The funding will support 11 organizations in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
East Bay Community Foundation is providing $250,000 this week to 11 Alameda and Contra Costa County organizations that support, resource, and defend immigrant communities against escalating attacks.
As communities grapple with increased ICE activity in the East Bay, EBCF is drawing on long-standing relationships to quickly identify the biggest needs, understand the current funding and community landscape, and move resources where they are needed most.
Organizations receiving funding, such as Trabajadores Unidos Workers United (TUWU), Faith in Action East Bay, and Hijas del Campo, are deeply embedded in communities across the East Bay. They are organizing holistic rapid response efforts that include hosting “Know Your Rights” workshops, connecting neighbors for mutual aid, legal defense, and spearheading legal support at courthouses and other locations where immigrants are being targeted by federal enforcement. Through numerous strategies, they are supporting the legal, mental health, and financial needs of immigrants and undocumented people.
EBCF’s Community Investments and Partnerships team has been in close communication with community-based organizations, funders, local government, and other philanthropic organizations to share information and resources and coordinate funding efforts. Through these long-standing relationships, we identify underfunded parts of the ecosystem and strategically target resources to where they can have the greatest impact.
“Because of our long-term relationships with community partners and funders across the Bay, people are reaching out to us to discuss emerging needs,” said Autumn McDonald, Vice President of Community Investments & Partnerships. “At the same time, we are reaching out to the organizations that may not ask us for help but really need the funding to provide critical supports.”
EBCF is also committed to supporting wellness which is fundamental for building and sustaining a robust and resilient East Bay social change ecosystem. We know that nonprofit staff work diligently to serve, protect, and advocate for their communities. That’s why we’ve recommended that these recent grantees use a portion of the funds on team wellness and self-care to help mitigate burnout and ensure the long-term effectiveness of our movements and organizations.
During recent and ongoing conversations, CIP team members are learning in real time which parts of the rapid response ecosystem remain most in need. This connection with not just community, but with other funders allows us to direct resources in ways that prevent redundancies, help fill gaps, and better sustain critical efforts.
We have already identified ten more organizations that need our support, and we will continue to update this list in response to changes in the region. But we can’t do this alone—EBCF invites our fund advisors to join us in our efforts to strengthen immigrant support, defense, and belonging in the East Bay.
You can make a gift with credit card, securities, or a DAF transfer. And if you’d like to talk with someone on our team about your giving, you can reach us at philanthropy@eastbaycf.org or by calling 510-208-0845.
Full list of grantees:
| Organization | Description and Rapid Response Work |
| African Advocacy Network | The African Advocacy Network (AAN) serves the growing Diaspora of African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants in the SF Bay Area by providing immigration legal services. This grant will expand their capacity to serve Alameda County. |
| Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) | AROC serves poor and working-class Arabs and Muslims across the San Francisco Bay Area. They utilize a multi-pronged strategy, providing a centralized space for social services meeting material needs, developing analysis, creating strategy, and leading grassroots campaigns for systemic changes that make tangible impacts in the lives of working class SWANA communities. |
| California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice (CCIJ) | CCIJ uses legal and advocacy initiatives, data and reporting, public health and immigrant detention and campaigns for liberation to strengthen and guide both grassroots and statewide efforts to dismantle detention and liberate individuals. CCIJ is leading rapid response networks across the Bay Area, with a large role in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties. |
| Faith in Action East Bay | Faith in Action East Bay builds power for low-and moderate-income communities by developing leaders and bringing people into the political process. Their grassroots community organizing is multi-racial, multifaith, and centered in faith communities. Immigration is currently a major focus. FIAEB is training clergy on how to support undocumented communities and keep them safe. They are also conducting Know Your Rights trainings and trying to strengthen sanctuary city policies. |
| Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ) | FAJ is an advocate for immigrant and civil rights. They provide direct services, develop leaders, and organize and advocate on issues important to the Filipino community as a historically underserved ethnic minority. They serve newly arrived immigrants and undocumented communities in southern Alameda County and Oakland. |
| Hijas del Campo | Hijas del Campo is a Contra Costa County based organization that helps migrant and seasonal farmworkers, along with their families, to improve their daily life, working conditions, health, and safety. Their goal is to ensure that every farmworker has access to necessities. Hijas del Campo is launching an East Contra Costa County Rapid Response Coalition and raising funds for an attorney to be based in Brentwood to provide legal services (in collaboration with Immigration Institute of the Bay Area). |
| Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) | IIBA provides high-quality, affordable immigration legal services, education, and civic engagement opportunities. They are partnering with Hijas del Campo on providing legal services in Brentwood, leveraging IIBA’s decades long expertise in immigration law and Hijos del Campo’s trust and relationships with migrant farmworker communities. |
| Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity | Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity is a statewide California organization that connects clergy and people of faith to the work of social justice. One of their main areas of focus is to make the immigration system more fair and humane. IM4HI is providing non-legal rapid response support, especially in Contra Costa county, ie- accompaniment, mental health/emotional support, financial support, healing circles, etc. They also help people with asylum applications and navigate the immigration process. |
| Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) | Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) is an organization of Latina and Indigenous immigrant women with the mission of growing personal and community power to achieve social and economic justice. MUA is ensuring the basic needs of Latina immigrant women are met during this time, providing educational “know your rights” workshops, and conducting door to door outreach with immigrant employers. Their work is heavily concentrated in southern Alameda County. |
| My Eden Voice | My Eden Voice unites grassroots community organizations in the Eden Area communities of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo, and Hayward Acres to build community power and advance community-based campaigns that bring resources, investments, and greater equity to our communities. They are organizing with immigrants in the unincorporated areas of Alameda County. |
| Trabajadores Unidos Workers United (TUWU) | Trabajadores Unidos Workers United (TUWU) is a regional Bay Area immigrant worker center that stands at the intersection of economic racial justice and immigrant rights. In Alameda County, TUWU is anchoring and serving as the backbone organization for the Alameda County United In Defense of Immigrant Rights (ACUDIR) coalition. |
