ECO Legal Services Infrastructure Development is sponsored by Equity Corps of Oregon (administered by Oregon Worker Relief). This grant supports Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in creating legal infrastructure and applying for recognition through the U.

ECO provides funding through grants and contracts to from $5,000 to $300,000 are available to build legal services programs, support community navigation, and create community educational workshops and classes. While our state has long relied on the contributions of immigrant Oregonians to our local and state economies, state policies and programs have systematically excluded people based on their immigration status.

Oregon Worker Relief has been a lifeline for immigrant Oregonians through programs including the Climate Change Fund, the Home Fund, Universal Representation, and more. OWR’s community-led approach has helped over 93,000 immigrant Oregonians with emergency relief for farmworkers who face dangerous working conditions from extreme heat and wildfire smoke, rent assistance to keep families housed, and no-cost immigration legal services.

Universal legal representation helps keep Oregon families and communities whole by safeguarding against unjust deportation. Without representation, immigrant Oregonians are more likely to be deported, regardless of the merits of their case.

When immigrant Oregonians are deported, our entire state suffers Is your community based organization interested in joining the network of groups that defend immigrant Oregonians through Equity Corps of Oregon?

Join the Oregon Worker Relief network ECO is part of Oregon Worker Relief , a statewide network of community-based organizations dedicated to providing assistance to immigrant Oregonians excluded from federal and state safety-net programs. Joining the OWR Network is free and easy. Email info@workerrelief.

org to ask for an application. Grants & Contract Opportunities ECO Skills Sharing Workshop RFP Through periodic outreach and facilitated workshops, ECO participants across the state and situated in different cultural communities can participate in, learn and share skills and knowledge that help improve successful individual and community outcomes. Applications (click here) are reviewed monthly by Seeding Justice.

ECO Legal Services Infrastructure Development The capacitation grant supports CBOs in creating legal infrastructure (policies, protocols, practices, libraries, etc) and applying for recognition through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Recognition & Accreditation Program. It provides stipends to support training non-lawyer staff to be able to capably and competently provide affirmative and defensive immigration services.

Through the capacitation of CBOs to support and provide legal services via the US DOJ Recognition/Accreditation program, more ECO participants will be served, thus improving overall individual and community outcomes. Status: Open . Applications are reviewed monthly by Seeding Justice.

ECO immigration Court Specialty Clinic ECO Immigration Court Specialty Clinic serves as a support for ECO participants in removal proceedings and, simultaneously, guiding and developing law students in immigration advocacy and court work through dedicated externships, internships, and similar field placements. The clinic works closely with the Oregon law schools.

Through targeted outreach, ECO participants will be enrolled into ECO through legal navigations. This grant provides capacitation support for community-based organizations to navigate and support for individual navigations. Status: Open .

Applications (click here) are reviewed monthly by Seeding Justice. ECO has established a Clinic Program to represent those who are eligible for services. Eligible organizations may be designated as ECO Clinics to provide representation to individuals enrolled with ECO on their immigration cases in order to achieve this goal of representation.

For ECO Clinic Start Guide, click here. ECO Clearinghouse Request for Applications Equity Corps of Oregon has established a clearinghouse to provide services in support of the universal representation system. Status: Applications due before 5pm December 15, 2025 Application: Start Application For Instructions about the Clearinghouse RFA click here.

ECO Rapid Response Grants ECO offers funding for rapid response initiatives aimed at providing education, skill-building, and immigration representation to Oregonians at risk of unfair or unjust Apply for an ECO Rapid Response Grant HERE. What is Equity Corps of Oregon (ECO)? ECO is a network of organizations that provide universal legal representation to Oregon’s immigrant and refugee communities.

There are community-based organizations, legal service providers, navigators, the Oregon State Bar, and more working towards the same goal of building community resilience through legal representation. ECO is a project of Oregon Worker Relief. ECO is a community-centered project administered by Oregon Worker Relief and the Oregon State Bar.

An advisory committee convenes to provide recommendations, guidance, and input into the administration of ECO. The impacted community through its representation in Oregon Worker Relief network and Executive Committee. The impacted community governs ECO through its representation in the Oregon Worker Relief network and the Executive Committee and gives direction to it’s contracted Clearinghouse to actualize the work.

Are ECO and Oregon Worker Relief the same? No. Oregon Worker Relief administers the community aspects of ECO. Any of the organizations that are part of Oregon Worker Relief can participate in guiding and making policy for ECO through the OWR network.

ECO is one of the many projects OWR has to support our immigrant community. What are the benefits of participating in ECO?

Participating organizations have access to a range of benefits, including technical and strategic support in developing and managing legal service programs; access to technology platforms that allow for direct navigation of community members to receive legal services; access to grants and contract opportunities to further the goals of ECO and universal representation; and the ability to participate in the policy-making and shaping of ECO and universal representation.

How does my CBO join ECO? Joining the ECO network is easy and free, and comes with many benefits and opportunities. Community-based organizations must be based in Oregon, serve our immigrant or refugee population, and agree to abide by the values of Oregon Worker Relief..

Established legal service providers should contact the Oregon State Bar’s Legal Services Program as they can participate in ECO via direct funding to legal service providers. Yes! An Oregon community-based organization serving or working with immigrant or refugee populations can join at no cost.

Each organization must agree to abide by OWR values before they can join ECO. How can my organization start providing navigation services? ECO provides training to community-based organizations who want to navigate individuals into ECO for legal services.

Pueblo Unido provides a comprehensive training every few months that covers core knowledge about how to navigate, how to screen for ECO eligibility, how to use the technology platforms, how to avoid the unauthorized practice of law, and more. ECO provides capacity grants to organizations seeking to start up as navigators and provides funding for ongoing work as a navigating organization.

How can my organization start providing legal services? ECO supports and funds community-based organizations to create new legal service programs, particularly in geographic areas where there are no existing ECO Clinics or legal service providers or to organizations serving underserved cultural communities. Creating a new legal services program is an important and complex endeavor.

ECO can provide consultation, funding, guidance, and support through the process. Typically, an organization can expect the pathway to launching a new legal services program to take at least 6 months. Most organizations will take 12-18 months to have a successful launch.

There are several policies and protocols that each ECO organization must have in place, and particular trainings that must be completed All organizations should work through the U.S. DOJ-recognition and accreditation program. Can my organization participate in the Immigrant Justice Fellowship program to host a lawyer-fellow? Qualified community-based organizations can participate in the Immigrant Justice Fellowship program.

To qualify, the organization must have strong managerial and financial controls, adopt policies and protocols necessary for a successful hosting experience, and have previously received at least one grant from ECO for capacity-building or navigation services. The fellowship program solicits graduating lawyers to apply for the fellowship each fall.

In December, offers are made to successful applicants to start a fellowship in the fall of the following year. Hosting decisions are made as part of the offer. This requires an organization to participate in the fall matching process to receive placement the following year.

Can my organization hire a lawyer and provide ECO-funded legal services? Yes. An immigration lawyer with at least 5 years of experience in the field working at an Oregon community-based organization is eligible to join the ECO Panel Attorney program.