Detention Watch Network is a national coalition building power through collective advocacy, grassroots organizing, and strategic communications to abolish immigration detention in the United States.
Detention Watch Network’s grantmaking is built around anti-detention organizing, with recent awards flowing to groups working to stop ICE detention expansion, shut down detention centers, and build local power against immigration detention. The largest recent grant in the data is $66,500 to Alliance for Global Justice for anti-detention work, followed by $37,250 to Organized Communities Against Deportations for the same broad effort. Other sizeable grants show the same pattern of movement support: $31,000 to Inland for Immigrant Justice in San Bernardino and $28,700 to Juntos in Philadelphia. The foundation backs organizations working on abolition and policy change rather than direct services. Its recent grantees include legal, faith-based, and community organizing groups, which points to a strategy that combines advocacy, coalition work, and grassroots mobilization. Detention Watch Network also appears to support repeat partners over multiple years, including Alliance for Global Justice, Common Foundation, Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity, and Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy. The recurring support suggests sustained relationships with organizations engaged in anti-detention campaigns across the country.
Immigration detention abolition is the central thread in the portfolio. Detention Watch Network gave $24,500 to the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in Los Angeles for anti-detention work, and $20,000 to Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity in Oakland for the same purpose. The foundation also funds local organizing tied to immigrant justice. It awarded $28,500 to Common Foundation in Boulder and $20,000 to Free Migration Project in Philadelphia, both described as anti-detention work. Faith-based and community coalition partners are part of the mix. Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated in Atlanta received $16,000 in 2024 and $15,000 in 2025 for anti-detention work, while Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration Icom in Minneapolis received $15,000 in 2025. The portfolio also includes legal and advocacy groups such as Center for Civic Policy in Albuquerque and First Friends of New Jersey and New York Corporation in Kearny.
Typical grants cluster tightly around a middle tier: the p25 is $12,000, the median is $15,000, and the p75 is $16,500. That distribution suggests a broad base of modest grants, with occasional larger awards above that range. The funder is a regular funder and does not fund individuals. Recent records show repeat support across years rather than one-off checks: Alliance for Global Justice, Common Foundation, Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity, Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy, Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated, and Center for Civic Policy all appear more than once. The active programs page references member support grants, but the scraped material does not show an open application process.
$155K
$7.2M
$3.5M
$3.2M
Most grants fall between $12K and $17K, with a median of $15K.
25th Percentile
$12K
Median
$15K
75th Percentile
$17K
About 0% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Tony Nam
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Grantmaking is national, with all listed recent recipients in the United States. California appears most often by recipient location, including Los Angeles, Oakland, San Bernardino, and Richmond. Other repeated recipient hubs include Philadelphia, New Orleans, Albuquerque, and Atlanta. The recent list also reaches Tucson, Boulder, Chicago, Minneapolis, Kearny, New York, and Key Largo, showing a spread across major immigrant-rights organizing centers and local coalition sites.
It funds anti-detention organizations working on immigration detention abolition, ending family and child detention, ending ICE funding and detention quotas, policy advocacy, and community organizing. Recent recipients include legal defense groups, interfaith coalitions, churches, and grassroots immigrant justice organizations.
The grant-size distribution is tightly grouped: p25 is $12,000, median grant size is $15,000, and p75 is $16,500. Recent awards also show a few larger grants above that range, including a $66,500 grant.
Yes. Several recipients appear in more than one year in the recent grants list, including Alliance for Global Justice, Common Foundation, Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity, Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy, Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated, and Center for Civic Policy.
The geographic scope is national, and every recent grant listed goes to a U.S. recipient. California is the top state by grant count, with recipients in Los Angeles, Oakland, San Bernardino, and Richmond among the recent awards.
