In response to the urgent need to provide humanitarian and legal advocacy support to the families separated by Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the Amalgamated Foundation joined forces with other funders and allies, including the Amalgamated Bank’s community of customers and employees, to launch the Families Together Rapid Response Fund.
Working in concert with the Emergent Fund, a project led by the Women Donors Network, the combined effort more than $300,000 flowed to organizations on the front lines of the crisis including the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Project in Arizona and United We Dream. These organizations contributed to the successful advocacy efforts that resulted in the Federal Court order to end the separations and provided direct guidance, comfort and care to separated families navigating the reunion process.
The Foundation also co-hosted a fundraiser in Washington, DC with a growing community of allies including leaders from social justice advocacy, philanthropy, business such as Ilyse Hogue, NARAL; Anna Lefer-Kuhn, Arca Foundation; Dianne Gross, owner of CorkDC, and other women restaurant owners/chefs in the region. The event was standing room only, and raised over $30,000 for Florence Project and the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition.
As Amalgamated Foundation grows, we’ll be fine-tuning this Rapid Response model capable of raising and moving resources nimbly to support critical work and organizations on the front lines of humanitarian, climate or other urgent crises. Our strategy is to balance the need for immediate and timely intervention with a commitment to community-based power and structural change for the long-term, so that communities can be better prepared for the next crisis.