Opportunities for Action

How can I get involved?

For Individuals:

Join Friends of Welcoming. Become a Friend of Welcoming at www.friendsofwelcoming.org Friends of Welcoming is an online platform where you–by yourself or with a team–can earn points for performing Welcoming activities in your community. You can use your points to earn fun prizes and even win a cash prize for your favorite charity!

Work with a Local Affiliate. Click here to see if there is an existing affiliate near you. If so, contact the person listed here and tell him or her that your would like to get involved.

For Organizations or Community Coalitions: (Note: If you feel that your organization or community coalition may be ready to launch a Welcoming initiative, please contact Jessy Molina immediately at jessy@welcomingamerica.org or 404.955.3273).

Work with a Local Affiliate. Click here to see if there is an existing affiliate near you. If so, contact the person listed and tell him or her that your organization would like to work with the local affiliate.
Form a Team on Friends of Welcoming. Join Friends of Welcoming at www.friendsofwelcoming.org. As an organization, you and your colleagues can join Friends of Welcoming as a team and participate in activities to make your community more welcoming and compete for prizes.
Start Down the “Affiliate Track”. If your organization or community coalition wants to be more ambitious, and set up a full-fledged Welcoming initiative, you should head down the affiliate track. Below is a chart describing the benefits and responsibilities of each “stop” on the track. If you feel that your organization or community coalition may be ready to launch a Welcoming initiative, please contact Jessy Molina at jessy@welcomingamerica.org or 404.955.3273.

Category	Benefits	Responsibilities
Stage 1: Become an Emerging Partner	Partner organizations will receive strategic planning support as they set goals and plan their initiative, and fund development ideas. This support will come in the form of quarterly conference call trainings with all emerging partners and “office hours” which are times each week where Welcoming America staff will be available to answer questions.	You must apply to become an emerging partner. To gain approval your organization must endorse Welcoming America’s principles, and must convene a diverse group of people who are willing to serve as your local Welcoming Committee. This group should consist of members from several sectors within the community such as: non-profits, businesses, places of worship and others. Your committee should include both immigrants and long-time residents.*
Stage 2: Become an Affiliate	The application process is demanding, but those who qualify will receive extensive programmatic and fund-raising support as well as networking opportunities with other affiliates. Affiliates receive Welcoming America staff support, site visits, fund development support, access to monthly conference calls, special trainings, and further training and networking opportunities at our annual national conference of affiliates. New affiliates can also apply for small matching grants (up to $5000) from the national office.	You must demonstrate that you have broadened your Welcoming committee further, and raised sufficient resources to sustain your Welcoming work over time. We are happy to give you some ideas/support around fundraising.* You must commit to completing the required qualitative and quantitative evaluations of your work so that we can ensure that all Welcoming affiliates are reaching their goals of making their communities more welcoming to all.

Friends of Welcoming Affiliate Track: Your organization can choose to participate on the Friends of Welcoming affiliate track. By joining, your team will earn points for completing the activities necessary to become a full-fledged affiliate. If you out-perform others on the affiliate track, you could win funding to support your welcoming initiative!

If you have more questions, please visit the FAQ page.