* Seeks to remove restrictions on immigration to the U.S.
* Opposes the Patriot Act and welfare reform
* Supports social welfare programs, voting rights, and unionization for illegal immigrants
The Funders’ Committee for Civic Participation (FCCP) states that its mission is “to encourage more attention and support of the broad issues of citizen engagement, both electorally and in society.” It works in collaboration with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), which earmarks its philanthropy for groups representing the rights of immigrants, refugees, and illegal aliens. With the aim of increasing the amount of funding that such advocacy groups receive, FCCP provides GCIR with information about organizations that support open borders and expanded welfare rights (and amnesty) for illegal immigrants; FCCP refers to the latter as “undocumented immigrants.”
FCCP laments what it characterizes as the recent erosion of civil liberties and civil rights for illegal aliens, refugees, and asylum seekers; according to FCCP, this erosion is a result of the 1996 welfare reform law (Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act) andpost-9/11 legislation such as the Patriot Act. Among the rights which FCCP supports on behalf of illegal immigrants are voting rights, workers’ rights, welfare rights, and the right to “economic justice.”
Formerly known as the Funders’ Committee for Citizen Participation, FCCP’s name change (where “Citizen” was changed to “Civic”) reflects the group’s commitment to expanding the rights not only of American citizens, but also of those who entered the United States by breaking its immigration laws. In its literature, FCCP makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigrants.
FCCP encourages foundations to fund voter registration, voting rights, civic education, and campaign finance reform initiatives. The organization was a co-sponsor of a July 2004 Voter Mobilization campaign whose aim was to register as many new voters as possible, voters who could thereafter be persuaded to support FCCP’s leftist agendas. In April 2006, FCCP and GCIR together published New Americans Vote!: An Action Brief for Funders. FCCP also collaborated with the Proteus Fund to jointly publish a Voter Engagement Evaluation Project report “on the effectiveness of voter engagement projects in the 2004 election cycle.” The report encouraged funders to support such initiatives.
In March 2005, FCCP co-sponsored — with George Soros’s Open Society Institute and the Rockefeller Family Fund — a special, funders-only briefing and discussion on the topic of Social Security. It has also worked on projects with the Center for Community Change.
FCCP Chairwoman Geri Mannion also serves as Chairwoman of the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s “Strengthening U.S. Democracy” program.
FCCP has received funding from the Arca Foundation, and the Rockefeller Family Fund.