Ayuda to receive $25k emergency grant for community clinics;
Cafritz pledges $20k matching grant
The Resilience Fund, a collaborative partnership among the Greater Washington Community Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, and other foundation and individual contributors, today announced an emergency rapid response grant of $25,000 to Ayuda. The grant will support Ayuda to address the urgent and immediate need for emergency clinics to prepare and file Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) renewal applications in DC, Northern Virginia and Maryland before the October 5 filing deadline. Ayuda will also provide legal services and consultations to advise DACA recipients regarding possible avenues of relief that may be available to them.
The Resilience Fund launched in February to respond to the critical needs of nonprofits working to support our region’s most vulnerable communities. The Fund is focused on addressing federal policy and budget changes that are disproportionately impacting people of color, immigrant and refugee communities. The DC metropolitan area is home to 1.3 million foreign-born residents, including an estimated 400,000 unauthorized immigrants — many of whom are long-term residents with deep community ties, including spouses and children who are U.S. citizens.
The Fund’s first round of grants were awarded last month to help the region’s networks of community organizations working to support immigrants affected by changes in international travel, immigration, and deportation policies. These grants will help expand collaborative work to ensure that community members understand their legal and civil rights, take precautions to stabilize their families in the event they are detained, and receive legal representation.
At a stakeholders meeting today, the Steering Committee was proud to announce the Fund has surpassed its initial $500,000 fundraising goal. The goal has been extended and the Fund is now on its way to raising $1 million total thanks to the generosity of local foundations and individuals across the region.
One such commitment is a new challenge matching grant from the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, the largest private foundation focused exclusively on the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The Cafritz Foundation has pledged to match every dollar donated to the Resilience Fund, up to $20,000.
“The Community Foundation is proud to partner with the Resilience Fund Steering Committee and other generous donors who want to ensure our community is a vibrant and inclusive place for all residents and families in the region,” said Tonia Wellons, VP of Community Investment for the Greater Washington Community Foundation. “The Resilience Fund’s efforts going forward seek to address the growing climate of intolerance and hate, including the uptick in violent incidents linked to race, religion, national origin, and other differences. We invite those who are concerned about what is happening in our region to stand with us against intolerance by making a contribution to this Fund today.”
“With rapid response grant funding from the Resilience Fund, Ayuda is taking immediate steps to serve the urgent needs of DACA recipients,” said Paula S. Fitzgerald, Executive Director of Ayuda. “We are providing multiple DACA renewal clinics and open walk-in days in September to serve those who are eligible to renew their DACA status within the short window of time. We are also providing consultations to those Dreamers who stand to lose DACA in the near future to evaluate them for other forms of relief and inform them of their rights.”
Members of the Resilience Fund Steering Committee include:
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation
Harman Family Foundation
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Rob and Sheri Rosenfeld
Mauri Ziff and Jeff Hamond