Year:   

2019

Grant Category:   

Catalyst

Organization:

American Gateways

Project Title:

Capacity Building

Grant Amount:

$100,000

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.