service delivery, especially in group processing workshops, which the New Americans Campaign (NAC) promotes. This toolkit provides recommendations for organizations on how to recruit, train, retain, and effectively use volunteers at group processing workshops.

Civic Engagement; Community-Based Outreach & Activity; Litigation/Legal Services

Dreamer Loan Programs: The Power of Partnerships with Community Development Credit Unions

August 15, 2014

This report provides an overview of five Dreamer Loan programs, identifies their common and distinguishing features, and underscores timely financial empowerment opportunities presented by DACA. In addition to helping individuals afford the DACA application fee, the programs' loan products help largely unbanked immigrants avoid predatory lenders, gain financial knowledge, and begin to establish credit and savings. This report also considers how philanthropy can help replicate such loan programs in various regions of the country. With the prospect of expanded administrative action on the horizon, as well as possible large-scale legalization through future legislation, DACA loans provide an important test-run for the effort that would be required to help upwards of 11 million immigrants along the path to legal status and citizenship, which is likely to include thousands of dollars in fines and fees.

Asset Building; Community-Based Outreach & Activity

The Right to Dream: Promising Practices Improve Odds for Latino Men and Boys

March 1, 2014

This report is organized around five experiences that define social and economic equity for men and boys of color, which in turn highlight nine priorities that require our attention and investments in order to remove structural barriers to success and allow young Latino men to see a clear path toward a positive future.

Children; Community-Based Outreach & Activity

The Art of Community: Creativity at the Crossroads of Immigrant Cultures and Social Services

July 15, 2013

These are case studies that give credance to the belief that respect for one's own artistic traditions is critical to the acculturation process. The essays contained here offer clear and shining examples of how paying attention to culture and creativity can build self-confidence, nurture a productive and valuable citizenry, and even save a life. Through these stories, we begin to see that encouraging the practice of cultural traditions and participation in arts activities will help newcomers spread their wings and fly.

Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Promise Arizona: Building Immigrant Political Power

January 1, 2013

This case study investigates the history and accomplishments of one organization that is making considerable strides in advancing the values and political interests of the Latino community. Beginning in 2010, Promise Arizona (PAZ) and Promise Arizona in Action (PAZ en Acción) work to empower Latinos and the immigrant community to flex their civic muscle through community organizing and political action. This case study provides a snapshot of the organization's formation, growth, and organizing initiatives and explores what strategies have been central to its success. It is one model of how grassroots organizing can contribute to achieving immigration rights.

Civic Engagement; Community-Based Outreach & Activity

Collaborative Strategies for Day Labor Centers

September 16, 2011

This guide is designed to assist local officials, immigrant serving organizations, day labor center planners and leadership, and others to understand how collaborative relationships and partnerships can help communities to effectively establish, support and sustain day labor centers.

Coalition Building & Collaboration; Community-Based Outreach & Activity; Migrant Workers