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<h3>A Year of Impact: Resilience Grants Support Refugee and Immigrant Communities in 2022</h3><p>Partnering with a variety of funders, the Hello Neighbor Network distributed 34 <a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/resilience-grants">Resilience Grants</a> across four thematic areas in 2022, dispersing a total of $90,000+ to 20 participating nonprofits.</p><p>A cornerstone of the <a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/">Hello Neighbor Network</a>, Resilience Grants target intersections of funder goals and organizational need. In the interest equitably of redistributing power and financial resources to local communities, application and reporting requirements are minimal.</p><p>Resilience Grants touched 19 communities in 15 states, generating impact of both breadth and depth.</p><ul><li>In Nashville, Tennesse, the Elmahaba Center provided interpretation at multiple vaccine clinics, facilitating vaccines and boosters for more than 50 attendees.</li><li>In Lincoln, Nebraska, ECHO Collective welcomed three Ukrainian women into their Yarn Circle, building community for two hours per week throughout fall 2022.</li></ul><p>The power of Resilience Grants — and the organizations that wield them — is varied and far-reaching. Read below for more examples of life-changing impact.</p><p>We are grateful to our funding partners and, most importantly, are in awe of the tireless and impactful work of our member nonprofits. Thank you!</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*dowvGwyK_IeIaeCPsN6Kiw.png" /></figure><p>The following organizations received at least one Resilience Grant this year:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.adcminnesota.org/">African Development Center</a> (Minneapolis, MN)</li><li><a href="https://www.eatntalkafrica.org">Eat N Talk Africa</a> (Omaha, NE)</li><li><a href="https://echocollectivene.org/">ECHO Collective</a> (Lincoln, NE)</li><li><a href="http://www.elmahabacenter.com">Elmahaba Center</a> (Nashville, TN)</li><li><a href="https://www.dwellmobile.org/">Dwell Mobile</a> (Mobile, AL)</li><li><a href="https://www.Gera-ngo.org">Global Emergency Response and Assistance</a> (Paterson, NJ)</li><li><a href="https://www.karenksn.org">Karen Society of Nebraska</a> (Lincoln, NE)</li><li><a href="https://n2nsb.com">Neighbor to Neighbor</a> (South Bend, IN)</li><li><a href="https://www.NewNeighborsPartnership.org">New Neighbors Partnership</a> (New York, NY)</li><li><a href="https://oneworldonelovenj.org">One World One Love</a> (Summit, NJ)</li><li><a href="https://openfieldintl.org/">Open Field</a> (Pittsburgh, PA)</li><li><a href="https://ocjcr.org/">Orange County Jewish Coalition for Refugees</a> (Santa Ana, CA)</li><li><a href="https://www.refugeehopepartners.org">Refugee Hope Partners</a> (Raleigh, NC)</li><li><a href="https://ruthsrefuge.org">Ruth’s Refuge</a> (Brooklyn, NY)</li><li><a href="https://www.softlandingmissoula.org">Soft Landing Missoula</a> (Missoula, MT)</li><li><a href="https://www.wtap.org/">The Welcome to America Project</a> (Tempe, AZ)</li><li><a href="https://www.treetopscollective.org">Treetops Collective</a> (Grand Rapids, MI)</li><li><a href="https://www.valleyneighborswelcome.org">Valley Neighbors</a> (Kalispell, MT)</li><li><a href="https://www.weavetales.org/what-we-do">Weavetales</a> (Jacksonville, FL)</li><li><a href="http://WelcomeNeighborSTL.com">Welcome Neighbor STL</a> (St. Louis, MO)</li></ul><p><strong>Keep reading to learn more about 2022’s Resilience Grants!</strong></p><h3>Staff Appreciation and Support Resilience Grant</h3><p><strong>Theme: </strong>Recipient organizations used this Resilience Grant to support current volunteers or staff, or to create frameworks for future staffing.</p><p><strong>Funder:</strong> <a href="https://walmart.org/">The Walmart Foundation</a></p><p><strong>Total amount distributed:</strong> $14,825</p><p><strong>Number of recipient organizations:</strong> 15</p><p><strong>Examples of impact:</strong></p><ul><li>New Neighbors Partnership hosted a staff picnic: <strong><em>“</em></strong><em>Preparation for the [staff] picnic was very exciting and joyful because it was the first face-to-face meeting of our staff, all from different countries, cultures, and national cuisines…it is difficult to convey the excitement and warmth that our staff and our social work interns experienced…Those two and a half hours flew by very quickly.</em><strong><em>”</em></strong></li><li>Weavetales offered a trauma-informed training to staff, interns, and board members, and organized a board and community retreat: <em>“Our retreat was full of beautiful conversations and stories. Our kids played together, some people prayed together. We found ourselves laughing at jokes and excitedly talking about food.”</em></li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*_IU4boBIaVp77n4Fx_NElw.jpeg" /><figcaption>Board, staff, volunteers, and supporters of Weavetales come together for a community-building retreat.</figcaption></figure><h3>Ukrainian Support Resilience Grant</h3><p><strong>Theme: </strong>Recipient organizations are using this Resilience Grant to support programs that serve current or future Ukrainian arrivals.