Statement

This statement was originally published by GCIR, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.

The United States stands at a historic crossroads. Founded as a refuge from religious persecution and built by generations of immigrants, our country has been the standard bearer internationally for the assertion and protection of inalienable rights and freedoms, a beacon of hope for refugees facing oppression and persecution, and a land of opportunity for immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their families.

As philanthropic institutions, we have built our missions on this proud and rich tradition. We have invested in creating healthy communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, building a vibrant democracy, and advancing equity and equality for all people, regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, immigration status, and national origin.

The recently issued immigration executive orders compromise our nation’s founding principles and the Constitution, our standing in the world, and our core values of liberty, justice, and due process. They weaken our moral leadership, fuel the efforts of those who wish us ill, harm our global competitiveness, and fray our social fabric.

Our foundations support diverse issues, strategies, and communities across the country, but we are united in the belief that immigrants and refugees are integral to every aspect of our society. Newcomers enrich our culture and tradition as artists, playwrights, and dancers. Naturalized citizens strengthen our civic life as voters, jurors, school-board members, and elected officials. Immigrant entrepreneurs and refugee-owned businesses revitalize neighborhoods, towns, and cities across America. Foreign-born scientists and engineers fuel innovations and help our country prosper. Farmworkers put food on our tables, and caregivers nurture our children, care for our elders, and nurse our ill. Young newcomers—including DACA beneficiaries—demonstrate their patriotism and enthusiasm for American ideals in schools, communities, workplaces, and the armed forces. Without the contributions of immigrants and refugees now and throughout our history, our collective wellbeing and economic vitality would be greatly diminished.

We, the undersigned philanthropies, join public officials, the faith community, business leaders, and the American public in supporting policies that protect our national security, strengthen our economy, and uphold core American values. We stand with our grantees—advocates, organizers, researchers, and service providers—in calling for policies that reflect our nation’s founding principles, promote cohesion and inclusion, instill hope, and show compassion. Policies that recognize our global interdependence, that honor our tradition of welcoming those seeking refuge and a better life, and that keep families together will make our communities stronger, safer, and more prosperous.

We expect additional challenges in the weeks and months ahead on the immigration front, including expanded detention and deportations, and on policies affecting the rights of women, African Americans, the LGBTQ community, and other vulnerable groups. The issues, communities, and core values that our foundations have sought to advance are under serious and imminent danger. With history and morality as our guide, we reject discriminatory policies that target individuals based on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender expression, and other grounds. We stand committed to the inherent value and dignity of every person at home and abroad. We stand together for the American Dream.

Signatories: Foundations

Lateefah Simon, President
Akonadi Foundation

Iris Krieg, Executive Director
Albert Pick, Jr. Fund

Eileen Coogan, President & CEO
Allegany Franciscan Ministries

Minna R. Buck, Founder
Aloha Foundation

James D. McDonough, Executive Director
Alphawood Foundation

Leticia Peguero, Executive Director
Andrus Family Fund & Family Philanthropy Program

Audrey Yamamoto, President & Executive Director
Asian Pacific Fund

Jim Canales, President & Trustee
Barr Foundation

Robert C. Kirkwood, Board Chair
Bella Vista Foundation

Jerry Greenfield, President
Ben & Jerry’s Foundation

Cecilia C. Clarke, President & CEO
Brooklyn Community Foundation

Sonia Gonzales, Executive Director
California Bar Foundation

Antonia Hernández, President & CEO
California Community Foundation

Geri Mannion, Director, Strengthening Democracy Program and Special Opportunities Fund
Carnegie Corporation of New York

Hussien Y. Shousher, Board Chair
Center for Arab American Philanthropy

Karen A. Simmons, President & CEO
Chester County Community Foundation

K. Sujata, President & CEO
Chicago Foundation for Women

Farhad Ebrahimi, Founder & Chair
Chorus Foundation

Mary Pounder, Program Director
Comer Family Foundation

Laura Livoti, CEO
Common Counsel Foundation

Ellen Friedman, Executive Director
Compton Foundation

Leslie Ramyk, Executive Director
Conant Family Foundation

Yanique Redwood, President & CEO
Consumer Health Foundation

Marco Antonio Quiroga, Program Director of the Contigo Fund
Contigo Fund, an initiative of Our Fund Foundation