The active programs referenced are Communities Not Cages and DWN Membership — Grassroots Member Support Grants. Both are described as campaign or member-support efforts, and the scraped material does not show an open unsolicited application process.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home is Here NOLA | New Orleans, LA | $20,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Common Foundation | Boulder, CO | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Alliance for Global Justice | Tuscon, AZ | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy | New Orleans, LA | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work. |
| Center for Civic Policy | Albuquerque, NM | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| First Friends of New Jersey and New York Corporation | Kearny, NJ | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| The Translatin Coalition | Los Angeles, CA | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Juntos | Philadelphia, PA | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration Icom | Minneapolis, MN | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated | Atlanta, GA | $15,000 | 2025 | Anti-detention work |
| Free Migration Project | Philadelphia, PA | $20,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Immigrant Action Alliance Inc | Key Largo, FL | $17,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Alliance for Global Justice | Tuscon, AZ | $16,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated | Atlanta, GA | $16,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund | Los Angeles, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity | Oakland, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy | New Orleans, LA | $15,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work. |
| Center for Transformative Action | Ithica, NY | $15,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Social Good Fund Inc | Richmond, CA | $15,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights | Oakland, CA | $10,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Calcary Espiscopal Church Foundation Inc | Richmond, TX | $10,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Equity Alliance of San Diego County | San Diego, CA | $7,000 | 2024 | Anti-detention work |
| Alliance for Global Justice | Tuscon, AZ | $66,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Organized Communities Against Deportations | Chicago, IL | $37,250 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Inland for Immigrant Justice | San Bernardino, CA | $31,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Juntos (v) | Philadelphia, PA | $28,700 | 2023 | Anti-detention work. |
| Common Foundation | Boulder, CO | $28,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund | Los Angeles, CA | $24,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Interfaith Movement For Human Integrity | Oakland, CA | $20,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| MN8 | Saint Paul, MN | $16,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Center for Civil Policy | Albuquerque, NM | $16,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy | New Orleans, LA | $16,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work. |
| Families For Freedom Inc | New York, NY | $15,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| El Refugio Ministry Inc | Hapeville, GA | $13,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Northwest Alliance for Alternative Media & Education Portland Alliance | Portland, OR | $12,167 | 2023 | Anti-detention work. |
| Center for Transformative Action | Ithica, NY | $12,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration ICOM | Minneapolis, MN | $12,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| NEO Philanthropy Inc | New York, NY | $10,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees | Hollywood, FL | $10,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Community Partners | Los Angeles, CA | $8,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| St Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America | St Louis, MO | $8,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Providence Youth Student Movement | Providence, RI | $8,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work. |
| Centro de Trabajadores Unidos United Workers' Center | Chicago, IL | $8,000 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Grassroots Leadership | Austin, TX | $5,500 | 2023 | Anti-detention work |
| Organized Poder LLC | Tucson, AZ | $5,167 | 2023 | Anti-detention work. |
Common Foundation
$15,000Anti-detention work
Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy
$15,000Anti-detention work.
First Friends of New Jersey and New York Corporation
Anti-detention work
Juntos
$15,000Anti-detention work
Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration Icom
$15,000Anti-detention work
Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated
$15,000Anti-detention work
Free Migration Project
$20,000Anti-detention work
Immigrant Action Alliance Inc
$17,000Anti-detention work
Park Avenue Baptist Church Incorporated
$16,000Anti-detention work
Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy
$15,000Anti-detention work.
National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights
$10,000Anti-detention work
Calcary Espiscopal Church Foundation Inc
$10,000Anti-detention work
Juntos (v)
$28,700Anti-detention work.
Common Foundation
$28,500Anti-detention work
MN8
$16,500Anti-detention work
Immigrant Services and Legal Advocacy
$16,500Anti-detention work.
El Refugio Ministry Inc
$13,000Anti-detention work
Anti-detention work.
Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration ICOM
$12,000Anti-detention work
Friends of Miami-Dade Detainees
$10,000Anti-detention work
St Louis Inter-Faith Committee on Latin America
$8,000Anti-detention work
Organized Poder LLC
$5,167Anti-detention work.