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I was the first
Asian-American program officer here. It was a novelty at the time and,
with no natural mentors in the field, I sought help from several
pioneers in the mainstream, Jane Kretzmann, John Kostishack and Nancy
Latimer, people who understood cultural competency issues. As a
generalist in my foundation role, I take an issue and apply it to
different groups from Native Americans to New Americans, using different
lenses (class, race and gender) depending on the population. Most
foundations don’t have a special focus on immigrants and refugees.
Several issues surface: smaller and newer nonprofits without a track
record are not making it in the door; it is hard to sort through so many
groups; and there is the question of sustainability, particularly with
less public money available. New waves of immigrants and refugees, most
recently Tibetans, Sudanese and, potentially, Iraqis, present
foundations with the constant challenge to be culturally competent.
Foundations also must balance the needs of new communities with the
inequities, entrenched poverty and unmet needs of American-born
populations.
In my 20s, I worked at
one of the first refugee resettlement camps in Fort Indian Town Gap,
Pennsylvania, following the Vietnam War. I eventually ended up in
Minnesota as part of a bicultural team to help families and sponsors
solve settlement issues. I went on to the refugee resettlement office in
what was then the Department of Public Welfare in 1978. Instead of
winding down the operation as intended, we experienced the arrival of
the first 150 Hmong refugees, which very quickly grew to 14,000 refugees
a month. I had the opportunity to help create social service programs
for language acquisition, mental health and health screenings. I learned
what goes into program development and design and how to be responsive
to cultures very different from my own. Invariably, I would “do a 180”
because my frame was so totally western. Bush Foundation hired me to
work in human services and, because of my background, early on I became
an access point for immigrant-related proposals. I have been delighted
by working in philanthropy. I am humbled by our access to resources and
pray for good judgment. We can never forget that it’s not our money.
My experience as an
ethnic Somali in the U.S. informs the full range of my work on behalf of
children and families, and it enhances McKnight's overall perspective on
our work in all communities. McKnight's involvement with immigrant
communities cuts through virtually all our work across the Twin Cities
and Greater Minnesota. We fund and partner with dozens of immigrant-led
and immigrant-focused organizations and programs, notably in our support
of the arts, economic development, and children and families. I don't
represent or specialize in immigrant communities, but everyone's unique
world view — including mine — helps strengthen all our work.
My experiences in the
nonprofit sector brought me into philanthropy 12 years ago. The
foundation community wanted to gain diverse perspectives. Over the
years, there has been an interest in how communities of color do
philanthropy and in more ethnic and racially specific endowments. What
has been rewarding is working with the many communities that want to
establish a partnership with the Otto Bremer Foundation. Changing status
quo is also rewarding. As a funding community, we must help strengthen
the nonprofit organizations — those clearly by and for specific
communities. To do that, the field must look more widely and deeply at
cultural competency. We must step out of the box on occasions and do
things differently. We must know communities — who they are and what
their circumstances are. The key is bringing professional community
perspectives into our work to gain sensitivity. I hope our Minnesota
funders are clear. The issues around immigrants, refugees and new
communities can’t be addressed with one umbrella. The conditions
relative to individual communities are very different. Guatemalan and
Mexican are different, and one broad sweep of the immigration brush
won’t do. GF