Many of our immigrant neighbors face barriers to accessing traditional safety net programs, particularly during this pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted the immigrant community.
The Immigrant Allies Helping Fund will serve as a complement to other programs and empower trusted Community Response Coalition organizations to better serve immigrant or refugee families with extraordinary needs, needs outside of the scope of the COVID resources, needs not necessarily caused (but exacerbated) by the COVID pandemic, as well as help immigrants who may have ties with our community, but live outside county lines.
Organizations using funds agree to the following requirements by signing this grant agreement:
1) to help someone who identifies as an immigrant or refugee or a family with immigrant and refugee members, who has needs determined to be basic/essential. These needs may include immigration-related fee or legal help, if related to the ability for the person or family to meet basic needs.
2) to use funds as a supplement to, not a replacement for, existing help that may be available.
3) to commit to using alternatives to traditional identification requirements, if providing picture ID and/or other identifying documents is a barrier for the family in need.
4) to share with us some basic information and stories of individuals and families who have been helped (while protecting confidentiality) so we can share this impact with existing and future donors. Stories should include basic (non-identifying) info about person or family, what barriers were identified, and what other resources were utilized. In addition to this brief summary, organizations are asked to submit at least one impact statement, which could be a note from the family or a member of the family. This information may be shared at any time during the spending of funds, but is required to be submitted within 3 months of spending all funds or before additional funds are awarded from this fund.
How to request funds:
A need for grants, up to $500, may be made at any time to fund advisors or by sending an email to immigrantallies@yahoo.com. The organization representative in charge of spending the grant funds (with authority to sign on behalf of the organization) will need to sign the agreement or have a signed agreement already on file. The Fund Advisory Committee* will review the request and have a check issued from the fund within approximately one week of receiving the request.
The Community Foundation will verify non-profit status. Please include the organization address that the check should be mailed to and/or to whose attention.
How to donate to the fund:
Tax deductible donations can be made to the Immigrant Allies Helping Fund online or by mail:
Fund Information
(NOTE: the 3.5% referenced on the online system is a foundation suggestion to cover credit card fees; it does not reduce or increase the amount of your donation.)
Checks can can be made out to CFMC (referencing the Immigrant Allies Helping Fund) and mailed to the Marshall County Community Foundation at 11 N. 1st Ave., Marshalltown, IA 50158.
*Immigrant Allies Helping Fund advisory committee is made up of Joa LaVille & Maria Gonzalez, co-coordinators of Immigrant Allies, and Wendy Soltero, Immigrant Allies supporter and community representative. Immigrant Allies will cover the administration of this fund, including an adminstrative fee to the foundation and providing the volunteer time to administer the grants, meaning that 100% of money donated to the fund will go toward helping individuals and families, via a Coalition non-profit organization. These funds are not available to help individuals directly.
The Immigrant Allies Helping Fund will serve as a complement to other programs and empower trusted Community Response Coalition organizations to better serve immigrant or refugee families with extraordinary needs, needs outside of the scope of the COVID resources, needs not necessarily caused (but exacerbated) by the COVID pandemic, as well as help immigrants who may have ties with our community, but live outside county lines.
Organizations using funds agree to the following requirements by signing this grant agreement:
1) to help someone who identifies as an immigrant or refugee or a family with immigrant and refugee members, who has needs determined to be basic/essential. These needs may include immigration-related fee or legal help, if related to the ability for the person or family to meet basic needs.
2) to use funds as a supplement to, not a replacement for, existing help that may be available.
3) to commit to using alternatives to traditional identification requirements, if providing picture ID and/or other identifying documents is a barrier for the family in need.
4) to share with us some basic information and stories of individuals and families who have been helped (while protecting confidentiality) so we can share this impact with existing and future donors. Stories should include basic (non-identifying) info about person or family, what barriers were identified, and what other resources were utilized. In addition to this brief summary, organizations are asked to submit at least one impact statement, which could be a note from the family or a member of the family. This information may be shared at any time during the spending of funds, but is required to be submitted within 3 months of spending all funds or before additional funds are awarded from this fund.
How to request funds:
A need for grants, up to $500, may be made at any time to fund advisors or by sending an email to immigrantallies@yahoo.com. The organization representative in charge of spending the grant funds (with authority to sign on behalf of the organization) will need to sign the agreement or have a signed agreement already on file. The Fund Advisory Committee* will review the request and have a check issued from the fund within approximately one week of receiving the request.
The Community Foundation will verify non-profit status. Please include the organization address that the check should be mailed to and/or to whose attention.
How to donate to the fund:
Tax deductible donations can be made to the Immigrant Allies Helping Fund online or by mail:
Fund Information
(NOTE: the 3.5% referenced on the online system is a foundation suggestion to cover credit card fees; it does not reduce or increase the amount of your donation.)
Checks can can be made out to CFMC (referencing the Immigrant Allies Helping Fund) and mailed to the Marshall County Community Foundation at 11 N. 1st Ave., Marshalltown, IA 50158.
*Immigrant Allies Helping Fund advisory committee is made up of Joa LaVille & Maria Gonzalez, co-coordinators of Immigrant Allies, and Wendy Soltero, Immigrant Allies supporter and community representative. Immigrant Allies will cover the administration of this fund, including an adminstrative fee to the foundation and providing the volunteer time to administer the grants, meaning that 100% of money donated to the fund will go toward helping individuals and families, via a Coalition non-profit organization. These funds are not available to help individuals directly.