Advocacy, Politics & Philanthropy: A Reflection on a Decade of Immigration Reform Advocacy

This Innovation Network report examines the impact and shares lessons from Atlantic’s $70.3 million effort between 2004 and 2014 to reform the U.S. immigration system.

Among the topics covered:

• How the campaign unified multiple advocates behind an agenda focused on comprehensive federal reform.
• The trade-offs between pushing for comprehensive reform and seeking incremental change.
• The important role of strategic communications over the course of the campaign.
• How significant and early funding attracted and inspired additional funders.
• The power of 501(c)4 funding and how it helped to complement 501(c)3 activities.
• How funding helped build leadership and critical anchor organizations.

One of the report’s conclusions is that advocates “learned how to work together, and are on a trajectory of increasingly sophisticated, coordinated, and impactful advocacy at the local, state and national levels.”