Benefit for Western Mass Asylum Support Network

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Why are we fundraising? / Why support WMASN?

Immigrants often have no social or financial safety nets when they arrive in the U.S., and they are shut out of access to resources like housing, healthcare, education, etc that we sometimes take for granted. Many immigrants are multiply-marginalized, and they simultaneously experience racism / ableism / Islamophobia etc while also navigating cultural and language barriers. Asylum seekers are usually ineligible for work permits for months, and they are almost always excluded from refugee and other immigrant assistance programs. Many of our members are just beginning to heal from trauma in their countries of origin, when the US government and immigration system becomes the most significant source of trauma in their lives. As our democratic institutions crumble, the interconnected crises we are all facing go on to disproportionately affect asylum-seekers, and push them further towards unsafe and extractive situations.

We refuse to characterize our friends and neighbours as helpless victims in need of white saviors, and we protect their rights to tell their stories only if, when, and how they choose. But when applying for grant funding or soliciting donations from philanthropists, we frequently face pressure to monetize and exploit our members' trauma and marginalized identities. Our network provides our members with the information, and where possible the direct resources, to interrupt these processes of marginalization, and to build towards health, security, and stability for themselves and their families.

What are we fundraising for? / What role do recurring donors play in fundraising for mutual aid?

Some of you might ask, “How much money does WMASN need to raise?” or “What difference is my donation going to make?” We are a volunteer-run, mutual-aid network, and we distribute most of our donations in direct aid to asylum seekers. The expenses we fund vary so widely that they can be hard to characterize. And our “budget” — believe it or not — is whatever we have in our bank at any given moment.

For example, so far this summer, we’re both sad and proud to say that we’ve successfully helped our members navigate 5 different housing crises. As Massachusetts is ending rent subsidy programs and closing shelters, WMASN is among the many orgs who have been trying to fill the gaps.

This is one of the reasons why recurring donors are so crucial to our work. When we know that our funds will be replenished every month, we can show up to meet the needs of the moment.

This year, we’ve also witnessed a flood of capricious, perplexing and cruel Executive Orders and policies that have been stifling our member base’s lives and freedoms.

We are a volunteer run organization, and all of our donations go directly to aiding asylum seekers in establishing a new life for themselves. Here are some examples of where your donation will go:

$20 buys:

• 100 phone minutes from detention
• A co-pay on children’s medicine
• Food from the commissary for those in detention
• A month of cellphone service for one individual

$100 buys:

• Groceries for a family out of work for a couple of weeks
• Prescription glasses
• Basic winter necessities - coat, boots, gloves
• Bus ticket to New York to meet with the consulate and get a new passport
• A month’s rent in a safe-house in a border town in Mexico, to stay safe while the border is completely shutdown
• A month of internet reception  

$500 buys:

• A plane ticket to Western Massachusetts after months in detention and basic provision for when they arrive
• A portion of legal fees for an attorney who has offered lower ratesOne month’s rent for an individual in the Pioneer Valley 

$1000-2000:  

• Allows a family to pay their rent for one monthAssists in covering lawyers fees for one person
• Helps cover filing fees for a green card

Through our fiscal sponsor, the Peace Development Fund (PDF), a 501(c)(3) public foundation, our supporters are able to make tax-deductible donations. You can choose to mail a check to the Peace Development Fund or donate online through MightyCause, which deposits directly into our account with PDF.