Grants are not fast answers to hard problems. Instead, they are opportunities for refugees and immigrants to connect to funders, articulate serious community needs, and show how they have the expertise to address them.
GRANTS are often misunderstood by refugees and immigrants as shortcuts — fast solutions for difficult problems. Community housing problems? Get a grant. Interpretation problems? Get a grant. Health problems? And so on.
“Grant Workshop for Refugees and Immigrants” promotes local grants such as Building Stronger Neighborhoods as vehicles for trust and relation building, ways for newcomer groups to earn experience working with American agencies while strengthening internal community ties or ties to other groups.
Key points
Without trust, grant projects are doomed.
Grants are about building trust between grant applicant and grant funder, and among all grant participants.
Make all money and budget matters public.
A project Web site can track grant money and is a great way to publicly show results through photos and other documentation.
Community members who assume responsibility for the grant are leaders.
Leaders don’t have to be community members with the most education, greatest wealth, or who come from the most respected families.
Leaders are those willing to take responsibility.
Grants can’t solve all problems. There are other ways to raise money.
Small grants can lead to big results — lasting outcomes rather than temporary fixes.
Refugee and immigrant community members know far more about community problems than American agencies who seek to operate on their behalf.
Examples: Grants Create Opportunities for Building Relations
Women’s Learning Group We started with Project Shine health literacy project under UNCG’s Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships and then Reading Connections, which led to the Montagnard Health Project involving Center for New North Carolinians, UNCG academic departments and NCAT. The Montagnard community health workers then created the Women’s Learning Group, funded by Building Stronger Neighborhoods.
Triad International Soccer League United Dashain Festival was funded by the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro to bring Nepalese and Bhutanese communities together. The Dashain soccer tournament held during United Dashain led to the Triad International Soccer League.
Among workshop participants Impact Greensboro encourages all residents of the Greensboro area to learn more about their communities and to take action. Grant Workshop participants included two Impact Greensboro newcomers.
Meeting Site FaithAction, the Grant Workshop host site, promotes activities that erase boundaries between strangers and neighbors.
Slides
 | |
| After the workshop, many participants attended the Building Stronger Neighborhood Grant meeting. Photo: D. Newton |
 |
| Meeting at FaithAction |
“Grant Workshop for Refugees and Immigrants” promotes local grants such as Building Stronger Neighborhoods as vehicles for trust and relation building, ways for newcomer groups to earn experience working with American agencies while strengthening internal community ties or ties to other groups.
 |
| Grant ideas huddle |
Without trust, grant projects are doomed.
Grants are about building trust between grant applicant and grant funder, and among all grant participants.
Make all money and budget matters public.
A project Web site can track grant money and is a great way to publicly show results through photos and other documentation.
Community members who assume responsibility for the grant are leaders.
Leaders don’t have to be community members with the most education, greatest wealth, or who come from the most respected families.
Leaders are those willing to take responsibility.
Grants can’t solve all problems. There are other ways to raise money.
Small grants can lead to big results — lasting outcomes rather than temporary fixes.
Refugee and immigrant community members know far more about community problems than American agencies who seek to operate on their behalf.
 |
| Impact Greensboro alumni, DB and Esther. |
Among workshop participants Impact Greensboro encourages all residents of the Greensboro area to learn more about their communities and to take action. Grant Workshop participants included two Impact Greensboro newcomers.
Meeting Site FaithAction, the Grant Workshop host site, promotes activities that erase boundaries between strangers and neighbors.
Slides
