Immigrants Rising

Immigrants Rising’s Facilitated Activity Groups offer undocumented young people tangible skills, knowledge, and accountability to pursue personal, educational, and professional goals.

Promotional graphic for Facilitated Activity Groups

Facilitated Activity Groups provide a space for undocumented high school and college students to explore a topic while building relationships with one another. All activity groups will be guided by a skilled facilitator who is intimately familiar with the undocumented experience.

Activity Groups will meet for 6 consecutive weeks in a virtual setting. Explore the topics we’re offering this year below.

#ICanAffordCollege: Financing a College Education as an Undocumented Student

What will I learn from this activity group?

Everyone deserves an education that is enjoyable, fulfilling, and free from constraints! Unfortunately, undocumented students face additional barriers to pursuing their educational goals and enjoying their educational journeys due to the added stress that comes with limited access to financial and campus resources. This activity group will introduce you to strategies, resources, tips, and key actionable steps you can take to finance your college education and advocate for more and better campus resources. By the end of this activity group, you will implement a plan to increase your funding to help you alleviate some of the financial barriers to pursuing your educational goals.

You will receive a Certificate of Completion after attending at least five sessions.

Who can participate in this activity group?

This activity group is for undocumented high school and college students in the U.S.

When is this activity group offered?

This activity group is offered three times between Fall 2022 and Spring 2023.

Fall Session: Tuesdays, 4 – 5:15 p.m. PT (starting 10/11/2022, ending 11/15/2022)
Winter Session: Tuesdays, 4 – 5:15 p.m. PT (starting 1/24/23, ending 2/28/23)
Spring Session: Tuesdays, 4 – 5:15 p.m. PT (starting 4/18/23, ending 5/23/23)

Who is the facilitator?

Watch the video below and read Cris Mercado’s bio here.

We are currently not offering new Activity Group sessions.

Tobore Oweh

Donor/Supporter, Entrepreneur

"It’s been a journey for me to become an entrepreneur, and I am happy that Immigrants Rising has always been there to support me along the way!"

[Para español, haz clic aquí]

SEED Grant is now closed – with no expectation to re-open. We are proud to have offered almost $5.5 million for immigrant entrepreneurs in California through our SEED initiative between 2022-24!

SEED Eligibility

Through the SEED initiative, we offered funding to California residents who were starting or growing a business in California. SEED applicants identified with at least one of the following:

Non U.S. citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents (green card holders). This includes undocumented individuals, and individuals who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) or Temporary Protected Status (TPS).
Limited English proficiency, regardless of immigration or citizenship status.

Types of Grants

We offered two different types of one-time, non-renewable grants:

Developing Business Owner Grants ($5,000): Grants to individuals starting or growing a business with annual gross business revenue less than $100,000.
Mature Business Owner Grants ($10,000): Grants to individuals growing a business with annual gross business revenue more than $100,000 up to $1,000,000.

Support Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Interested in our entrepreneurship initiatives? Please email our Entrepreneurship Team at entrepreneurship@immigrantsrising.org.

La Subvención SEED esta cerrada – sin expectativa de ser reabierta. Estamos orgullosos de haber ofrecido $1.5 millones para emprendedores inmigrantes en California a través de nuestra iniciativa SEED.

Elegibilidad del solicitante

Los fondos de SEED estuvieron abiertos a los residentes de California que estaban iniciandoo desarrollando un negocio en California que aborodo un problema social o una necesidad comunitaria. Los solicitantes se identificaron con al menos uno de los siguientes:

No ser ciudadano estadounidense o residente permanente legal. Esto incluye a las personas que sean indocumentadas y a las personas a las que se les ha otorgado Acción Diferida para los Llegados en la Infancia (DACA) o Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS).
Dominio limitado del inglés, independiente del estado migratorio o ciudadanía.

Tipos de subvenciones

Ofrecimosdos tipos diferentes de subvenciones únicas no renovables:

Subvenciones para propietarios de negocios en desarrollo ($5,000): subvenciones a personas que inician o desarrollan una empresa con ingresos comerciales brutos anuales inferiores de $100,000 en el año fiscal 2021/2022.
Subvenciones para propietarios de negocios maduros ($10,000): subvenciones a personas que desarrollen un negociocon ingresos comerciales brutos anuales de más de $100,000 hasta $1,000,000 en el año fiscal 2022.

Apoya a emprendedores inmigrantes

¿Interesado/a en nuestras iniciativas de emprendimiento? Envia un correo electrónico a entrepreneurship@immigrantsrising.org si tiene alguna pregunta.