Relationship: Entrepreneur

“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: