Opportunity Challenge: $1 Million to Uplift Immigrant Communities

Overview

<p>The Opportunity Challenge: $1 Million to Uplift Immigrant Communities, a joint initiative of the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund and the Tarsadia Foundation to support the efforts of organizations that address barriers to economic integration and mobility faced by immigrant and refugee workers in the United States. The Challenge also seeks to highlight how adjacent fields and organizations, such as social services, healthcare, racial justice, etc., are linked to and can support immigrant and refugee communities. Nonprofit organizations, mission-driven for-profit organizations, and fiscally-sponsored individuals who are filling gaps in much-needed support to immigrants and refugees are eligible to apply.</p> <p>The fund’s initial areas of inquiry and interest include:</p> <ul> <li>Enabling immigrants and refugees with the skills to succeed in the workplaces of today and tomorrow</li> <li>Encouraging employers to develop inclusive employment practices</li> <li>Developing leadership capacity in immigrant and refugee communities</li> <li>Driving innovative financial and technical solutions that accelerate the economic and workforce integration of immigrants and refugees</li> <li>Growing an ecosystem of cross-sector organizations focused on immigrant workforce integration</li> </ul> <p>Grants will be awarded in two categories. The New Ideas category (new Ideas applications pilot innovative approaches) will provide grants of up to $100,000 to pilot-test innovative approaches. </p> <ul> <li>Any idea that hasn’t been implemented yet or has only been implemented for less than two years. Efforts that have been underway for more than two years may be eligible for the “Established Programs” track</li> <li>Even if an idea has been adopted or implemented elsewhere, it would be considered new if this is the first time it has been implemented in a particular community</li> </ul> <p>The Established Programs category (established Programs applications build on solutions that have already proved successful) will provide grants of up to $200,000 to build on solutions that have proven success. </p> <ul> <li>Any project or program that has been in operation for more than two years and has yielded some tangible results</li> <li>A project or program that has been successfully piloted and is now ready for launch or scale</li> <li>An existing program or organization that is seeking to deepen its impact through program evaluation</li> </ul> <p>COVID-19 and upcoming grantmaking: The impact of COVID-19 on immigrant and refugee communities and the communities that serve them is clear. As such, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund and Tarsadia Foundation have decided to proceed with launching the Opportunity Challenge, the mission of which is now more vital than ever.</p>