OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS
YEAR
2019
GRANT CATEGORY
Catalyst
GRANT AMOUNT
$100,000
Organization:
American Gateways
Project Title:
Capacity Building
Project Description:
For 32 years, American Gateways has been empowering low-income immigrants and their families to navigate the U.S. immigration legal system. Given this complex and ever-evolving system, and the decreasing stability of government funding for services that support the immigrant community, this work is especially critical today. Research shows that immigrants with legal representation are ten times more likely to win relief from deportation than those without a lawyer, but few can afford one.
With Impact Austin’s support, American Gateways will build a development team that will implement a strategy to reduce their reliance on government funding and better leverage the tremendous support for immigrant rights within the Austin community. Specifically, the grant will help fund a Development Coordinator, Grants and Operations Manager, and a Communications and Pro Bono Coordinator. With this team in place, American Gateways will increase their capacity to engage more pro bono attorneys, assisting even more immigrants in Central Texas.
Grant Status:
With Impact Austin’s support, American Gateways grew and strengthened their development team. They increased overall funding by 12%, formed relationships with private foundations, and raised an additional $75,000 from private foundations. American Gateways increased their volunteer base by 50% (200 volunteers) that included pro-bono attorneys, 50 law students from around the U.S., and an elite translator/interpreter team.
The increased capacity facilitated American Gateways service to 2,000 more individuals than they served in the previous year. They helped 300 individuals apply for citizenship. American Gateways notes that they could still serve only 20% of applicants due to high demand.