Fall 2005

Philanthropy and Immigration:
Changing Practices to Address a Changing Population

by Wendy Amundson

Immigrants have always been a part of Minnesota's culture, beginning with the wave of mostly European immigrants who settled the state in the 19th century. However, until recently, Minnesota and other Midwest states were not considered the draw for refugees and immigrants that the coastal states have been. 

Minnesota may never catch up to the coasts, but over the past several decades, the state has become increasingly recognized as a supportive location for refugees and immigrants to settle. Minnesota is now home to about 262,000 immigrants and refugees, about five percent of the state's total population. The state has welcomed new residents from about 160 countries, including what have become the nation's largest populations of Hmong and Somalis.

Minnesota grantmaking organizations are addressing the state's changing demographics by making individual and cooperative efforts to ensure that Minnesota's newest residents are receiving the support they need to participate fully in our community.

	Fresh, beautiful produce sold by a proud immigrant vendor at the St. Paul Farmers' Market. Photo courtesy of the Saint Paul Foundation

Flexibility is Key

Many of the issues faced by Minnesota's newest residents are those faced by most disenfranchised groups: housing, employment, education and health care, for example. As a result, few Minnesota grantmakers have needed to make major changes in their focus areas to accommodate immigrant and refugee needs. Instead, many have made adjustments in the way they review grants.

"We don't have immigrants and refugees as a specific focus area, but if you look at our areas of emphasis — civic engagement, health accessibility, shelter and organizational effectiveness — they are all areas of importance to immigrant and refugee communities," said Mark Lindberg, senior program officer with the Otto Bremer Foundation. Indeed, during the foundation's January 2005 round of grants, nearly a quarter went to organizations or programs focused on immigrant and refugee issues.

To ensure that immigrant and refugee-led organizations get proper consideration, Bremer has tried to be more flexible in the way it reviews grants, said Lindberg. "Many immigrant and refugee-led organizations are new, don't have much of an organizational track record and might not have experience writing grant proposals," he said.

"We've had to change how we think a bit, to make sure we're looking at the substance of the grant and not getting caught up in the form or the language used. An undue reliance on paper can cause us to miss good grants," said Lindberg.

"Sometimes you need to evaluate in a different way," agreed José González, program officer with the Bush Foundation. "For example, we generally don't do start-ups, but when new communities of people move into Minnesota, many of their support organizations are going to be new, as well, so we might take a closer look to try to evaluate whether an organization that would normally be considered a start-up is sufficiently on its feet to keep going. We'll ask around to see how they're viewed within their own cultural community. If we get the right answers, we might recommend a riskier grant to our board, and explain the circumstances."

Program Adjustments

Along with changes in grant review procedures, several organizations have made other adjustments — some major, some minor — designed to assist immigrant groups and other underserved organizations. The Jay and Rose Phillips Family Foundation, for example, increased its payout from 5 percent to 6 percent in 2004 and 5.5 percent in 2005.

"Unfortunately, the increase in our immigrant populations has corresponded with a downturn in government support," explained Amy Crawford, executive director of the foundation. "We are increasing our payout, not as a way to replace federal dollars, but in recognition that these are hard times, especially for new organizations. And hard times are when you need to invest in new thinking and in strengthening organizational effectiveness."

Other organizations, including Bremer and Bush, have increased the number of organizational effectiveness or capacity-building grants as a way to assist immigrant and other new organizations in becoming more effective. "We don't have the resources to replace government/societal support, so there are a lot of difficult decisions to make," said González. "In making a choice, it often comes down to the question: Are we supporting a program or are we inspiring long-term change?"

Perhaps the foundation that has made the most dramatic change in regards to immigrant and refugee issues is the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation. The foundation recently announced a major new initiative, "Healthy Together: Creating Community with New Americans," designed to improve health by focusing on the intersection of health, immigrant integration and social adjustment.

"There is a growing recognition of the socio-economic and environmental factors that influence the health status of our immigrant and refugee populations," explained Daniel S. Johnson, executive director with the Blue Cross Foundation. "We're particularly interested in how social connectedness — including a sense of trust and belonging — can improve the health not only of immigrants, but the entire community."

