Fort Wayne, Indiana and eight other local communities join a network of more than 70 localities across 35 states deploying economic research and multi-sector welcoming plans to forward inclusion and economic opportunity for all.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Today, the American Immigration Council (the Council) and Welcoming America selected Fort Wayne, Indiana, to receive a Gateways for Growth (G4G) Research, Technical Assistance, and Matching Grant award as part of the fifth cohort of the initiative.
Amani Family Services, Downtown Fort Wayne and Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. will partner in creating a local narrative, backed in data, on the importance of building an inclusive community for immigrants and refugees. Amani Family Services serves as the host organization for Welcoming Fort Wayne, a local chapter of Welcoming America.
“Amani is so grateful and encouraged to work alongside two pillar organizations in our community, Downtown Fort Wayne and Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. to invest time and resources toward overcoming challenges of inclusivity for our city,” said Ewelina Connolly of Amani Family Services.
Local communities across the country have long understood the positive effects of their growing local immigrant population. Newcomers help drive population growth, revitalize neighborhoods, spur innovation, and enrich communities with cultural diversity. Fort Wayne, Indiana, as part of the G4G 2023 cohort, is thinking proactively about creating an environment that sends a message of inclusion and social cohesion, maximizes the contributions of all residents, and gives community members the tools they need to thrive together.
“As we work towards advancing Downtown Fort Wayne as the vibrant, urban core of northeast Indiana, making the heart of our region more welcoming to new employees, residents and businesses is simply good practice,” said Michael Galbraith, President of Downtown Fort Wayne. “Our unparalleled growth as a city and region depends on increasing growth, prosperity and diversity for new and existing residents.”
G4G awardees will receive a combination of the following:
● Customized quantitative research reports from the Council on the demographic and socioeconomic contributions immigrants make in their communities; and/or
● Tailored technical assistance from the Council and Welcoming America to support communities as they draft, execute, and communicate a multi-sector immigrant inclusion strategy; and, in some cases
● Matching grant funds from the Council and Welcoming America, which, combined with support from a local funder, are used to aid in a community’s strategic planning process.
“Being a welcoming and inclusive community is more than just the right thing to do; it’s also good for business. For years now, business leaders—locally and across the country—have listed workforce shortages as their biggest challenge,” said Ellen Cutter, Chief Economic Development Officer at Greater Fort Wayne Inc. “Newcomers can play an important role in overcoming that challenge and building a nationally recognized economy here in Allen County. When that happens, our entire community wins.”
Launched in 2016, G4G is a competitive opportunity for localities to receive research support, technical assistance, and/or matching grant funds from the Council and Welcoming America to improve immigrant inclusion in their communities. This year’s awardees, alongside Fort Wayne, Indiana, include:
● Brockton, Massachusetts
● North Shore Region, Massachusetts
● Ottawa County, Michigan
● Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
● Portland and Southern Region, Maine
● Santa Clara County, California
● Santa Fe, New Mexico
● South Bend and Michiana Region, Indiana
“We are delighted to see the Gateways for Growth Challenge expand to another set of localities that reflect the diversity of our nation,” said Molly Hilligoss, Network Director at Welcoming America. “With each cohort, there is an opportunity to support and connect local leaders making their communities more welcoming and resilient places where everyone, including immigrants, can prosper and belong.”
Year-round, the Council and Welcoming America maintain an interactive map at GatewaysForGrowth.org that serves as a clearinghouse for the successes of all current and prior G4G awardees.
“The Gateways for Growth program helps communities quantify what many people already know – that immigrants play a key role in driving innovation and growth,” said Mo Kantner, Director of State and Local Initiatives at the American Immigration Council. “We’re excited to see the network continue to grow to nearly eighty communities, and look forward to supporting localities with data and technical assistance as they work to ensure that all residents are welcome and have pathways to success.”
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About the American Immigration Council
The American Immigration Council works to strengthen America by shaping how America thinks about and acts towards immigrants and immigration and by working toward a more fair and just immigration system that opens its doors to those in need of protection and unleashes the energy and skills that immigrants bring. The Council brings together problem solvers and employs four coordinated approaches to advance change—litigation, research, legislative and administrative advocacy, and communications. In January 2022, the Council and New American Economy merged to combine a broad suite of advocacy tools to better expand and protect the rights of immigrants, more fully ensure immigrants’ ability to succeed economically, and help make the communities they settle in more welcoming. Follow the latest Council news and information on ImmigrationImpact.com and Twitter @immcouncil.
Visit Americanimmigrationcouncil.org to learn more.
About Welcoming America
Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. We believe that all people, including immigrants, are valued contributors and vital to the success of our communities and shared future.
Through the Welcoming Network, we work to help communities develop the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion to create an environment where everyone can truly thrive. Learn more at welcomingamerica.org.
About Amani Family Services
Amani Family Services is a local nonprofit organization serving more than 2,000 individuals from around the world. Learn more about Amani Family Services at www.amanifamilyservices.org.
About Downtown Fort Wayne
Downtown Fort Wayne partners with a wide variety of public, not-for-profit and private sector organizations to make Downtown Fort Wayne an attractive place to live, work and play. Downtown Fort Wayne’s mission is to advance Downtown Fort Wayne as the vibrant, urban core of northeast Indiana. For more information about Downtown Fort Wayne, go to DowntownFortWayne.com.
About Greater Fort Wayne, Inc.
Greater Fort Wayne Inc. is the single point of contact for economic growth and business services in Fort Wayne – Allen County, Indiana. We focus on supporting local business, attracting new business, and improving our community’s quality of place to grow jobs, wages, and the economy. Go to www.greaterfortwayneinc.com
