We are excited about this opportunity to tell the rich story of PIP in a way that truly communicates what we are about, our history, future, services, staff and what we bring to social justice philanthropy.

PIP has been in business for more than a quarter of a century — grantmaking, convening, building movements, bringing together funders, linking donors with grantees, fiscally sponsoring organizations and seizing opportunities to spark change in dozens of states around the nation on a variety of the most important issues of our time. Mouse over the interactive “Where We Work”map on the home page to experience the breadth of our work.

We’ve distinguished ourselves as the go-to organization for collaborative funds. Donors know they can leverage their funding and learn from their peers by pooling their resources instead of going it alone. Learn more about our partner and collaborative fundsand read the Grantcraft report on collaborative grantmaking.

PIP offers a full “Menu of Services” to donors and grantees. Need a fiscal sponsor? PIP provides a fiscal sponsorship turnkey operation so advocates and funders can focus on getting the work done. Visit our Fiscal Sponsorship section to learn more. Is there an issue you would like to better understand? PIP offers numerous education sessions for funders that feature reports from the field, the latest research and provocative case studies. See our US Human Rights Fund case study report, for example, and check out our calendar of upcoming events.

Perhaps our most exciting new area of work is our alliance building initiative. PIP is at the forefront of supporting real on-the-ground strategic alliance building through our cross-fund approach, by spotlighting and supporting alliances within issues we work on such as LGBT and immigrant rights and through our alliance building learning opportunities for donors. Click on our Learn About  Alliance Building section to get all the information.

Throughout our new website donors can link to other donors and become part of a community of funders with shared values and common aspiration. Join the conversation. You can get more information about all of our collaborative funds, special projects, learning events and more, and make a donation to the work of PIP.

We look forward to another 25 years of bringing together and strengthening the work of philanthropic institutions, nonprofit groups and other public interest organizations that share a vision of a society that ensures justice, dignity and opportunity for all people. We invite you to partner with us in this auspicious endeavor.

Michele Lord, Executive Director

Berta Colon, Deputy Director

In the wake of the recent anti-immigrant legislation in Arizona, PIP has formed a Rapid Response Fund to address potential repercussions of this law and similar ones being considered throughout the nation. The goal of our new fund is to provide support for groups acting swiftly to counter the Arizona law and similar anti-immigration action in other states and to bolster the movement for a national immigration reform campaign at the federal level.

Testimonials of immigrants at the national march for immigration reform in Washington in March, 2010.

Immediate action is crucial.  In just the few days since SB 1070 was signed into law, legislators in other states have expressed interest in advancing similar legislation.  For 2010 most of the potential states have ended their legislative sessions, although reports indicate other states considering copycat legislation include Tennessee, South Carolina and Louisiana. Ohio already has a bill circulating for sponsors in the State Senate.  In 2011, states that might follow Arizona include Georgia, Mississippi, Utah, Idaho and Arkansas.

Support is needed for groups responding to the Arizona law and those that work with immigrants in potential copycat states, and for the national immigration reform campaign, which can now point to Arizona as the example of why this country needs immigration reform at the federal level.  Possible areas of support include:

In Arizona:

• Advocacy, outreach, community organizing and legal support for Arizona-based groups responding to the law;
• Human Rights training on documenting abuses in the implementation of the new law;
• Litigation efforts against SB 1070 by public interest law firms;
• Research on the cost of implementing the law as well as the economic cost of a potential call to boycott Arizona;
• Messaging/communications coordination that could be used nationally and in other states; and
• Civic engagement efforts to encourage immigrant and Latino voter participation.

In other states considering similar legislation:

• Support for advocacy and outreach efforts by local and state groups to educate the public on the harmful effects of copycat bills in their state; and
• If applicable, support for similar litigation to stop or reverse repressive immigration laws.

For the national immigration reform campaign:

• Provide additional support for messaging/ strategic communications; and
• Enhance the campaign’s ability to leverage the Arizona example as an argument for the need for federal reform.

These are possible funding options – in the course of due diligence, additional needs may be identified.  The aim of the fund is to respond immediately to needs related to the Arizona legislation and the potential for similar legislation as they arise.   Donors to the fund will determine how best to fund the needs identified. This fund is not intended to be long-term.  Funds to support it will be raised within a short window of time and distributed as quickly as possible.

The fund will be staffed by PIP’s Immigration Program staff, and will build on the track record, expertise and relationships of the Four Freedoms Fund (FFF) – a model funding intermediary.

For additional information on the Rapid Response Fund, please contact Magui Rubalcava Shulman, Director of Immigration, at (612) 871-6688 or mrubalcava@publicinterestprojects.org

Donate to the Rapid Response Fund by clicking here. Please enter “ARIZONA” in the designation field, so we can be sure to allocate your donation to the Rapid Response Fund.

New USHRF Report Documents Success Stories Across the U.S.

“What is the value of human rights in the United States? And what do you mean by human rights, anyway?”

These two compelling questions inspired a new report by the U.S. Human Rights Fund, “Perfecting Our Union: Human Rights Success Stories Across the United States,” which paints a vivid portrait of the challenges and victories of human rights activists around the country.

The report grew out of a call from social funders for concrete examples of how human rights values, standards and strategies have successfully been used in this country to advance policy, change conditions and improve lives.  And that’s just what it does. From the victory of the Border Network for Human Rights to end law-enforcement abuses around El Paso, Texas, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ fight for higher wages and better working conditions in Florida to the struggle for a living wage in Baltimore by the United Workers Association’s Camden Yards Campaign, these USHRF grantees collectively attest to the real and undeniable progress being made through activism, strategy and powerful alliance building in the area of human rights. Read the full report here.