Do you think collaboration and alliance building is the way to go on all issues of social justice?
GM: No. In philanthropy it’s difficult to use a one size fits all approach. But we have learned a lot from FFF’s model that shows it can be incredibly helpful and productive. And a collaborative allows us to build a learning community; we learn from each other, our great staff and consultants and from our grantees,
TH: It certainly seems that for many issues that require broad public support it’s the way to go. In immigration you can’t make progress unless you win support from allies.
What have been your biggest challenges in making the FFF work?
GM: My budget is an annual budget. But I’m never quite sure what that budget is going to be. If we knew going in that we would have $25 million available in the fund over a five-year period then we could have potentially divvied up the money differently. We also had to fundraise internally and externally and give up a little control by funding through a collaborative. The major challenge is always fundraising, especially for issues that aren’t warm and fuzzy.
TH: At first a big challenge was overcoming the concerns of different stakeholders. The immigrant rights field worried that too much foundation money would be funneled into and through this pool. What Geri and I believed would happen – and did ultimately happen – was that FFF would enable the participating foundations to increase the aggregate amount of their giving to the immigrant rights field and to broaden the reach of the funding without sacrificing grant sizes. And in the case of Carnegie and Ford, funds given directly by the foundations for immigrant rights and civic participation work have increased at the same time that funding by these foundations for FFF has grown in a sustained way.
Fundraising internally and externally still remains a challenge because the opportunities as well as need for policy change are so large. But the cost of failing to invest in immigrant integration and providing opportunities for immigrants is even greater.
What do you consider your greatest success with the FFF?
GM: That we are seen nationally as a great partnership of foundations. We are very democratic. The large foundations like Carnegie and Ford that have historically put in most of the money know their voices aren’t any bigger or louder than smaller funders. We didn’t want to come in and drown everyone. We are respectful. We want folks who have been funding on the ground to know that we’re coming in to learn from them. We learn so much from each other. But like any democracy, it has its moments.
A concrete example of FFF’s grantmaking success is support for and a wide replication of Welcoming America, a national grassroots-driven collaborative that promotes understanding and respect between recent immigrants and their U.S.-born neighbors. It’s now being piloted in 14 communities,
Finally, another example of FFF’s success for me is the acceptance by the other funders of the importance of integrating nonpartisan voter engagement strategies in policy advocacy. I’m well known as a civic engagement funder, and one of the big things that happened because of the collaborative approach is that I was able to persuade other funders that integrating nonpartisan civic/voter engagement practices needs to be part and parcel of anything you do on moving public opinion on immigration policy, or any other policy for that matter.
TH: The other main success is FFF’s contribution to increasing communication and cohesiveness across the immigrant rights field. What we have now operates on a local and state level as well as in Washington, D.C. And as a human rights funder who has long advocated for more funding to address human rights problems within the immigration enforcement system it has been gratifying to see other funders take up this work too.
Finally, I wholeheartedly agree with Geri that FFF’s support for civic participation and immigrant integration are key successes because along with human rights they’re the core to who we are as a nation, and to America’s future. Through FFF we have found that a wide range of foundations are interested in positive solutions that uphold our nation’s values and move us forward together. That’s what FFF is all about.
The mission you’ve undertaken is daunting. What keeps you up at night?
GM: Another 9/11. That’s what we all worry about. In many ways this economy could potentially be a cataclysmic issue that derails efforts to reform federal immigration policy and lead to more scapegoating. The thing that was most disappointing about the 2007 debate around comprehensive immigration reform was the virulent and public anti-immigrant rhetoric, primarily against Latinos that our grantees had to hear and put up with. It was a low point.
TH: I also worry about another 9/11, about the economic crisis and about the substantial increase in hate crime against Latinos who are perceived by their attackers to be “immigrants.”
At this point in time, how would you characterize the anti-immigrant backlash in the country?
GM: Now it’s in a quiet phase. But once the debate riles up again and the blogosphere heats up it will come up again. We’ve seen the anti-immigrant movement become more and more vitriolic and hateful. My hope is that our grantees are better prepared to fight back through a more positive discussion of American values and ideals. TH: The rhetoric of hate groups, nativists and vigilantes has gained a strong foothold in the immigration debate. It’s overrepresented in the media. It stymies good policy, creates enormous fear and suffering and undermines fundamental values and human rights.
Where do you see immigration reform now vis-à-vis our new President and administration?
GM: From everything we’ve heard and the appointments that have been made the Obama administration seems to be committed to addressing the immigration reform issue. Polling also shows that Americans want their leaders to find solutions to difficult problems. They’re tired of the status quo, especially at the state level. What we found interesting (in polling) is that a majority of Americans are supportive of the idea of legalization. If you can maintain public support and also have policymakers that have some backbone instead of a path to earned citizenship.
And it’s important to note that we can’t integrate immigrants who are undocumented – help them earn citizenship and become taxpayers and full community members – without a change in federal policy.
TH: I think Geri is right about the shift in public opinion. And we now have a President who is a stellar example of the benefits immigration brings to the United States and who appears willing to lead us on this issue. Not only is Obama the son of a Kenyan immigrant, but he also demonstrates that one can be both American and profoundly international at the same time.
We see the cultures of the world on the streets of the U.S. and we are constantly reminded of our global interconnectedness in the economic and security challenges we face. I believe that in this century America will simply be too integrated into the world community for the failures of our current immigration system to continue unchanged.
You’re at the White House sitting in the front row as President Obama signs national immigration policy reform. What’s going through your mind?
GM: That the work is just beginning. The next phase will be to help 12 million newcomers and their families to earn their citizenship and integrate – to become Americans. But what allows me to sleep at night is knowing that our country does integration better than any other in the world, and we can meet those challenges. Andrew Carnegie, an immigrant himself, did this at the turn of the 20th century when he funded the Americanization Studies program to deal with the integration of the Irish, Italians and East Europeans, who were considered the “problem” back then. And we can do it again.
TH: So many things are going through my mind simultaneously. Love and gratitude for everyone who took an action that led to this change. Deep appreciation, on a personal level, to my past employers, the Ford Foundation and The New York Community Trust, and to my current employer, Unbound Philanthropy, for investing in this work over the long haul in a generous and brave manner. Concern about how to make sure every person who is eligible for legalization or another immigration benefit under the new law takes advantage of it. And a commitment to do everything I can, working with Geri and our funding colleagues, to channel these new Americans and supporters of immigrant justice into activism on behalf of other important issues in our country and world.
