Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)

GCIR’s listed funders and partners include Northern California Grantmakers, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Unbound Philanthropy, and the Democracy Fund. ²

Background

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) is a philanthropic network of funders and grantmakers focused on immigrant and refugee issues. It was established in 1990 by the Ford Foundation, the J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the New York Community Trust, and the Rosenberg Foundation. ³ As of 2026, it had over 120 member organizations and 1,200 individual grantmakers in its network that coordinated “hundreds of millions of dollars to support immigrant and refugee communities across the country.” ¹ According to Inside Philanthropy, it is the “primary funder affinity group” that is solely dedicated to immigrants and refugees. ³

GCIR provides its members with information resources and opportunities for networking and collaboration focused on supporting immigrants and refugees. ⁴

According to GCIR, funding organizations that serve undocumented migrants is vital, claiming that they are entitled to essential services and should be included in grantmakers’ funding strategies. ⁵

Work Areas

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) provides education and networking opportunities for its members by hosting webinars, conferences, working group sessions, and meetings. It publishes educational resources, including website content, issue briefs, research reports, and social media updates. It incorporates other left-of-center social advocacy issues into its practices. ¹

The 1 in 4 Immigrant Children and Families Project is designed to educate grant makers and facilitate grant making that advocates for the support of the children of undocumented immigrants. ⁶

The Advancing Economic Justice Community of Practice focuses on funding to support the immigrant workforce. This includes economic policy advocacy supporting universal basic income programs and union organizing, supporting work opportunities for illegal immigrants, and addressing workplace discrimination. ⁷

GCIR’s Resourcing Rural Belonging Community of Practice identifies funding opportunities focused on rural migrant communities to address areas such as working conditions, job training, and language barriers. ⁸

The Transnational Strategy Community of Practice was launched to provide funders with information and resources on the causes that “drive the displacement, exploitation, and oppression of migrants” to develop funding strategies that address these issues. ⁹

Advocacy

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees’ (GCIR) 2026 policy positions included opposing policies that “narrow or revoke legal pathways for entering or remaining in the United States;” opposing military actions against, detention of, and deportation of illegal immigrants; and opposing “state government cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.” ¹⁰

In March 2026, GCIR representatives addressed members of Congress in support of several immigrant-related actions, including reducing funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and prohibiting immigration enforcement in schools, hospitals, courthouses, and churches. It spoke out against legislation to target local governments that do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities (“sanctuary cities”) and conservative voting-administration legislation. It partnered with several advocacy groups including Grantmakers in the Arts, Grantmakers in Health, and Funders Together for Housing Justice in this initiative. ¹¹

GCIR previously issued statements advocating policy positions, including support for birthright citizenship and its disappointment in United States Supreme Court rulings allowing the Trump administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status and enabling the government’s ability to turn away asylum seekers. ¹²

GCIR is one of over 140 organizations that endorsed the Lifting Immigrant Families Through Benefits Access Restoration Act which would eliminate the five-year waiting period for green card holders, DACA recipients, and other immigrants to access to federal benefits such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and the Supplemental Security Income program. The legislation was introduced in June 2026 by Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ). ¹³

Funders and Partners

Northern California Grantmakers has an ongoing partnership with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees to encourage funders to contribute towards supporting immigrant and refugee advocacy as of 2026. GCIR’s other focus investment areas include “resourcing progressive social movements,” multiracial democracy, and climate programs. ¹⁴

Other listed GCIR funders and partners include the Council of Michigan Foundations, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Worker Justice and Dignity Fund, Unbound Philanthropy, the Democracy Fund, the Satterberg Foundation, the Hyams Foundation, and the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. ²

Leadership

As of 2026, Marissa Tirona was the president of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. She became president in November 2020, replacing GCIR’s founding president, Daranee Petsod. She started her career as a project director for the National Employment Lawyers Association. Before joining GCIR, Tirona was a director for the Blue Shield of California Foundation and a program officer for the Ford Foundation. As of 2026 she is a board member of Grantmakers in the Arts, the Foundation for Child Development, and the United Philanthropy Forum. ^{15  16}

Daranee Petsod was GCIRs founding president from 1998 through 2020. Before joining GCIR Petsod held positions at several nonprofit organizations including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, and the United Way metro Chicago chapter. After leaving GCIR she founded the California Immigrant Resilience Fund, which partners with the state of California to provide cash assistance to illegal immigrants in that state, focusing on Black, indigenous, LGBT, and Asian Pacific Islander immigrants. She is a board member of the United Philanthropy Forum. ^{17  18}