Elizabeth Sak, Executive Director
Cricket Island Foundation

Jeanne Kracher, Executive Director
Crossroads Fund

Joe Goldman, President
Democracy Fund

Lori Bezahler, President
Edward W. Hazen Foundation

Jacqueline Mann, President
Elias Foundation

Dr. Arthur E. Roswell, President
Elizabeth B. and Arthur E. Roswell Foundation

Lauren Embrey, President
Embrey Family Foundation

Elena M. Marks, President & CEO
Episcopal Health Foundation

Nicky Goren, President & CEO
Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation

Jennie Lehua Watson, Interim President
Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund

Damon T. Hewitt, Executive Director
Executives’ Alliance for Boys and Men of Color

Sandor Straus, President
Faye Straus, Vice-President
Firedoll Foundation

Darren Walker, President
Ford Foundation

Nancy Brain, Board President
Frances Hollis Brain Foundation

Mimi Frankel, Founder & Trustee
Frankel Family Foundation

Marnie Thompson, Co-Managing Director
Ed Whitfield, Co-Managing Director
Fund for Democratic Communities

Marcos Vargas, Executive Director
Fund for Santa Barbara

Christine H. Russell, Trustee
Mark Schlesinger, Trustee
Susan Clark, Director of Programs
Gaia Fund

Dimple Abichandani, Executive Director
General Service Foundation

Nancy Bales, Executive Director
Nicholas Walrod, Board Chair
Gray Family Foundation

Vanessa Daniel, Executive Director
Groundswell Fund

Eva Grove, Founder & Board Member
Leslie Dorosin, Executive Director
Grove Foundation

Darren Sandow, Executive Director
Hagedorn Foundation

David Nicholson, Executive Director
Headwaters Foundation for Justice

Liz Simons, Chair of the Board
Deanna Gomby, President & CEO
Heising-Simons Foundation

Tricia Hellman Gibbs, MD, Board President
Susan Mayer Hirsch, Executive Director
Hellman Foundation

Nat Williams, Ph.D, Executive Director
Hill-Snowdon Foundation

Roger Doughty, President
Horizons Foundation

Ann B. Stern, President & CEO
Houston Endowment

Julia Kaemmer, President
Kathleen Fluegel, Executive Director
HRK Foundation

Janet Froetscher, President
J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation

Peter W. Davidson, Chairman
Amy L. Freitag, Executive Director
J.M. Kaplan Fund

John Goldman, President
John & Marcia Goldman Foundation

Jennifer Rainin, Ph.D., CEO
Kenneth Rainin Foundation

Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO
Latino Community Foundation

Debora Ortega, Ph.D., Board Chair
Carlos Martinez, Executive Director
Latino Community Foundation of Colorado

Kara L. Masters, Board President
Caitlin W. Davis, Executive Director
Legal Foundation of Washington

James S. Farley, Esquire, President & CEO
Leichtag Foundation

Daniel Lee, Executive Director
Levi Strauss Foundation

Shane Murphy Goldsmith, President & CEO
Liberty Hill Foundation

Unmi Song, President
Lloyd A. Fry Foundation

David M. Okorn, Executive Director
Long Island Community Foundation

Luz A. Vega-Marquis, President & CEO
Marguerite Casey Foundation

Thomas Peters, Ph.D., President & CEO
Marin Community Foundation /
Buck Family Fund of MCF

Justin Maxson, Executive Director
Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation

Helen Brunner, Foundation Director
Media Democracy Fund

Jenny Russell, Executive Director
Merck Family Fund

Charles Wilhoite, Board Chair
Doug Stamm, CEO
Meyer Memorial Trust

Minette A. Kwok, Co-Founder & Board Member
Minami Tamaki Yamauchi Kwok & Lee Foundation

