The Immigrant Rapid Response Fund — a coalition of 33 philanthropic and community-rooted leaders — moved resources to immigrant and refugee communities at the speed the crisis demanded. In just over three months, the Fund raised $14.8 million, deployed $12.3 million to 147 organizations across Minnesota, and drew support from more than 65,000 donors across all 50 states and 53 countries.
This three-part briefing series, convened by the Minnesota Council on Foundations, documents how it came together. Below find recordings from each session, the IRRF Playbook, and resources for the funders, nonprofits, and philanthropy-serving organizations now studying what Minnesota built.
Briefing Recordings
All three briefings are available to watch below.
Funder Briefing: January 28, 2026 · 60 minutes
How a 33-member coalition formed in days, how funding decisions got made, and what the IRRF model offers funders nationally.
Featuring Ambar Hanson (Mortenson Family Foundation), Gloria Perez (Women’s Foundation of Minnesota), Lulete Mola (Black Collective Foundation MN), and Muneer Karcher-Ramos (McKnight Foundation).
Community Briefing: March 4, 2026 · 60 minutes
IRRF coalition leaders on what the crisis demanded, what IRRF support made possible, and how Minnesotans across faiths, neighborhoods, and sectors turned grief into action.
Featuring Ambar Hanson, Gloria Perez, Nonoko Sato (Minnesota Council of Nonprofits), and Jama Mohamed (Morgan Family Foundation).
Returning Learning to the Field: April 8, 2026 · 90 minutes
The data behind funding decisions, what the coalition learned, and what comes next for the fund and the broader ecosystem.
Featuring grantee leaders Abdikadir Bashir (CAIRO, St. Cloud) and Mary Anne & Sergio Quiroz (Indigenous Roots, St. Paul), alongside coalition leaders Gloria Perez, Ambar Hanson, Pakou Hang, Jo-Anne Stately, Kate Downing Khaled, and Monica Cruz Zorrilla.
IRRF Playbook
Released May 14, 2026
A Playbook for Collective Philanthropic Crisis Response Under System Strain
When the crisis hit, leaders from the Minnesota Latine Fund — hosted at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota — widened the table fast. Within weeks, 33 philanthropic and community-rooted organizations were moving resources together under pressure.
The playbook shares what they learned about acting quickly and building while moving — the decisions, constraints, and tradeoffs that shaped the Fund, and how trust carried the work when time was short and conditions were changing. It also names what communities need before the next crisis: trusted relationships, clear pathways for moving resources, and infrastructure that can hold under pressure.
What Comes Next
The coalition remains committed to supporting communities in strengthening the infrastructure needed for future crisis response — already continuing now through additional grants supporting mobilizing and organizing work across Minnesota. Learn more about the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund hosted at the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, including the full coalition and how to support the work.
For funders and philanthropy-serving organizations exploring how this model might apply in your region, the playbook is the place to start. To talk: Awale (Wally) Osman at MCF ([email protected]) or the IRRF team ([email protected]).
Strengthening Response in Real Time
This Rapid Response Report serves as a testimony to how Minnesota’s philanthropic ecosystem organized during a critical moment in state history. It offers vital lessons, structural insights, and
Guide to Fiscal Sponsorship
As fiscal sponsorship continues to become a more widely used tool for charitable impact, it is important that 501(c)(3) organizations acting as a fiscal sponsor are doing it right.
Giving Campaigns: Corporate Benchmarking
View benchmarking results about employee giving campaigns from MCF corporate members.