AMERICA IS HOME INITIATIVE

The Cities for Citizenship (C4C) “America is Home” Initiative is a four-year, $5 million bipartisan grant program to help community partners and municipalities encourage U.S. citizenship among eligible immigrants and increase naturalization application rates.

Our nation has always been a home to those seeking freedom, opportunity, and refuge from persecution. These new Americans have pursued their American Dreams; helped to build our nation; and continue to contribute with their hard work. When immigrants naturalize they make an affirmative decision to study English, U.S. history and government, and swear allegiance to our Constitution. Naturalized citizens have higher income, generate more taxes, connect with their neighbors more easily, and assume their full rights and responsibilities in this country, to proudly say “America is Home”.   

The C4C “America is Home” initiative is a program of Cities for Citizenship, administered by the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) and offered in cooperation with the New Americans Campaign (NAC). NPNA and NAC are two organizations that are leaders in our nation in promoting U.S. citizenship.

The C4C “America is Home” Initiative:

• Provides two-year challenge grants of two tiers: $25,000 or $40,000 annually.
• Encourages partnerships of community-based organizations (and / or labor organizations) with Mayors and Municipalities.
• Requires local funding to match the challenge grants, and long-term sustainability.
• Requires the participation of Municipalities to sign on to Cities for Citizenship (C4C)
• Build the “learning community” of Cities for Citizenship (C4C)
• Provides scholarships for grantees to attend the a C4C Municipal Gathering at NPNA’s National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC).
• Increases citizenship outreach and application rates among lawful permanent residents (LPR’s), including AAPI communities.
• Develops effective naturalization outreach and communications plans
• Has three rounds of grant-making, with two-year grants awarded, beginning in 2018, 2019, and 2020. If an application is not funded in the current year, applicants will be invited to re-apply in the following year.

WHO CAN APPLY?

Applicants should be a community-based organization with 501(c)(3) status or a labor organization partnering with the local Mayor’s office. Cities that participate must be current members of Cities for Citizenship (C4C), OR new municipalities that are committed to join C4C that year.

EVALUATION CRITERIA

Grant proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria and point system:

• Clarity on how the CBO and Mayor’s office will work together to scale-up naturalization (15 points)
• Ability for the partnership to match funding at the local level and sustain funding after two years (15 points)
• Matching funds can be “in-kind” matches or matches from outside donors
• Plans to outreach to immigrant communities, including local AAPI communities (10 points)
• Demonstrates a strong communication and naturalization assistance campaign strategy that elevates the local naturalization work and coordinates with Cities for Citizenship (C4C) (10 points)
• Capacity to track local naturalization outreach and applications submitted (10 points)

PROPOSAL SPECIFICATIONS

Please follow the steps below to submit a proposal for the C4C “America is Home” Grant:

Step 1: Complete the C4C “America is Home” Grant Proposal Form below in partnership with a city or CBO. Only one proposal needs to be submitted on behalf of joint application.

Step 2: All Cities and Counties that are included in a proposal must complete the following:

Complete the C4C Annual Partner Survey to share 2018 naturalization accomplishments and ongoing plans. If a C4C city/county has already completed this survey, they DO NOT need to fill it out again.

For all Cities and Counties that ARE NOT members of Cities for Citizenship (C4C), they can join C4C by completing the form here.

Step 3: Submit your completed C4C “America is Home” Grant Proposal via THIS FORM by Friday, July 19th, 2019 at 5:00 PM Eastern. Only one proposal needs to be submitted on behalf of each joint application.

To view the full RFP, click HERE.

AWARD INFORMATION

Grants will be distributed at different tiers, depending on the points awarded to each proposal. Tier 1 grants are awarded $40,000 and Tier 2 grants are awarded $25,000. In the proposal form below, you will indicate whether you are applying for Tier 1 or Tier 2.

About Cities for Citizenship (C4C) Initiative:

NPNA is a co-founder of the Cities for Citizenship (C4C) initiative, a major national initiative aimed at increasing citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents and encouraging cities across the country to invest in citizenship programs. C4C is a growing network of currently 73 cities and counties that is chaired by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, with coordination run by the National Partnership for New Americans and the Center for Popular Democracy. Citi Community Development is the founding corporate partner who first invested in C4C in 2014.

C4C Executive Committee					Offered in collaboration with