Cris Mercado

Entrepreneur, Program Participant

"For undocumented people, it's rare to find either a person or an institution that validates your experiences and your achievements."

Alvaro Morales

Entrepreneur

"This organization creates opportunities and opens doors, often, for people that don't think those doors even exist."

“I gained a wealth of knowledge, new friends that are like family, and a new mindset on achieving success. Overall, it was one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you!” — Antoinette Tobore Oweh, Festival of UndocuInnovation Attendee

 

In September 2017, Immigrants Rising organized our first-ever Festival of UndocuInnovation. We brought together 50 undocumented entrepreneurs from around the country to connect, learn, inspire and motivate one another. Participants learned from experienced undocumented entrepreneurs, attended workshops, and improved their ability to generate and present winning ideas through simulations and feedback. They came from 16 different countries of origin, traveled to the Festival from 14 different states, and were pursuing a wide variety of projects in both the nonprofit and for-profit sectors.

 

Read about the Festival in this Forbes article.

We look forward to planning our next Festival of UndocuInnovation in Spring 2020.

“This grant gave me the confidence to take my business to the next level, to create a space to help others and, most importantly, to grow as a social entrepreneur.” — Maria Mendez, Entrepreneurship Fund Grantee

Immigrants Rising’s Entrepreneurship Fund provides grants to undocumented entrepreneurs working to create positive social change. The Fund showcases the talents of undocumented young people and amplifies the positive impact of their work.

WHAT WE SUPPORT

We offer two different types of grants:

  1. Kickstarter Grants: Short-term, non-renewable grants of up to $2,000. Read profiles of our previous Kickstarter Grant recipients
  2. Fellowship Grants: One-year grants ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Read profiles of our previous Fellowship Grant recipients.

Grantees are offered support and guidance from professional advisors, join a national network of undocumented freelancers and entrepreneurs, and get social media exposure for their projects.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

We support entrepreneurial and freelancing projects that address a variety of needs, target diverse populations, and employ different strategies. We are open to supporting projects that serve and advocate for undocumented people as well as ones with broader potential impact. Projects can be non-profit or for-profit initiatives—or hybrid projects that include both nonprofit and for-profit components. Most importantly, projects must create positive social change and must be designed and led by undocumented young people. To learn more about social entrepreneurship, click here.

Applicants must be born outside of the United States and cannot be U.S. Citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR). Applicants do not need to be eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) to qualify.

FUNDERS

Immigrants Rising’s entrepreneurship work has been made possible with the support of the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency; the Chavez Family Foundation; Charity Stars (Alejandro Sanz Dreamer Campaign); Crankstart; Fragomen Del Rey Bernsen & Loewy LLP; FWD.us Education Fund; Google LLC; Grove Foundation; James Gutierrez; Elise, Robert, and Colleen Haas; Hawkins-Strauss Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation; Miguel B Hernandez; Latinos in Tech Giving Circle; Jorge Ramos; Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation; Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock; the Levi Strauss Foundation; Technology Industry Group; Unbound Philanthropy; Elisha Wiesel; and others.

APPLICATION UPDATE

We have temporarily closed applications for our Entrepreneurship Fund. If you’re looking for business loans, we encourage you to visit Venturize, a free online resource hub for small business owners like you who need help accessing tools and resources to grow their businesses. If you would like to get started with entrepreneurship, we encourage you to visit our e-learning hub at UndocuHustle.org. Lastly, if you would like to speak to an entrepreneurship specialist, please complete this form and one of our team members will get back to you as soon as possible.

Entrepreneurship Fund Frequently Asked Questions

We provide life-changing financial support that enables undocumented young people to overcome systemic barriers: