Endeavors

In 2021, Endeavors received a $530 million no-bid contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to manage the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. ^{6 7} Endeavors also secured an $87 million contract in March 2021, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, to provide 1,239 beds and other services to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. ^{8 9 10}

Endeavors received these U.S. government contracts just months after hiring Andrew Lorenzen-Strait, a former ICE official and Biden-Harris Transition team Department of Homeland Security policy and staffing matters advisor. He was Endeavors’ senior director for migrant services and federal affairs until September 2022. ^{10 11 12}

History and Leadership

Family Endeavors Inc. was originally founded in 1969 as the San Antonio Urban Council. ⁵ San Antonio Urban Council became San Antonio Urban Ministries in 1970 and included 35 churches by the mid-1970s. San Antonio Urban Council became a United Way agency in 2001 and in 2007, the organization rebranded as San Antonio Family Endeavors. ⁵

In 2013, San Antonio Family Endeavors shortened its name to Family Endeavors as the organization expanded its work beyond the immediate San Antonio area. In 2018, Family Endeavors become Endeavors. ⁵

Jon Allman is the CEO of Endeavors as of 2025. ¹³

Former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official and Biden-Harris Transition team Department of Homeland Security policy and staffing matters advisor Andrew Lorenzen-Strait was Endeavors’ senior director for migrant services and federal affairs, the organization’s main liaison to the federal government, until September 2022. ^{10 11 12} Prior to joining Endeavors, he operated his own consulting firm that dealt with the Administration for Children and Families, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services division tasked with detaining and processing child migrants. ^{7 14}

Activities

Endeavors is a “Christian community service organization” ¹ that operates U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staging centers for migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border ² and has been “deeply involved” in supporting migrants in the U.S. since 2012. ³

In 2021, Endeavors worked in 30 cities in 15 states, operating 9 facilities and reaching more than 60,000 individuals. Endeavors’ services are tailored for migrants who will be released into the interior of the United States ³ and include transportation to bus stations or airports so they can reach other destinations inside the United States. ^{4 5}

Endeavors’ other offerings include post-release services for unaccompanied child migrants and their sponsors ³ and support for families and individuals seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. ³ Endeavors’ “Migrant Services Program” also provides local transportation for migrants to and from U.S. Department of Homeland Security installations—including ports of entry and U.S. Border Patrol Stations—to maintain a constant flow of people to activated staging centers. The organization also provides local travel, immigration case management, legal support, and wellness support to new arrivals in the United States. ^{14 1 2}

In 2020, Endeavors launched an internal diversity and inclusion committee that oversaw 58 “educational opportunities” and featured 9 outside speakers. ¹⁵ That same year, Endeavors expanded strategic partners to include SA 2020, National Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (VOAD), Chris 180, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lutheran Support Services Florida, Lutheran Support Services Nebraska, the Utah Organization on Human Rights, the Hispanic Federation (HF), and others. ^{15 14}

In addition to its immigration-related work, Endeavors offers community services, ¹⁶ veterans tele-health services, ^{15 17}  and emergency services ¹⁸ for disaster relief. ³

In June 2025, Endeavors was one of 215 non-governmental organizations (NGO) the U.S House of Homeland Security Committee noted as having received federal funding during the Biden Administration to settle undocumented migrants in the United Stated while helping “fuel the worst border crisis in our nation’s history.” ¹⁹ House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) and Subcommittee Chairman Josh Brecheen (R-OK) sent letters to the over 200 organizations demanding the full amount in “federal grants, contracts or payments” they received  “between Jan. 19, 2021, and Jan. 20, 2025” as well as additional information on potential legal action they might have taken against the Federal Government and all services they provided to undocumented migrants during that period of time. The letters further read “[t]he Committee remains deeply concerned that NGOs that receive U.S. taxpayer dollars benefitted from the border crisis created by the Biden Administration, and stand ready to do so under future Democrat administrations.” ^{19 20}

U.S. Government Funding

In 2021, Endeavors received a no-bid contract potentially worth up to $530 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to manage the influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. This grant was 12 times its annual operating budget and the second-largest grant ever awarded by the agency overseeing the U.S. government’s migrant child program. ^{6 7 7}

Endeavors received the contract with the U.S. government just months after hiring Andrew Lorenzen-Strait as senior director for migrant services and federal services. Lorenzen-Strait is a former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official and Biden-Harris Transition team member who focused on Department of Homeland Security policy and staffing matters. ⁷

In March 2021, Endeavors also received an $87 million contract from ICE to provide 1,239 beds and other services to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. ^{8 9 10} This contract used six hotels to house migrants for up to three days while they were enrolled in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program. A watchdog report found that ICE was not justified in using a no-bid contract for this project, that the agency “did not adequately justify the need for the sole source contract to house migrant families,” and that the contract spent $17 million on hotel space and services that went largely unused, with usage rates averaging between 21 percent and 45 percent, depending on the hotel. ²¹ The Washington Examiner reported that ICE banned Lorenzen-Strait from any future work with ICE after an investigation revealed he was not cleared to work on the $87 million ICE contract the Examiner’s report suggested that “he had secured for his organization,” namely Endeavors. ²²

Additional Funding

Endeavors has also received funding from state- and local-level governments, foundations, and individual contributions. ^{1 23 1}

Endeavors received $206,863 from the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County in 2018; ²⁴ $20,000 from the San Antonio Area Foundation in 2017; ²⁵ and $19,203 from the Dallas Foundation in 2016. ²³

Endeavors has also received funding from various municipalities and organizations including the City of Corpus Christi, Texas; Harris County, Texas; the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina; the City of Dallas, Texas; the City of El Paso, Texas; the City of Houston, Texas; the City of San Antonio, Texas; Cumberland County, North Carolina; the Salvation Army; the Najim Family Foundation; the Valero Energy Foundation; the Genevieve and Ward Orsinger Foundation; the National Disability Institute; the Hispanic Federation (HF); Texas Health and Human Services; the Cohen Veterans Network; United Way; the USAA Foundation; and the Bob Woodruff Foundation. ¹

Financials

According to its 2023 990 form, Family Endeavors Inc., while doing business as Endeavors, reported a revenue of $569,567,263, expenses of $509,881,726, and total assets of $289,247,439. ²⁶

Affiliated Organizations

Endeavors is affiliated with Endeavors Unlimited Inc. ²⁷ In 2019, Endeavors made a grant of $480,000 to Endeavors Unlimited. ²⁸