Q2 Grants: OneAmerica’s Grassroots Advocacy for Immigrant Communities

Rural and immigrant communities work toward changing systems that affect them but often don’t really see them.

“Like many families across the country, the immigrant and refugee communities we serve in Washington are facing, among other challenges, an affordability crisis,” says Magaly Smith, communications director at OneAmerica. “They need elected leaders to champion programs that would benefit all of us. Policies that help immigrant and refugee families thrive will help all families thrive.”

Grassroots organizing by OneAmerica, Washington state’s largest immigrant and refugee advocacy organization, changes unjust structures and policies to better represent the needs of immigrants, refugees, and people living in rural communities.

A two-year, $400,000 grant to OneAmerica was one of 34 grants approved by the Foundation’s board in the second quarter of 2026. The general operating grant will support OneAmerica’s efforts to improve the lives of immigrants and refugees and, by extension, strengthen our society and democracy. Examples include supporting affordable childcare for families—including a living wage for immigrant and refugee providers and staff—and shifting public narratives about the needs of working-class; immigrant; and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities.

Daily challenges can inspire transformational change.

OneAmerica focuses its work on three counties: King and Clark counties, which include primarily urban areas, and Yakima, which is home to many rural communities.

“The issues facing farm workers in Yakima are very different from the issues we see in more urban areas,” says Smith. “In Yakima, we focus on workplace rights, including environmental issues they’re facing, access to legal representation, and childcare resources. Often, the issues folks in rural communities face are intensified,” she adds, “because they have fewer resources overall.”

Smith shared the story of Maria, a farm worker in Pasco, WA, who struggled to find a safe place for her children when she left at 4:00 a.m. to work the fields. She wasn’t alone; many of her fellow workers faced the same dilemma. To help fill the gap, Maria became a childcare provider in 2017.

Today, as part of OneAmerica, Maria is a community leader speaking out about changes in childcare policies that will support working families. Maria’s story offers one example of how community members are best positioned to advocate for and create solutions that address the specific challenges of their community to rebuild broken systems.

A resilient and truly representative democracy requires participation rather than exclusion.

Immigrant and refugee communities—in Washington state and across the country—are facing several increased challenges, whether through policy or tactics. For example, aggressive federal immigration enforcement (as reported in our March story “Lingering Fear”) has amped up concerns for basic safety. These kinds of actions have made long-term planning difficult.

OneAmerica defends the immigrants and refugees who call Washington home from harmful national and state policies that create immediate challenges for those communities. At the same time, it nurtures a new generation of leaders within immigrant and refugee communities to support representation in a fair democratic process.

A key strategy is shifting the largely negative public narrative about working-class, immigrant, and BIPOC communities to more accurately reflect their experiences in and contributions to their local communities, Washington state, and our nation.

OneAmerica’s work aims to welcome immigrants at every level of our democracy. Its programs are built on the belief that policy changes supporting justice are just the start of advocating for a thriving Washington where resilient and resourceful immigrant and refugee communities are valued.

Q2 grantmaking highlights organizing and advocacy.

In the second quarter of 2026, our board approved funding of more than $10 million across 34 grants. Q2 grantmaking focused on community-led grantee partner efforts to overcome unjust systems by strengthening civic infrastructure and supporting grassroots organizing and advocacy.

The grants are part of our ongoing commitment to help our grantee partners address the immediate and long-term needs of their communities by carrying forward the commitment we made last year to double our grantmaking budget into 2026. In addition to OneAmerica, Q2 grantee partners include:

Minnesota Voice of St. Paul, MN: $500,000 in general operating support over two years to support its advocacy efforts amid rising authoritarian trends and increasing challenges for democratic participation

FAST Blackfeet of Browning, MT: two-year general operations grant of $500,000 to support its programs promoting long-term health and food sovereignty in the Blackfeet Nation

For more context about our recent grantmaking or the Foundation’s mission and approach, contact Paul Bachleitner, communications director, at pbachleitner@nwaf.org.

Check out these recent posts that reflect the Foundation’s work so far this year.

President and CEO Kevin Walker discusses the importance of our When Policy Hits Home series and the real impacts of policy on communities we serve.

At our first solidarity summit, we heard directly from grantee partners in Idaho about how to stand alongside them as funders.

Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion (JEDI) Director Margie Jo Eun Joo Andreason reflects on how and why we created a wealth acknowledgment statement and the connection to our foundation’s origins.