TBF distributes $1 million to ten immigrant-serving nonprofits in first grants from Meeting the Moment: Supporting Our Immigrant Neighbors
May 4, 2026
Boston – The Boston Foundation today announced the distribution of $1 million in new grants to ten immigrant-serving organizations, in the first series of grants from its Meeting the Moment: Supporting Our Immigrant Neighbors initiative. Each organization will receive a $100,000 in general operating support to support their work on behalf of immigrants and other vulnerable communities, and to meet rising legal and other needs of immigrants.
Launched in March in coordination with the City of Boston and other philanthropic organizations, Supporting Our Immigrant Neighbors is a focused, three-prong strategy to provide resources for immigrant communities across Greater Boston. TBF is expanding legal aid and community-based supports to protect families facing immediate threats, providing flexible resources so immigrant-serving nonprofits can meet rising demand and plan for the long term, and investing in research, local journalism, and storytelling to counter misinformation and guide effective policy.
Grants in support of immigrant-serving organizations will also be provided through TBF programs including the Safety Net Grants program, and the Foundation is committed to working in partnership with its hundreds of donors to uplift critical organizations and provide additional resources to them.
“These grants are just a single element of our ongoing partnerships with public and private organizations and the family of Boston Foundation donors, as we use the full breadth of our approach to impact – grantmaking, research, partnerships, advocacy and more – to stand up for our values and for the immigrant neighbors who make those communities richer and more vibrant,” said Lee Pelton, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation.
Funding for Meeting the Moment: Supporting Our Immigrant Neighbors comes from the Boston Foundation and its community of donors. Since the beginning of the second Trump Administration, Boston Foundation donors have given more than $2.5 million from their donor advised funds to organizations aligned with our Supporting Our Immigrant Neighbors work.
TBF’s first Meeting the Moment effort, Sustaining Families, was launched this fall after federal cuts to access and eligibility to food programs shifted a massive burden to the region’s food-based nonprofits. To date, Sustaining Families has distributed more than $7 million in discretionary and donor funds to support anti-hunger organizations, including food pantries, regional distributors, advocates and other nonprofits.
Congratulations to the following nonprofit partners:
*Agencia ALPHA
*APIs CAN
*Asian American Resource Workshop
*Brazilian Worker Center
*Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI)
*La Colaborativa
*Lawyers for Civil Rights
*Neighbor to Neighbor
*Neighbors United for a Better East Boston (NUBE)
*Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project (PAIR)
"These grants are just a single element of our ongoing partnerships with public and private organizations and the family of Boston Foundation donors, as we use the full breadth of our approach to impact – grantmaking, research, partnerships, advocacy and more – to stand up for our values and for the immigrant neighbors who make those communities richer and more vibrant."
Lee Pelton, President and CEO
The ten immigrant-serving organizations supported in this round of grants are grouped into four interconnected categories that represent the breadth of current needs and the work being done to support and protect the rights of immigrant neighbors throughout Massachusetts. They are:
Social Safety Net Services
Brazilian Worker Center - The Brazilian Worker Center supports immigrant workers in defending and advancing their labor and immigrant rights so that immigrant workers and their families can live and work with dignity, safety, and opportunity.
Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI) - Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI)’s mission is to center the voice of immigrants and expedite their successful integration into the social and economic fabric of the United States with justice and dignity.
La Colaborativa - La Colaborativa is an immigrant-led organization dedicated to advancing social and economic justice by helping low-income immigrant families meet immediate basic needs and achieve long-term stability. Through integrated services, community leadership, and advocacy, they support families in securing housing, accessing resources, and building pathways to economic mobility.
Legal Aid
Lawyers for Civil Rights - Lawyers for Civil Rights works with people of color, immigrants, and low-income communities to fight discrimination, foster equity, and pursue justice through creative and courageous legal advocacy, education, and economic empowerment. In partnership with law firms and community allies, they provide free, life-changing legal support to individuals, families, and small businesses.
Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project (PAIR) - Political Asylum Immigration Representation Project (PAIR) provides high-quality free legal services to indigent asylum seekers and unjustly detained immigrants who are seeking relief in immigration proceedings, primarily through a pro bono model, so that they have equal protection of the law and access to legal counsel without charge.
Community Organizing
Asian American Resource Workshop - The Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW) is a movement home for pan-Asian communities in Greater Boston. They are a member-led organization committed to building grassroots power through political education, creative expression, and issue-based and neighborhood organizing.
Neighbor to Neighbor - Neighbor to Neighbor organizes with multi-racial, working-class, and immigrant communities to build power, activate our self-determination, and collectively challenge systems of domination.
Neighbors United for a Better East Boston (NUBE) - Neighbors United for a Better East Boston (NUBE) is a grassroots organization that works to build community power and participatory democracy through organizing, advocacy, leadership development and civic action to create a better and more just East Boston and beyond.
Policy and Advocacy
APIs CAN - The Asian Pacific Islander’s Civic Action Network (APIs CAN) is a statewide coalition in Massachusetts, representing over 20 AAPI and primarily working class-serving organizations. United in a pan-Asian identity and in deep solidarity with all Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities, APIs CAN is committed to driving transformative change for racial justice, economic equity, and immigrant rights, in pursuit of collective liberation.
Agencia ALPHA - Agencia ALPHA improves the quality of life for immigrants in Massachusetts by empowering their members to become leaders, overcome social challenges, and fight against xenophobia. ALPHA is a Spanish acronym for Alcanzando Logros Para Hispanos Ahora, which translates to "Reaching Goals For Latinos Today," and represents the work to integrate immigrants - now reaching beyond Latino immigrants - into the social, economic, and political fabric of society to improve their living conditions in the US, transform lives, and change socio-political and economic structures.
To learn more about Meeting the Moment and the Sustaining Families initiative, visit tbf.org/meetingthemoment.