Geri Mannion is a philanthropy manager and liberal-expansionist immigration activist who has described support for immigration restrictions as “vitriolic nativism.” ¹ She is the director of the “Strengthening U.S. Democracy” program, which works to increase voter participation among immigrants, at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a left-of-center grantmaking organization. Mannion has also been involved with several left-of-center immigration advocacy groups, including Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees and the Four Freedoms Fund, a project of the left-of-center grant management group NEO Philanthropy. Mannion is also a committee chair at the Council on Foundations, a leadership organization for philanthropic organizations. ²

Career

Geri Mannion promotes the role of immigrant voters in achieving left-of-center political objectives and encourages philanthropists to support policies that increase immigration. ³

Carnegie Corporation of New York

The Carnegie Corporation was established in 1911 by Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. The Corporation originally focused on a relatively narrow range of issues that primarily affected Americans, with limited support for programs in the British Commonwealth. Over the decades, the influence of Carnegie and his descendants on the Corporation declined, and the Carnegie Corporation expanded its mandate to include issues around the world. The Carnegie Corporation also adopted a more left-of-center ideology and set of policy priorities. ⁴

Mannion heads the Carnegie Corporation’s “Democracy Program,” which supports increasing immigrants’ involvement in American politics, particularly in elections. The program claims to promote “voter participation of all citizens” and “bring together a left-to-right spectrum of viewpoints.” However, the program works to end deportation of illegal immigrants and increase immigration into the United States. ⁵

Council on Foundations

Mannion is the chair of the selection committee at the Council on Foundations, which assists grantmaking organizations. ⁶ The Council has an extensive list of partners which includes some of the biggest names in left-of-center philanthropy, including the Barr Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ⁷

Four Freedoms Fund

Mannion was a co-founder of the Four Freedoms Fund, a pro-immigration grantmaking collaborative sponsored by NEO Philanthropy. Formerly known as Public Interest Projects, NEO Philanthropy helps direct funds from charitable foundations to left-of-center social causes, hosts donor-advised funds, and serves as a fiscal sponsor for startup organizations. ⁸

The Four Freedoms Fund refers to immigrants as “New Americans” and promotes using immigration to advance other left-of-center policy objectives. The Fund supports programs that fight against enforcement of immigration laws and in support of granting legal status to illegal immigrants. The Fund also supports organizations that use immigration advocacy to advance left-of-center views on race, criminal justice, and LGBT issues. ⁹

Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR)

Mannion is a member of Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR). ¹⁰ The network of philanthropic organizations directs resources towards left-of-center immigrant and refugee advocacy groups, including those that promote the interests of illegal immigrants. GCIR also ties left-of-center views on race into its immigration-expansion agenda. ¹¹

Credentials

Geri Mannion received her bachelor of arts in English and her master of arts in political science from Fordham University in New York City. In 2009, Mannion received the Robert W. Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking for her role in launching the Four Freedoms Fund. In 2010, the NonProfit Times named her one of the top 50 leaders in the nonprofit sector. ¹²

1.          Geri Mannion et al. “By Teaming to Help Immigrants Become Citizens, Grant Makers Can Reject Today’s Vitriol.” Chronicle of Philanthropy. May 30, 2017. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.philanthropy.com/article/by-teaming-to-help-immigrants-become-citizens-grant-makers-can-reject-todays-vitriol/
2.          Geri Mannion. Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.carnegie.org/about/trustees-and-staff/geri-mannion/
3.      Geri Mannion. Chronicle of Philanthropy. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.philanthropy.com/author/geri-mannion
4.             About. Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.carnegie.org/about/
5.        Democracy. Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.carnegie.org/programs/strengthening-democracy/
6.    Geri Mannion. Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.carnegie.org/about/trustees-and-staff/geri-mannion/
7.       Our Partners. Council on Foundations. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.cof.org/page/our-partners
8.               David Callahan. “Inside NEO Philanthropy: An Unusual Funding Group Works to Unify the Social Justice World.” Inside Philanthropy. June 30, 2015. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2015/6/30/inside-neo-philanthropy-an-unusual-funding-group-works-to-un.html
9.              Four Freedoms Fund. NEO Philanthropy. Accessed May 6, 2021.

   Four Freedoms Fund™

10. Geri Mannion. Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.carnegie.org/about/trustees-and-staff/geri-mannion/
11.             About Us. Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.gcir.org/about-us
12.     Geri Mannion. Carnegie Corporation of New York. Accessed May 6, 2021. https://www.carnegie.org/about/trustees-and-staff/geri-mannion/