Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund

Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund is sponsored by Unbound Philanthropy. Supports immigrant-led organizations in their efforts to advance immigrant rights and integration.

Unbound Philanthropy | Inside Philanthropy OVERVIEW: Unbound Philanthropy takes a holistic approach support the rights and wellbeing immigrants and refugees in the United States and United Kingdom. IP TAKE: Unbound is a highly proactive and progressive funder with a crystal clear sense of its objectives and, therefore, not the best funding source for grantseeking nonprofits.

Unbound Philanthropy’s grant proposals are by invitation only, and staff identify potential grantees through consultation with grantee and funding partners, expert networks, other funder applications, conferences, meetings and field research As UP actively seeks organizations that fit into their specific theory of change, which increasingly links climate justice with migration rights , a strong networking strategy may be the best bet to get on this funder’s radar via high level networking with previous grantees and others who work at Unbound.

While much of the Foundation’s grantmaking differs between U.S. and U.K., it has been seeking to bridge said gap in recent years, as reported by IP .

The strongest fits are organizations working in the U.S. or U.K. on immigrant justice, refugee and asylum protection, fair immigration systems, civic participation, movement infrastructure, strategic communications, narrative change, cultural strategy, legal advocacy and the growing intersection of climate justice and migration rights.

Direct service alone appears less competitive unless paired with advocacy, litigation, organizing or systems-change work. Unbound provides multiyear general support and project grants, while also helping grantees build alliances, raise funds and strengthen capacity. Its recent giving points to immigrant-led organizations, legal and policy groups, narrative and media projects, donor collaboratives, and climate-migrant justice work.

The realistic path onto Unbound’s radar is visibility inside the ecosystems it already funds: immigrant justice coalitions, U.S. state and local organizing networks, U.K. migration and access-to-justice groups, AAPI and BAMEMSA civic networks, pop culture and narrative-change tables, climate mobility networks, and funder collaboratives.

PROFILE: Established in 2003, Unbound Philanthropy is a private foundation based in New York City with a specific, dual-market focus on the United States and the United Kingdom. Funding from the organization comes from Debbie Berger and William Reeves, a financier who cofounded BlueCrest Capital Management , a hedge fund which manages tens of billions of dollars for institutional investors around the world.

Reeves also serves on the board of Third Way, a centrist think tank in Washington, D. C. , and also a cofounder of the Learning Coalition , which seeks to improve public schools in Hawaii.

Unbound Philanthropy was created on the “value of self-determination — that each person has the freedom and opportunity to fulfill their potential, with equal opportunity for all. ” With assets approaching $200 million, it is a specialized funder dedicated entirely to ensuring that migrants and refugees are treated with dignity and respect.

Its strategic priorities include Activate Public Support, Ensure a Fair System and Strengthen Belonging . Grants for Immigrants and Refugees Across its work, Unbound Philanthropy takes a humanistic, pluralistic approach to immigration and human rights through its Ensure a Fair System and Strengthen Priorities areas.

Through its Ensure a Fair System funding, Unbound supports major legal organizations and think tanks working to shape immigration law and policy. Similarly, Strengthen Belonging invests in projects and organizations that work to welcome communities where immigrants and long-time residents can participate in social, civic and economic life.

Unbound highlights mutual engagement, belonging, civic participation and prosperity as interest areas. Recent grantees include the UK’s IPPR, the Public Law Project and the American Immigration Council. Unbound also funds grassroots groups led by immigrants themselves.

Recent partners include the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain and the United We Dream Network. Unbound Philanthropy is a major funding partner for the Four Freedoms Fund, a national funder collaborative that specializes in immigrant justice and mobility.

Grants for Climate Mobility and Justice Taking an intersectional approach, Climate Mobility means to “support a powerful movement ecosystem that can prevent climate displacement and ensure that when people must move, their lives and the wellbeing of communities to which they move will be improved. ” This is one of the Foundation’s growing priority areas is the nexus of climate change and displacement.

Unbound defines climate mobility work as supporting a movement ecosystem that can prevent climate displacement and improve outcomes when people must move. It funds across resilience in place, safe migration pathways, community-level solutions, narrative and culture, immigrant participation in a just transition, and cross-movement relationship building.

Funding partners, thus far, include the National Partnership for New Americans’ Dignity for Climate Displaced People project and the International Refugee Assistance Project.

2024 grant data includes climate/migrant justice grants such as $300,000 to The Solutions Project for a pilot climate and migrant justice project, $175,000 grants to National Partnership for New Americans for a climate justice collaborative, and $192,000 to Climate Outreach Information Network for work on climate and migration. Unbound-wide invitation-only access.

The climate page says to email for more information about investments in climate mobility, but it does not present an open proposal process. Grants for Arts, Culture and Journalism Unbound’s Activate Public Support funding area prioritizes the “story” of migration, investing in arts, media and journalistic organizations to reduce polarization.

It supports narrative, culture, strategic communications, pop culture and audience-engagement strategies, while noting that Unbound does not generally fund film production. The Foundation supports these “hearts and minds” projects like projects in the realm of pop culture, investigative journalism and arts advocacy.

Unbound was a founding member of the Pop Culture Collaborative , now a multimillion-dollar donor collaborative that harnesses the power of pop culture to seek narrative change around people of color, immigrants, refugees, Muslims and Native people. Another example of Unbound’s support for the Four Freedoms Fund , a project of NEO Philanthropy.

Four Freedoms Fund strengthens the immigrant justice movement and supports immigrant justice organizations building power, democracy and safety for immigrants. It is a project of NEO Philanthropy. This is primarily a donor collaborative/intermediary pathway, not an open Unbound application route.

FFF has a current Immigration Frontlines Fund that seeks to raise and deploy rapid-response funding for immigrant rights and the rule of law; it supports rapid-response hubs, mass mobilization, defense of immigrant leaders and nonprofit organizations, and immigrant-led groups in 38 states. Recent grantees include the Pop Culture Collaborative of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, Counterpoints Arts and Climate Spring.

Grants range between $5,000 to $400,000. In a recent year, this funder gave $8,053,735 in total grants. From 2005 to 2022, Unbound awarded 920 grants totaling over $108 million, an amount that has since grown.

Giving encompasses the entirety of the United States and United Kingdom. This funder only grants to pre-selected organizations invited to submit applications. This funder works in close consultation with its grantee and funding partners and other experts to learn about new organizations filling critical gaps.

Direct general questions to the staff at mail@unboundphilanthropy. org or (212) 219-1009. Enable JavaScript to continue This site uses JavaScript to verify your account, display articles, and provide other features.

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