Demonstration Project: Nexus

Strengthening Refugee and Immigrant Led Organizations

Background
Immigration to North America has increased significantly in recent decades, both in absolute numbers and in percentage of the population. Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean are the source of more than half of the immigrants in the United States, while Europe and Asia provide the bulk of immigrants to Canada. Immigrants come to North America from all corners of the earth, driven by economic forces, flight from war and conflict, or reunifi cation with family members.

A growing number of nonprofit organizations have been created by immigrants and refugees to serve their communities in North America. These immigrant- and refugee-led organizations (IRLOs) work to provide services and meet a variety of needs, while at the same time building the infrastructure of these communities. Capacity builders have a special opportunity and responsibility to provide appropriate and effective services to IRLOs. The Nexus Project was created to help meet this challenge. Through a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Innovation Fund, Fieldstone Alliance initiated the two-year project in January 2004.

Goal
The goal of Nexus was to enhance the knowledge and skills of capacity builders across North America in working with immigrant- and refugee-led organizations.

The project had two main components:

• research on capacity building with IRLOs and
• formation of a peer learning community among those who build the capacity of these organizations.

Research
Wilder Research was hired to review the literature on capacity building with IRLOs, to interview IRLOs that had undertaken capacity building activities, and to interview capacity building providers. A separate document, Factors in Successful Capacity Building with Immigrant- and Refugee-Led Organizations, contains findings from the research. There is also a summary of the research in Appendix 1 of the final project report.

Peer learning community
The Nexus Project brought together eleven capacity building organizations that work with IRLOs in North America.

Over the course of two years, representatives of the Nexus partner organizations shared resources through monthly conference calls and convened for three two-day gatherings.

Results
Final Report (1.48 MB PDF)

 

For more information, please contact Sandy Jacobsen at 651.556.4510 or email her at sjacobsen@FieldstoneAlliance.org.