Hans Miguel Esguerra
Donor/Supporter, Partner
"Seeing our community come together in joy rather than struggle fills me with an overwhelming sense of fulfillment, and I now know this is the type of impact I want to create in this world."
Donor/Supporter, Partner
"Seeing our community come together in joy rather than struggle fills me with an overwhelming sense of fulfillment, and I now know this is the type of impact I want to create in this world."
Partner, Staff
"We as clinicians are not helpless or powerless. We can harness our energy and expertise to undo some of the damages done by this administration and its policies."
Educator, Partner
"Some of the most important work of my life is showing young people what can be done and what's inside them."
Educator, Leadership Council, Partner
"Our students saw how power operates and how they could have a voice."
Educator, Leadership Council, Partner
"Supporting undocumented students is a human rights issue, one that every decent American should believe in."
Donor/Supporter, Leadership Council, Partner
"Immigrant youth have rarely accepted ‘no’ for an answer."
Educator, Leadership Council, Partner
"This is a place for compassionate human possibility -- where no person is illegal, where our students are valued and loved for their intrinsic human dignity."
“Our undocumented students are now taking on leadership roles and leading their peers in activities, fundraisers, and other organizing at the district level across schools.” — Karen Martinez, Parent Center Manager at Cindy Avitia High School
Through our partnerships with high schools and college access organizations, Immigrants Rising enhances institutional support for undocumented high school students and their families in California.
In Academic Year 2020-2021, we are seeking partners to serve as host sites for undocumented professionals aspiring to work with high school students. Host Sites will provide undocumented professionals with the hands-on experience, training, and mentorship they need to bolster their professional careers.
Host Site Role
Host Site Benefits
Host Site Requirements
The application is currently closed. The deadline for all application materials was Monday, September 28, 2020, 11:59 p.m. PT.
“I feel compelled to work with these students because I have faith that they will become citizens.” — Sandra Rodrigues, Academic and Career Counselor at Cañada College
The California Campus Catalyst Fund (the Catalyst Fund) was a four-year grantmaking initiative to expand support for undocumented students and their families across the state’s three public higher education systems: California Community Colleges, California State University, and University of California. The Fund raised over $14 million dollars.
A group of funders, advocates, and educators formed the California Campus Catalyst Fund to seed hope and a powerful path forward at a time when undocumented communities were grappling with heightened fear and uncertainty. As undocumented immigrants questioned whether they would be torn from their homes, their schools, their jobs, and their families, this initiative built on the proactive solutions and relief coming out of California’s public higher education campuses. Thanks to the leadership of students, faculty, and administrators, our state’s public colleges and universities emerged as sites for innovation; welcoming undocumented students out of the shadows and providing them with the resources they needed to succeed.
The California Campus Catalyst Fund sought to strengthen this wave of innovation. It provided an opportunity for campus leaders to develop creative strategies to respond to the needs of large numbers of undocumented students and their families. We drew the connection between students and families for two principal reasons. First, many undocumented students view their futures as closely tied to the security of their families. Second, immigrant students, especially those who are the first in their families to go to college and/or translate and navigate U.S. systems, can be important and trusted links between family members and needed services.
This grantmaking initiative was supported by private philanthropic dollars with the intent of enhancing the capacity of campuses across the state to serve undocumented communities in ways that are ultimately sustained through the campuses beyond the life of the Catalyst Fund.
The California Campus Catalyst Fund supported:
The California Campus Catalyst Fund focused grant support on campuses with new or nascent efforts to serve undocumented students. We worked to ensure equitable distribution of resources to campuses located across the state of California — from north to south, inland to coastal, and urban to rural.
We were guided by our belief that increased collaborations across the state can help us uncover the best ideas and solutions to create positive change for diverse communities.
As funders, educators, and advocates we aimed to seed hope and innovation at a time when undocumented communities were grappling with heightened fear and uncertainty.
Funders include Chavez Family Foundation, College Futures Foundation, Crankstart, ECMC Foundation, Grove Foundation, Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, Ginnie and Peter Haas, Jr. Fund, Heising-Simons Foundation, Hellman Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, Kelson Foundation, Loud Hound Foundation, NextGen America, and Weingart Foundation.
Immigrants Rising (formerly known as Educators for Fair Consideration), a fiscally-sponsored project of Community Initiatives, is administering the California Campus Catalyst Fund. Immigrants Rising will be overseeing the grant application and selection process; convening a core team of advocates, educators and funders to make grant decisions; and coordinating the delivery of technical assistance to grantees. Immigrants Rising has a proven commitment to promoting and facilitating opportunities for success for undocumented students. Since its inception, Immigrants Rising has partnered with higher education administrators and faculty, undocumented students, community-based organizations (including legal service providers), and immigration funders to expand support for immigrant youth and their families across California.
We develop educational partnerships to enhance institutional support for undocumented students, and identify promising practices that will embolden other educational institutions.