Welcoming America is pleased to announce the second round of funding via the Fund to Foster Belonging. This fund will continue to support and expand the work of local leaders building bridges and belonging in their communities. 

 

The Fund to Foster Belonging is part of Belonging Begins With US, a multi-year campaign to foster a more welcoming nation where everyone — regardless of their background – belongs. The campaign is done in partnership with the Ad Council and the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council.

 

Grants will support local projects that build meaningful connections between residents with immigrant and non-immigrant backgrounds in the U.S. Grantees may receive up to $40,000 for a 10-month period. Learn more and apply here.

As individuals and organizations in localities across the globe mobilize to support those displaced by war, conflict, and climate disasters, meeting the immediate needs is critical. At the same time, building the infrastructure needed to support and engage migrants and non-migrants in the long term is essential to ensuring belonging for all lasts beyond these events.

 

In this new guide, Welcoming America and the Welcoming International Alliance outline five ways for local leaders to create equitable and welcoming environments as part of the response to humanitarian relief. Local leaders can find checklists, resource links, and ideas for building a durable infrastructure within communities so that when the next crisis hits, they are ready to respond effectively. View the guide here.

Welcoming America recently published a new guide in partnership with the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council and the Intergroup Relations and Social Justice Lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. This guide is for practitioners to harness the lessons drawn from decades of research on how to foster a sense of trust and belonging between people from different backgrounds through community-based programs and initiatives. View the guide here.

 

As climate change accelerates, extreme weather events like storms, floods, and fires are becoming more frequent and intense. Immigrants and refugees are among the communities hit first and worst by climate disasters in the U.S. and are often left behind in response and recovery efforts.

 

Across the network of the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), immigrant and refugee-led organizations are on the frontlines of these increasingly common climate disasters – stepping in to fill in gaps in government response and ensuring that critical resources and services are available and accessible to all communities.

 

This toolkit shares the experiences and approaches of NPNA members and partners responding to disasters. The hope is that the toolkit will support immigrant and refugee-led organizations in thinking about how to strategically jump into action after a disaster, support their communities, and advocate for policies and resources to keep them safe from the climate crisis. Read the guide here.