Reflecting On and Celebrating the WES Mariam Assefa Fund at Five Years

Written by Léa Tienou-Gustafson, Senior Director of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund

How might a new philanthropy with $30 million in seed funding build on years of experience working with refugee, immigrant, and international student communities? How can philanthropic capital be more strategically allocated to unlock economic opportunity among underserved populations? How could a new grantmaking organization operate in an intentional way to disrupt power imbalances between grantors and grantees?  

Five years ago, in June 2019, World Education Services launched the WES Mariam Assefa Fund intent on answering these questions and others. We began our work acutely aware of a vast funding need for refugee- and immigrant-serving organizations—and were determined to do what we could to address it. 

Much has shifted in the world since we began this work. Global migration has continued to grow, with more and more people and populations forcibly displaced. The COVID-19 pandemic upended ways of working, being, and relating. The murder of George Floyd, along with other tragic losses, galvanized racial justice movements in the United States and elsewhere. Today, these diversity, equity, and inclusion movements are under fire.  

As the world has shifted, so has the Fund. We have grown from a team of two in 2019 to a team of 16 individuals. We are a staff of experts with lived experience and passion for the work. We’ve built a strong network of partners in the U.S. and Canada, learning and working together to drive systems change. We’ve piloted diverse approaches, formed new partnerships, and defined and fine-tuned our strategy.   

What has remained constant is our commitment to learning as we work alongside our partners to foster inclusive economies where immigrants and refugees can thrive. Another constant has been our focus on understanding how to drive impact by shifting the ways philanthropy operates—and how to be a true partner to grantees.  

In practice, this has led us to focus on five ways of working: 

1. We’ve remained committed to learning by doing. 

Since our inception, the Fund has been intentional about learning from and with our partners and from the field. This learning-oriented approach has allowed us to remain nimble and given us the opportunity to inform our strategies and drive deeper impact. Over time, we’ve applied what we’ve learned through our grantmaking to define our focus areas: opportunity, wealth, power, and justice.  

Learning has enabled us to take risks, providing catalytic capital to inventive, less tested approaches in both grantmaking and impact investing.   

We’ve also maintained a strong commitment to sharing our learning with partners and with the field. We’ve been privileged to share our insights and to amplify the vital work of our grantee partners.  

2. Shifting power is central to our work. 

The Fund has always sought to shift power to communities and leaders who are closest to the issues: those with lived experience. One way we’ve done this is through participatory grantmaking. Through our participatory grantmaking pilot in the Peel Region of Canada, we provided funding to six organizations, while also gaining significant insight into participatory grantmaking and deepening our commitment to this method. This year, in 2024, we launched our Elevating Migrant Leadership initiative, a grantmaking project in the U.S. designed to support civic leadership of immigrant and refugee communities. The project engaged an external advisory committee of immigrant and refugee leaders with deep expertise to help shape and lead the initiative. 

3. Our values continue to center and guide us. 

Throughout the Fund’s history, we’ve remained grounded in our values. We have worked to center a trust-based approach to philanthropy, providing flexible funding and support “beyond the check,” while seeking to establish mutual and collaborative relationships with our partners. We’ve also remained committed to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion, intentionally seeking to build our equity practice and to remain accountable to our partners.   

4. We work to drive change in deep partnership with a vibrant, committed partner network. 

Over the past five years, the Fund has developed a strong network of over 200 partners with whom we drive impact. These partnerships have allowed us to launch initiatives such as the Rural Immigrant Success Exchange, and to support leaders of color with Echoing Green.

5. Our commitment to immigrants, refugees, and international students, particularly underfunded and under resourced groups, remains paramount.  

The Fund was launched with a clear understanding of the lack of philanthropic capital that flows to refugee- and immigrant-serving and -led organizations, and with a desire to drive more capital to these communities. Our efforts have sought to provide more resources and funding while also amplifying the vital work that these organizations do in communities. We know there is still work to be done, and that the philanthropic sector can play a vital role in supporting refugee- and immigrant-serving organizations—particularly those led by refugees and immigrants themselves.  

The first five years of the Fund have brought great insight, joy in meaningful, engaged community, and opportunities to drive change. and impact. As we celebrate and reflect on our first five years and look forward to the future, we will be sharing insights over the next several months. I invite you to join us on the journey!