The WES Mariam Assefa Fund
The WES Mariam Assefa Fund supports catalytic efforts to create more inclusive economies for immigrants and refugees in the U.S. and Canada.
About Us
Through grantmaking, co-funding partnerships, and support beyond the check, we work closely with organizations and leaders that are focused on ensuring more equitable access to opportunity and wealth. We also seek to shift power to local communities and community leaders, and to advance justice for immigrants and refugees.
The WES Mariam Assefa Fund
Collaboration & Sustainability
Our grantee and co-funding partners share our commitment to building inclusive, equitable economies. Together with these partners, the Fund seeks to create a collaborative and sustainable network of organizations seeking to ensure that U.S. and Canadian communities and workplaces are places where immigrants and refugees have the opportunity to thrive.
The WES Mariam Assefa Fund
Funding Commitments
By 2025, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund aims to invest over $50 million into immigrant and refugee leaders and communities in the U.S. and Canada. In 2024, we aim to ensure that 65 percent of the Fund’s total dollars are awarded to immigrant-led, women-led, and/or BIPOC-led organizations.
Featured Initiatives
The Fund provides both general operating support grants and flexible strategic project grants to support a range of initiatives. Some of these include open calls to submit proposals. Others are sourced through research and community connections. Past open calls have included:
Better career pathways and training programs for workers in low-wage jobs are essential in helping immigrants and refugees achieve economic mobility and security; however, they alone are not enough.
The Canadian Employer Practices initiative sought to engage Canadian employers in labour market integration and worker-centered approaches to building more inclusive workplaces.
The Elevating Migrant Leadership initiative was designed to support immigrant and refugee-led organizations in the U.S. that are seeking to develop civic leadership and advocacy skills so they can more effectively influence the development of programs and policies that affect them and their communities.
The Opportunity Challenge was a co-funding project of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund and the Tarsadia Foundation. The U.S.-based challenge sought to identify solutions to support the success of immigrants and refugees and their communities.
Insights
Building Worker Power Through Collaboration with Community Organizations
Written by Olivia Fox, Program Intern at the WES Mariam Assefa Fund When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, racialized essential workers at the Cargill meatpacking plant in Alberta faced a disproportionately high risk of contracting the virus. The existing exploitative and dangerous work conditions in the meatpacking sector, such as crowded industrial spaces and […]
WES Mariam Assefa Fund Announces $1 Million in Funding Towards Elevating Migrant Leadership
Léa Tienou-Gustafson |
NEW YORK—(October 23, 2024) Today, the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund announced that it is awarding a total of $1 million to 10 organizations that seek to increase civic engagement and leadership among immigrant and refugee community members. The awards, of $100,000 each, are part of an initiative called Elevating Migrant Leadership: Building […]
Building Capacity Through Trust: Our Approach to Strengthening Grantee Partnerships
By Sifat Yusuf, Program Manager, WES Mariam Assefa Fund The immigrant-serving sector in Canada has faced growing challenges amid the country’s ever-shifting policies concerning immigrants and refugees. These challenges range from the impact of global events causing displacement, to the uncertainty of funding and resources, to policies that negatively impact people who hold temporary or […]
Shifting Power Through Collaboration: Redefining Philanthropy Together
WES Advisor |
Written by Mohammad Jawad Shahabi, Program Manager Last year, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund partnered with the Foundation of Greater Montreal (FGM) to support its 2023 Collective Fund for Social Equity, a participatory grantmaking initiative and a collaboration between several funders focused on supporting asylum seekers and refugees. Asylum seekers and refugees face significant […]