Collaborative Receives Barr AwardThe Barr Foundation’s 2018 Special Initiative recognized the Collaborative with a $100,000 grant award from the New England Civil Rights Fund. The Special Initiative was created to support New England communities under threat and to ensure a fair and accurate 2020 Census count in the region. "When our values are under attack, when the rights of our neighbors are being stripped away, we must ask ourselves: What can we do to help?" Barr Foundation President James E. Canales |
The Immigration Strategic Funders Collaborative for Connecticut (The Collaborative) is committed to enhancing statewide efforts and local work to support Connecticut’s immigrant families, workers, and students.
Read the press release issued by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven about its commitment to immigrant families.
The Collaborative seeks to continue to expand advocacy work in support of stronger protections from detention, deportation and abuse. To achieve these objectives, The Collaborative will prioritize the following:
- Promoting the understanding of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and to support outreach to DACA-eligible residents across Connecticut;
- Increasing access for undocumented immigrants to a full spectrum of immigration services, including legal services;
- Strengthening advocacy efforts at the local and State levels in support of public policy and public funding that will address the needs of undocumented immigrants.
- Enhancing the capacity of immigrant serving and advocacy nonprofit organizations through funding and through supporting the sharing of knowledge and best practices.
As of this date, the following funding institutions have committed financial support of The Collaborative's goals through their institutional grantmaking process:
- The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
- Fairfield County's Community Foundation
- Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
- Hispanic Federation
- Perrin Family Foundation
- Progreso Latino Fund (a committee-advised fund at The Community Foundation)
- An anonymous foundation
Other members of The Collaborative include service providers, advocacy organizations and others throughout the state of Connecticut that share the goal of enhancing the lives of immigrants, including undocumented immigrants. The Collaborative is currently working with the following organizations:
- Apostle Immigration Services (New Haven)
- Catholic Charities - Archdiocese Hartford
- Center for Children's Advocacy
- Center for Latino Progress (Hartford)
- City of New Haven
- City of Hamden
- Congregations Organized for a New Connecticut (New Haven and Bridgeport)
- Connecticut Immigrant Rights Alliance (CIRA) (Statewide)
- CT Institute for Refugees and Immigrants (formerly known as International Institute of Connecticut, Inc.)
- Connecticut Parent Power (Statewide)
- Connecticut Students for a Dream (Statewide)
- Elm City Internationals (New Haven)
- Greater Hartford Legal Aid
- Hartford Public Library (Hartford)
- Junta for Progressive Action (New Haven)
- Neighbors Link Stamford (Stamford)
- New Haven Legal Assistance Association (New Haven)
- Unidad Latina en Acción (New Haven)
- United We Dream (as fiscal agent for Connecticut Students for a Dream)
- Yale Law School Worker and Immigrant Rights Clinic (New Haven)