Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

About Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights centers immigrant and refugee assistance in Illinois at a large scale, with a recent top grant of $1,370,482 to Muslim Women Resource Center for immigrant and refugees assistance. Its giving supports organizations that help newcomers access benefits, health care, legal help, and emergency support, while also backing civic participation and policy work. Recent awards show a strong concentration in Chicago-based community organizations and a recurring commitment to groups serving different immigrant communities. The foundation’s portfolio includes six-figure grants to World Relief-chicago, Fedecmi, Selfreliance Association, Brighton Park Neighborhood, Erie Neighborhood House, and the Polish American Association, all for immigrant and refugees assistance. It also funds organizations outside Chicago, including Family Focus Aurora, Haces in Waukegan, Mano a Mano in Round Lake, and Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project in Bolingbrook. The pattern suggests a funder working through established community-based intermediaries rather than direct aid to individuals. Its grantmaking is tied to immigrant integration services and support systems that are designed to operate across Illinois.

What Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Funds

A core theme is access to public benefits and basic needs. Through the Immigrant Family Resource Program, the foundation supports immigrant-serving organizations in Illinois that help families navigate nutritional, medical, housing, psychological, childcare, employment, and cash supports. Another major area is health access: the Immigrant Health Access Initiative supports capacity building, community education, and coordination for immigrant-serving organizations, including ACA outreach. Food access appears through the SNAP Network, which coordinates about 20 ethnic community-based organizations across Illinois to improve equitable access to SNAP benefits in multiple languages. The foundation also uses emergency assistance as a program tool; the Immigrant Family Support Project provided one-time cash payments to low-income undocumented immigrants and other immigrant households excluded from federal COVID relief.

How Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Gives