</p><p><strong>Funder:</strong> <a href="https://posnerfoundation.org/">The Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh</a></p><p><strong>Total amount distributed:</strong> $25,000</p><p><strong>Number of recipient organizations:</strong> 7</p><p><strong>Examples of impact:</strong></p><ul><li>Ruth’s Refuge supplemented their storage space and purchased beds, bedding, and kitchen supplies for new arrivals: <em>“The Hello Neighbor<br>Network/Posner Foundation’s Ukrainian support funds gave us the needed flexibility to purchase beds and bedding that worked best for the family’s particular needs and gave us the storage capacity to allow [them] to choose furnishings that would work in their new home.”</em></li><li>Neighbor to Neighbor used funds to help purchase a driving simulator: <em>“Our [New Driver’s Program] program will be open to all newcomers in our county, and we will give priority to Ukrainians and Afghans. There is a buzz around the newcomer community about the opportunity to learn to drive through driving lessons on the simulator.”</em></li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*wpuaa_0kbvkJIwikah29Rg.png" /><figcaption>Neighbor to Neighbor shares their soon-to-arrive driving simulator.</figcaption></figure><h3>Interpretation and Translation Resilience Grant</h3><p><strong>Theme:</strong> Recipient organizations used this Resilience Grant to meet urgent translation and interpretation needs.</p><p><strong>Funder:</strong> <a href="http://www.harnishfoundation.org/">The Harnisch Foundation</a></p><p><strong>Total amount distributed:</strong> $2,500</p><p><strong>Number of recipient organizations:</strong> 5</p><p><strong>Examples of impact:</strong></p><ul><li>Soft Landing Missoula translated Youth Program permission slips into Arabic, Dari, Pashto, and Swahili: <em>“Having properly translated permission slips with clear program expectations was a huge step for us that has so far paid off. Youth staff and volunteers are reporting better communication and trust built with the parents of the children we serve, as well as fewer conflicts following clearer program expectations being translated and then signed by the kids and their families.”</em></li><li>Elmahaba Center provided interpretation for a number of community events, including two vaccine clinics (at which more than 50 people received COVID boosters or vaccines), two voter registration drives, and two events focused on the importance of reading to children: <em>“Overall, this grant helped us meet the needs of our community in the midst of a pandemic and also during an election season, while also supporting our ongoing programming and allowing us to use [other] funds for other needs, like gas for our food deliveries and furniture deliveries, hot coffee for our outdoor events in the winter.”</em></li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/960/1*Rte2dbYI-H_DoD9uNtI7iA.jpeg" /><figcaption>Interpreters support an Elmahaba Center vaccine clinic.</figcaption></figure><h3>Operations and Staffing Resilience Grant</h3><p><strong>Theme:</strong> Recipient organizations will use this Resilience Grant to support day-to-day operations and staffing.</p><p><strong>Funder:</strong> <a href="https://www.unrefugees.org/">USA for UNHCR</a></p><p><strong>Total amount distributed:</strong> $50,000</p><p><strong>Number of recipient organizations:</strong> 7</p><p><strong>Example of impact:</strong></p><ul><li>ECHO Collective provided raises and holiday bonuses to their staff: <em>“Your support helped us honor the hard work of seven staff members through raises in their hourly wage and a holiday bonus…In 2023, we are committed to continuing to fundraise in order to increase our payroll capacity.”</em></li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*jqeEc55rPL_br4hX1lr1gg.png" /><figcaption>ECHO Collective staff celebrate raises and holiday bonuses.</figcaption></figure><h3>Thank you!</h3><p>A HUGE thank you to our funders, and to the incredible nonprofits that create lasting and meaningful change in their communities. <strong>For more information or to become a funder, visit </strong><a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/"><strong>neighbornetwork.io</strong></a><strong> or contact Danielle Grooms at danielle@helloneighbor.io / (412) 567–3946.</strong></p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*h08LA8BptiZbSJlrUe4bpg.png" /></figure><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/202/0*th04jAz46YsAj2Rk.png" /></figure><p>Learn more about the <a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/">Hello Neighbor Network</a>. The Hello Neighbor Network accepts applications for Fellows every fall. <a href="http://eepurl.com/hnAmkT">Sign up for our newsletter</a> to be the first to know when applications open.</p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=cde96c9c9154" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr><p><a href="https://medium.com/hello-neighbor-network/a-year-of-impact-resilience-grants-support-refugee-and-immigrant-community-members-in-2022-cde96c9c9154">A Year of Impact: Resilience Grants Support Refugee and Immigrant Community Members in 2022</a> was originally published in <a href="https://medium.com/hello-neighbor-network">Hello Neighbor Network</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.</p>