Economic Inclusion Funders Roundtable #3 (In-person)
October 22 @ 10:15 am - 11:45 am CDT
The Economic Inclusion Funders Roundtable series is a collaborative learning and action initiative convened by the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund in partnership with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Workforce Matters.
The third meeting of the Roundtable will be held in conjunction with GCIR’s National Conference. Please see www.gcir.org for more information about registration.
Immigrants contribute to the economic and social fabric of communities but continue to face systemic barriers to accessing good work. For funders focused on economic opportunity and workforce development, incorporating immigrant-inclusive strategies into grantmaking can benefit everyone and advance broader institutional missions, regardless of specific funding priorities and strategies.
We seek to create a space for funders to come together to learn about opportunities to partner and support economic inclusion solutions for immigrants and refugees.
This four-part series kicked off in April 2026 and includes an in-person session at GCIR’s 2026 National Convening in October. Our goal is to identify philanthropic strategies that build pathways to good work faster, strengthen immigrant and worker power, and expand access to capital for immigrant-led organizations.
Objectives
- Provide a structured forum to exchange strategies with and learn from peer funders
- Learn directly from immigrant-led organizations and explore community-rooted approaches
- Offer opportunities to identify collaboration or co-funding
- Align on what works and what is missing for immigrants’ access to economic opportunity and quality jobs from different funder perspectives
- Strengthen trust-based and participatory approaches that shift power and leadership to immigrant workers
- Identify high-leverage opportunities for systems change
Who should join?
Philanthropic institutions, corporate foundations and employer-linked funders, family offices and impact investors, donor collaboratives, intermediaries, and philanthropy networks.