	Dad and son on a walk in a St. Paul park. Photo courtesy of the Saint Paul Foundation

Cooperative Efforts

In addition to the efforts of individual foundations, Minnesota's philanthropic response to immigration and refugee issues has been characterized by collaborations, both regional and national.

"Over the years, I've seen a change from supporting direct resettlement services to supporting collaborations that focus on leadership development, civic engagement and other issues that help immigrants develop the skills, cultural awareness and knowledge they need to be equal participants," said Crawford.

One of the earliest efforts was the Bicultural Training Partnership (BTP), launched in the early 1990s with the support of The Saint Paul Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Wilder Foundation, Metro University and other foundations and organizations. BTP was designed to build the capacity of Southeast Asian mutual assistance associations and introduce leaders in the larger Twin Cities to Southeast Asian cultures and the issues facing newer citizens. BTP sparked a similar project, the New American Collaborative (NAC), which was designed to accomplish comparable aims, but for a much broader population of immigrant groups. "I give a ton of credit to the NAC meetings for helping us all get to know each other and put faces to names," said Lindberg.

More recently, the Minnesota philanthropic community played an active role in the establishment and continued success of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), a national resource and network for grantmakers interested in learning more or sharing information about immigrant and refugee issues. González and Jocelyn Ancheta, formerly of the McKnight Foundation, sit on the organization's steering committee and were instrumental in bringing GCIR's 2004 convention to Minnesota. Ancheta has also been contracted by GCIR to write a report on needs and service gaps relating to immigrant communities in Minnesota. Blue Cross Foundation is among the sponsors of the research.

Representatives from Minnesota's philanthropic community have also been active supporters and participants in groups such as Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy and Hispanics in Philanthropy (for which Bremer Foundation provides office space).

"It's given us an opportunity to learn from our foundation colleagues across the nation, especially those on the coast who have already experienced some of the issues we are just beginning to face," said Johnson of these regional and national collaborations. "By the same token, we in Minnesota have developed some great models on how to work with certain immigrant communities — for example, Hmong and Somali — and we are able to share that knowledge." The Minnesota Council on  Foundations and its member organizations have also worked cooperatively to address immigrant and refugee issues. MCF recently published "Working Towards Diversity III," a progress report on strategies for inclusiveness among Minnesota grantmakers. MCF also received a grant from the Blue Cross Foundation to offer scholarships to its "Grantseeking for Beginners" course to representatives of charitable groups that serve immigrant and refugee populations.

Opportunities Ahead

Minnesota's philanthropic community can feel proud of the state's accomplishments in addressing immigrant and refugee issues. But no one is willing to rest on the state's laurels. Many are concerned about the growing animosity toward immigrants by many longtime residents.

"Providing support is even more important than ever, due to the increased polarity in the state and the nation regarding immigrant issues," said Crawford. "I hope this will strengthen the resolve of grantmakers to support immigrant issues."

"It can be difficult for longtime residents of the state to adjust to new people and new traditions," added González. "More often than not, the problem is one of ignorance and fear of different cultures, rather than racism. But fear can cloud people's ability to see the benefits of a diverse culture. So I think we need to do more work on issues of acculturation, focused both on the needs of the immigrants and the needs of the welcoming community."

Despite these concerns, most of Minnesota's funding community see more positives than negatives in the state's future. There's enthusiasm about the New Americans Center, for example, which received support from the Phillips Foundation and others. The center, which will open as part of the new Minneapolis Central Library, will supply immigrants and refugees with welcome materials in various languages.

And many see hope for changing public attitudes as well. "I think there's starting to be an excitement about our changing community," offered Gonzalez. "I think people are beginning to identify with being part of a multicultural community — and they're enjoying it. I've heard people returning from out of town say, ‘I knew I was home when I started hearing Somali!' That's how you know things are changing — for the better." GF

More Links from the Fall 2005 Edition of Giving Forum

• Advancing Immigrant and Refugee Issues through Philanthropy

• Life Backgrounds and Work in Immigration and Refugee Issues Bring Perspectives

• Resources on Immigrant and Refugee Programs and Concerns

• Disaster Giving Lessons Learned

© Copyright 2005 Minnesota Council on Foundations
Reproduction in any form without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited.