WES Mariam Assefa Fund Announces New Impact Investments to Unlock Homeownership for Underserved, Black Communities
Thursday March 9, 2023
The World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund today announced two new impact investments totaling US$750,000 in Blackstar Stability and the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth, both of which leverage homeownership as a tool to help Black and underserved communities build generational assets …
Announcing New Grants to Support New York City Asylum Seekers
Tuesday February 21, 2023
The WES Mariam Assefa Fund is excited to announce $230,000 in grants to seven New York-based organizations that support asylum seekers. The funding will enable these groups to strengthen their work on the ground responding to the significant increase in asylum seekers arriving …
Meet Léa Tienou-Gustafson, the Fund’s New Senior Director
Friday February 10, 2023
On January 17, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund welcomed our new Senior Director, Léa Tienou-Gustafson. Léa comes to us from the Chicago non-profit Heartland Alliance, where she served as director of refugee and immigrant community services, supporting over a thousand refugees and immigrants …
How Talent Beyond Boundaries is Supporting Economic Mobility for Refugees in Canada
Thursday January 19, 2023
Talent Beyond Boundaries (TBB) matches refugees abroad with career opportunities in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. TBB works directly with governments around the world to open up skilled migration pathways to refugees. Through a grant from the WES Mariam Assefa Fund, TBB …
What Inspired Our Team in 2022
Thursday December 22, 2022
As the year winds down, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund team is reflecting on the extraordinary organizations, leaders, and efforts that inspired us. In 2022, we funded a total of 66 organizations across the United States and Canada, including 39 brand-new partners, who …
A Racial Equity and Immigrant Justice Partnership with Echoing Green: Meet the Fellows
Friday December 9, 2022
Earlier this year, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund announced a $1.5 million partnership with Echoing Green to launch the Racial Equity and Immigrant Justice initiative, a fellowship to support immigrants and refugees of color in the United States and Canada. Through Echoing Green’s …
Fund Ambassadors Grow a Community of Philanthropic Giving at WES: Announcing New Donations
Monday December 5, 2022
In 2019, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund launched the Fund Ambassador program, which engages staff from across WES to develop skills in philanthropy and identify mission-aligned organizations to receive Fund donations. This month, we celebrate the accomplishments of the third cohort of Fund …
Building the New High Road: Report on U.S. Immigrants and Workforce Development
Tuesday November 22, 2022
Immigrants and refugees play a crucial role in the U.S. workforce, especially in growth industries including tech and healthcare, yet they continue to be overrepresented in low-wage occupations. With a desire to learn more about the efforts to address this gap by supporting …
Fund for Workforce Equity Selects Inaugural Grantees to Center Workers and Learners of Color
Thursday November 17, 2022
Today, the Fund for Workforce Equity, a new pooled investment fund led by Workforce Matters, announced 15 organizations that will each receive grants of up to $75,000 for initiatives that center the perspectives of workers and learners of color in designing or implementing …
Tips for Funders Beginning Their Participatory Investing Journey
Friday October 21, 2022
This piece is co-authored by Smitha Das and Katheryn Witt and is the result of a partnership between the WES Mariam Assefa Fund and Common Future. In March 2022, Common Future launched the Action Lab: Participatory Investing, a partnership with the WES Mariam Assefa Fund. …
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