Immigrant Justice

Emergent Needs Fund

In 2018, Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation established the Emergent Needs Fund to help community-based organizations address their most immediate needs in serving immigrant and refugee communities. SYL Foundation remains fully committed to its primary mission of ensuring access to health care and education but also recognizes there are multiple factors that can affect immigrants’ and refugees’ safety and well-being.

Each year, we listen and learn from our community partners before the Foundation Board of Directors establishes the annual Emergent Needs Fund priorities. Our grants reflect our commitment to centering solutions created by and for the community, and our priorities include both immediate needs and efforts toward longer-term systemic change. It is our goal to serve communities that disproportionately experience the negative impacts of systemic racism and bias, and to support organizations that have significant leadership from Black, indigenous, people of color (BIPOC), and immigrant communities. While Emergent Needs grantees are selected for their effectiveness in addressing specific community needs, all grants are for general operating support. Applications are reviewed by invitation only.

In 2022, Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation's Emergent Needs Fund support organizations that are working in the following priority focus areas:

Basic needs support, including food and housing
Trusted advocate/community navigator programs to link people to linguistically and culturally appropriate services
Legal representation and assistance
Immigrant rights advocacy, including anti-racism advocacy and education

Emergent Needs Fund Grantee Partners

Washington Immigrant & Refugee Funder Collaborative

Sheng-Yen Lu Foundation was a founding member of, and remains an active participant in, the Washington (originally Seattle) Immigrant and Refugee Funder Collaborative, which was initially established as part of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees’ (GCIR) Delivering on the Dream Network. The Collaborative convenes local grant-makers in a participatory effort to learn about issues of concern to immigrants and refugees, engages in advocacy on behalf of immigrant communities, and takes action through collective grantmaking to local organizations serving immigrants and refugees.