Jeannie Blaustein, Ph.D., President
Morton and Jane Blaustein Foundation

Roberta Phillip-Robbins, J.D., Executive Director
MRG Foundation

Frank I. Sanchez, Executive Director
Needmor Fund

Nicholas Donohue, President & CEO
Nellie Mae Education Foundation

Michele Lord, President
NEO Philanthropy

Lorie A. Slutsky, President
New York Community Trust

Maria Mottola, Executive Director
New York Foundation

Kristin Hull, Founder, Director
Nia Community Foundation

Kevin F. Walker, President & CEO
Northwest Area Foundation

Nichole June Maher, President and CEO
Vanetta Abdellatif, Chair, Board of Directors
Northwest Health Foundation

Pamela Shifman, Executor Director
NoVo Foundation

Ken Zimmerman, Director of U.S. Programs
Open Society Foundations

Judith Baker, Executive Director
Traci Ray, President
Oregon Law Foundation

Veronica Reed, Board Chair
Peter E. Haas Jr. Family Fund

Gillian Darlow, CEO
Polk Bros. Foundation

Mary E. McClymont,
President and CEO
Public Welfare Foundation

Timothy P. Silard, President
Rosenberg Foundation

AixaN. Cintrón-Vélez, Ph.D., Program Director
Russell Sage Foundation

Sarah Martinez-Helfman, President
Samuel S. Fels Fund

Ann Alpers, President
S.H. Cowell Foundation

Fo-ChingLu, President
Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation

Chet P. Hewitt, President & CEO
Sierra Health Foundation

Susanna H. Krey, President
Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

Tom Keith, President
Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

Cheryl Brownd, Program Director
Sisters of Mercy of North Carolina Foundation

Sister Regina Fox, SSND, Executive Director
Sisters of St. Joseph Healthcare Foundation

Sally Osberg, President & CEO
Skoll Foundation

Molly Gochman, Founder
Stardust Fund

Phillip W. Henderson, President
Surdna Foundation

John F. Swift, President
Jennifer Astone, Executive Director
Swift Foundation

Jennifer Leith, Executive Director
The Alfred & Mary Douty Foundation

Paul Grogan, President & CEO
The Boston Foundation

Robert K. Ross, M.D., President & CEO
The California Endowment

Judy Belk, President & CEO
The California Wellness Foundation

Truman Collins, President
Cynthia G. Addams, CEO
The Collins Foundation

Karen McNeil-Miller, President & CEO
The Colorado Health Foundation

Alicia Phillip, President
The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

William W. Ginsberg, President & CEO
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

Elizabeth Brazas, President
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina

Christine Márquez-Hudson, President & CEO
The Denver Foundation

Trent Stamp, CEO
The Eisner Foundation

Angelique Power, President
The Field Foundation of Illinois

Drew Fink, Director
The Fink Family Foundation

Deborah T. Poritz, Board Chair
Kiki Jamieson, President
The Fund for New Jersey

Grant Oliphant, President
The Heinz Endowments

Marti Wilson-Taylor, Chair, Board of Trustees
Jocelyn V. Sargent, Executive Director
The Hyams Foundation, Inc.

Don Howard, President & CEO
The James Irvine Foundation

Keith Swayne, Co-founder
Anne Swayne, President
The Keith and Judy Swayne Family Foundation

Rip Rapson, President & CEO
The Kresge Foundation

Alexandra A. Herzan, President
The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc.

