Funding and Financing for Impact
Learn how the innovative use of financial tools—including participatory grantmaking, investments, and more—creates access to opportunity for immigrants, refugees, and the communities they join.
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Meet Luis Sandoval, Executive Director of Building Skills Partnership
WES |
Growing up in both Mexicali, a border town in Mexico, and Salinas, California, Luis Sandoval couldn’t help but take notice of the barriers that prevented him and other immigrants from accessing career and educational opportunities. Inspired by his personal experience of growing up in a family of workers in property and cleaning services, construction, and […]
Fund Partners with Tamarack Institute to Launch a Participatory Grantmaking Project to Support Immigrants’ Economic Mobility in Peel Region
WES |
The WES Mariam Assefa Fund is excited to announce its partnership with the Tamarack Institute to launch a participatory grantmaking project in the Peel region of Ontario, Canada. Tamarack will engage community stakeholders to identify the needs of immigrants and refugees in the Peel community, to define funding priorities and processes for this project, and […]
Meet Renay Dossman, President of the Neighborhood Development Center in Minnesota
WES |
As President of the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), Renay Dossman oversees efforts to support sustainable community development and equitable economic opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners—35 percent of whom are immigrants and refugees—in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. “Working at NDC is a mix of everything I’ve loved doing in my career—I get to […]
Coalition of Funders to Support Refugee Resettlement Agencies and Help U.S. Communities Sponsor Newcomers from Afghanistan and Other Countries
WES |
Over the last month, tens of thousands of Afghans have been forced to flee their homes and been hastily resettled in new countries. Communities across the U.S. are welcoming Afghan refugees and helping them get settled. To best support refugees as they look to establish new lives and pursue new opportunities in the U.S., it […]
Building a Trust-Based Philanthropy Over the Last Two Years
WES |
By Monica Munn, Managing Director of Philanthropy at World Education Services (WES) Two years ago, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund made its first grants to organizations working to build more inclusive economies for immigrants and refugees. We were excited to begin our journey as a philanthropic funder and were energized by our new grantee partners, […]
Building Power with Migrant Workers in Ontario: Meet Syed Hussan
WES |
“The work of organizing as working-class, racialized migrants is very personal,” says Syed Hussan, executive director of Migrant Workers Alliance for Change (MWAC) in Ontario, a grantee partner of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund. An immigrant himself, Hussan began working as an organizer with MWAC in 2008. “This is collective work—it is not just about […]
How Our Partners are Working to Ensure Equitable COVID-19 Vaccine Access for Immigrants and Refugees
WES |
Immigrants and refugees have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, with many working on the front lines of the pandemic. In the U.S., 12 million immigrants and refugees work in occupations such as health care and transportation, or in roles that have been some of the hardest hit economically, such as food and domestic services. Similarly, […]
8 Key Tips and Takeaways for Organizations Engaging with Employers to Support Immigrant Talent
WES |
On June 15, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund hosted a panel of three experts to discuss how workforce development organizations can successfully partner with employers to create programs that meet employers’ evolving talent needs and provide opportunities for immigrant and refugee workers. Marina Nuri, the Fund’s senior program manager, moderated a conversation with Judy Doidge […]
New Toolkit to Help Employers Successfully Integrate Immigrants into the Workplace
WES |
On June 17, the Welcoming Center launched a new toolkit to help employers recruit, retain, and promote immigrant and refugee workers. The Engaging Immigrant Talent toolkit shares with employers proven actions they can take to tap into the potential of immigrant talent and make their workplaces more inclusive. The resource is designed to meet employers […]
Meet Nada El Masry, Co-Founder of RADIUS Refugee Livelihood Labs
WES |
In 2018, Nada El Masry co-founded the Refugee Livelihood Lab (RLL) as a way of building social, economic, and political capital for racialized refugee and migrant communities in Vancouver. RLL, a grantee partner of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund, is a social innovation lab housed within RADIUS at the Beedie School of Business at Simon […]
The Fund’s Nomzana Augustin Interviewed by Economic Opportunity Funders
WES |
In this piece, Nomzana Augustin, the Fund’s Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Manager, shares her experience and perspective, and highlights the importance of collaboration to create an economy that works for all. This interview originally appeared on Economic Opportunity Funders’ website on June 1, 2021 and is cross posted here with permission. The WES Mariam Assefa […]
How Andrea Plaza is Working Toward Immigrant Justice in New Mexico
WES |
Growing up in the Carolinas, Andrea Plaza and her family were one of the few Latinx families living within a 100-mile radius. “I think my family had two lives,” Andrea recalls. “The kind we lived at home and the kind we lived outside the home. That certainly presented some questions for me in terms of […]
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