Support Vulnerable Families in Mexico

Founded in 1990, the International Community Foundation (ICF) is a nonprofit organization based in California, with the mission of facilitating and encouraging charitable giving from U.S. donors to international nonprofit organizations in Latin America, primarily Mexico and the San Diego-Tijuana border region. Through grants and strategic initiatives, ICF seeks to strengthen civil society and promote sustainable communities in the regions where we work.

As the go-to international grantmaker in the San Diego-Tijuana border region, ICF is uniquely positioned to understand and research regional issues, identify strategic partners, and quickly respond to situations as they arise. The ICF Border Fund is dedicated to strengthening key organizations that work to create healthy, vibrant, inclusive communities in the California-Baja California region.

Since April 2018 the ICF Border Fund has supported grassroots organizations responding to the basic needs of vulnerable migrants and deportees in Tijuana, providing shelter, food, medicine, psychological support and legal services. These organizations consist primarily of local shelters, as well as organizations providing legal and health services, including, but not exclusively, Casa del Migrante Tijuana, Instituto Madre Asunta, Espacio Migrante, Deported Veterans Support House, Dreamers Moms/USA-Tijuana, and Friends of Friendship Park. All of these organizations have ongoing immediate needs and continue to be valued partners of ICF.

Recognizing that the most critical action a funder can take is to provideimmediate general operating funding that allows organizations the flexibility to adapt as the situation evolves, in 2019, the Border Fund will support local organizations or collaborations that have the objective of developing the long-term resilience of Tijuana to receive an ever-growing migrant population, through one or more of the following strategies.  The following priorities were decided based on extensive conversations and field research conducted in 2018 amongst local organizations and migrant populations. These strategies may shift in response to changing policies and conditions on-the-ground.

In 2019, ICF’s Border Fund will benefit organizations whose mission or programs align with the following medium and long-term needs;

1. EDUCATION FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN & ADULTS 

Interventions to be supported by the Border Fund include:

• Adult and Youth Job Training and Workforce Development programs;

• Adult and Youth English language training, particularly for migrants seeking asylum in the United States;
• Formalized Education Programs for migrant Children & Youth.

2. ACCESS TO BASIC AND MENTAL HEALTH 

Interventions to be supported by the Border Fund include:

• Mental health/psychological services for migrant adults, children, and first responders working directly with these populations (lawyers, staff at shelters, etc);
• Mobile Health Clinics and Medical Supplies for the network of shelters.

3. DEFENSE OF HUMAN RIGHTS: LEGAL SERVICES & ADVOCACY

Interventions to be supported by the Border Fund include:

• Legal case work and Know Your Rights workshops;
• Advocacy and Collaboration with government agencies;
• Training Staff at shelters and other institutions about immigration/asylum laws.

4. STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY: CAPACITY & INFRASTRUCTURE

Interventions to be supported by the Border Fund include:

• Institutional Capacity Building:
• Hiring a Local Coordinator for civil society;
• Developing Institutional Policies (i.e. volunteer liability waivers, child-safeguarding policies, etc.);
• Ongoing Training for staff;
• Quarterly Convenings between local organizations to share experiences and challenges; discuss and present policy recommendations to government, etc.;
• Fundraising and Communications support to diversify funding for long-term sustainability (i.e., FIN system, BBCA mapping survey).

• Permanent Physical Infrastructure
• Establishing new Shelters or Resource Centers;
• Upgrades at existing Shelters & Resource Centers.

5. CULTURAL INCLUSION & EQUITY 

Interventions to be supported by the Border Fund include:

• Research or initiatives with the objective of shifting the public discourse about migrants or any particular demographic, in both Mexico and the United States.

• Communications and advocacy support to educate the public and policy makers on the intersectional causes and impacts of migration policy, discourse, etc.

• Promote urban cultural life and acknowledge cultural diversity as a source of innovation, creativity and economic vitality.

BEYOND THE BORDER: CENTRAL AMERICA

As the flows of people continue, it is clear that efforts should also be made to understand and support strategies aiming to reduce the displacement and forced migration of Central Americans to the United States, which has led to many of the current challenges that we are facing in the San Diego-Tijuana border region. ICF has existing grants and programmatic partners in Central America, and we are well-positioned to advise and facilitate grants to local organizations in the region. As of early 2019, ICF is investing limited staff time for research about the bilateral development community’s regional strategies and local grassroots organizations who are working to reduce high levels of forced migration to the United States/border. 

Our goal is to help our individual donors and the broader public better understand and respond to the needs of communities in Central America, in order to help reduce rates of forced migration, which will benefit both the people of Central America and the San Diego-Tijuana border community. 

[1] https://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/migration/pages/migrationandhumanrightsindex.aspx.

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