Patricia Blakely, Executive Director
The Merchants Fund

R.T. Rybak, President & CEO
The Minneapolis Foundation

Michael Gelman, Director
Susie Gelman, Director
The Morningstar Foundation

Ana L. Oliveira, President & CEO
The New York Women’s Foundation

Craig Harwood, Director
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

Martha McCoy, President
The Paul J. Aicher Foundation

Pedro Ramos, President & CEO
The Philadelphia Foundation

Richard Woo, CEO
The Russell Family Foundation

Fred Blackwell, CEO
The San Francisco Foundation

Amanda Cloud, President & CEO
The Simmons Foundation

Rick Kinsel, President
The Vilcek Foundation

Stacie Ma’a, President
The Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation

Edward Kissam, Trustee
The Werner-Kohnstamm Family Fund

John Esterle, Co-Executive Director
Pia Infante, Co-Executive Director
The Whitman Institute

Alan S. Davis, Director
The WhyNot Initiative

Tom Glenn, Chair
The Wilbur and Hilda Glenn Family Foundation

Larry Kramer, President
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Christina Kind, Managing Trustee
The Patricia Kind Family Foundation

Kriss Deiglmeier, CEO
Tides

Taryn Higashi, Executive Director
Unbound Philanthropy

Richard Xavier Corral, Interim Executive Director
United Latinx Fund Los Angeles

Kate Kroeger, Executive Director
Urgent Action Fund

Ken Kind, Board President
Hugh Hogan, Executive Director
van Ameringen Foundation

Nancy Wiltsek, Executive Director
van Löben Sels/RembeRock Foundation

Irene Cooper-Basch, Executive Officer
Victoria Foundation

Diana Buckhantz, Executor
Vladimir & Araxia Buckhantz Foundation

John Schwartz, President
Voqal

William S. Goldman, President of the Board of Trustees
Pamela H. David, Executive Director
Walter & Elise Haas Fund

Fred Ali, President & CEO
Weingart Foundation

Laura Rossi, Esq., Executive Director
Westchester Community Foundation

Catherine Crystal Foster, Executive Director
Westly Foundation

Jennifer Corrigan, President, Board of Directors
Regina McGraw, Executive Director
Wieboldt Foundation

Sherece Y. West-Scantlebury, Ph.D., President & CEO
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

La June Montgomery Tabron, President & CEO
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Libby Wadsworth, CEO
Mary L. Gregory, Administrator
W.L.S. Spencer Foundation

Daniel Solomon, President
Woodbury Fund

Grace Hou, President
Woods Fund Chicago

Bob Uyeki, CEO
Y & H Soda Foundation

Allison Magee, Executive Director
Zellerbach Family Foundation

Signatories: Philanthropy-Supporting Organizations

Susan Taylor Batten, President & CEO
ABFE: A Philanthropic Partnership for Black Communities

Niamani Mutima, Executive Director
Africa Grantmakers’ Affinity Group

Sampriti Ganguli, CEO
Arabella Advisors

Cora Mirikitani, President & CEO
Asian Americans / Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP)

Carly Hare, National Director/Coalition Catalyst
CHANGE Philanthropy

Tory Dietel Hopps, Managing Partner
Dietel Partners

Mark Randazzo, Executive Director
EDGE Funders Alliance

Rachel Leon, Executive Director
Environmental Grantmakers Association

Meg Long, President
Equal Measure

Eric Marshall, Executive Director
Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation

John Kania, Global Managing Director
FSG

Ben Francisco Maulbeck, President
Funders for LGBTQ Issues

Diana Campoamor, President
Hispanics in Philanthropy

Yvonne Moore, Principal Advisor
Moore Philanthropy

Dennis Quirin, President
Neighborhood Funders Group

Sarah Stachowiak, CEO
ORS Impact

Lori Villarosa, Executive Director
Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity

Iimay Ho, Executive Director
Resource Generation

Susan Eaton, Director
Sillerman Center

John Mitterholzer, Board Chair
L. Benjamin Starrett, President & CEO
The Funders’ Network

Donna P. Hall, President & CEO
Women Donors Network

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Join

For more information or to sign the statement, contact Caleb Beaudoin. If joining, please provide the name of your foundation and the name and title of your signer (i.e., the CEO, the board chair, or both). A special thanks to GCIR members and funders for their support in making this statement possible.