Oasis Legal Services Selected for $2 Million Gift From MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving Open Call
MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Oasis Legal Services (Oasis) as one of its awardees for working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Oasis was one of the organizations to receive $2 million for scoring in the top tier of applicants.
Oasis was founded so that LGBTQ+ immigrants would be treated with dignity and respect when seeking immigration relief. Our model is trauma-informed as we support our clients with social services navigation to meet them where they are and provide support throughout their journey. Understanding the intersectionality of our clients’ lived experiences, we treat immigration status as a social determinant of health as growing research demonstrates that a lack of immigration status can lead to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Our success in winning immigration relief for our clients shows how important culturally responsive wrap-around legal and social services support is for undocumented LGBTQ+ immigrants. Since 2017, we’re proud to have directly represented over 2,700 queer and trans immigrants from across California, Washington, Oregon, and western Nevada with a 99% success rate
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to advance the voices and opportunities of low-income individuals, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles.
Our Executive Director, Adam Ryan Chang, shared the following statement:
“On behalf of our client community of queer and trans immigrants, Board of Directors, and team members, we want to express our deep gratitude to Lever for Change, Yield Giving, and MacKenzie Scott for this transformative award. In the spirit of this gift, an award that trusts each organizational recipient to decide the most impactful way to benefit their community members, Oasis will immediately invest these funds into our clients. Effective April 1, 2024, our Affirmative Asylum Program will be 100% free for clients. Additionally, our Residency and Naturalizations Programs will be free to LGBTQ+ immigrants living with HIV.”
Historically charging low sliding-scale fees, Oasis has long held the goal of providing our services pro bono to all LGBTQ+ immigrants who are living in poverty. With this recent award, we are able to take a major step towards achieving this dream. A $2 million award creates a safetynet so that Oasis can remain focused on offering immigration relief to more LGBTQ+ immigrants, advocating for policies that offer permanent safety for all, as we continue to diversify funding streams to support LGBTQ+ immigrants.
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause, and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount. Awardees are all making positive change in their communities by reducing disparities in economic outcomes, education, health, and other critical issues.
"We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations," said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. "In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org. For questions or comments, please reach out to development@oasislegalservices.org.
Published March 19, 2024