Defending Our Neighbors Fund
An urgent lifeline to local organizations providing legal and bond support to immigrant families and individuals who need it most.
The Defending Our Neighbors Fund is powered by everyday people, like you, stepping up and building a vital lifeline to support our immigrant neighbors, loved ones, and communities against injustice.
We all deserve to be treated fairly and with dignity. Yet every day, immigrant families are forced to navigate a complex and punishing immigration system alone, without access to legal counsel. Even young children, the most vulnerable members of our communities, are facing trained prosecutors without anyone by their side.
This is why the Defending Our Neighbors Fund exists.
Today, there are more than 6 million U.S. households who have a family member at risk of detention or deportation. Right now, the federal government is funneling $170 billion of our taxpayer dollars to dramatically increase enforcement in our cities, all while slashing funding for legal service organizations who provide critical support for immigrants and make sure they have access to a lawyer. The Defending Our Neighbors Fund is a rapid-response effort to meet this urgent need for legal representation head-on, working to ensure families have access to life-saving legal support, and when possible, bond assistance.
Access to legal representation makes a profound difference in whether families can stay together.
As people's due process rights continue to be violated — affecting tens of thousands of people who are immigrants, children, and even U.S. citizens and green card holders — the need for legal counsel is skyrocketing. Studies show that in 2024, there were more than 2.5 million cases in immigration court where people did not have legal representation. Having access to a lawyer is often the difference between a family staying together or being separated indefinitely.
To meet the ballooning demand in this moment, the Defending Our Neighbors Fund is quickly deploying high-impact grants to trusted organizations providing legal and, when possible, bond assistance to communities in need, this includes organizations that are:
- Serving communities with large immigrant populations
- Serving communities in legal deserts, and
- Serving communities near some of the country’s most active immigration detention and processing centers
In this moment of division, we must all come together to defend our neighbors.
Supported by United We Dream and the ACLU, the Defending Our Neighbors Fund is hosted by Abundant Futures Fund (a fiscally sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors), and aims to raise and deploy $30 million to grassroots organizations to meet this crisis with action and care.
We, the people, will power this movement with small dollar contributions. Your donation supports trusted organizations providing legal representation and, when possible, bond assistance, to communities in need.
Thank you for helping us defend our communities at such a critical moment. Your support makes all the difference.
Fundraisers
Fundraiser by Sonya Islam
Ramadan 2026 Charity
Ramadan Mubarak! For this year’s Ramadan charity, the focus is on supporting families and children who have been affected by immigration enforcement, whether through wrongful detentions, deportations without due process, or other unjust treatment. These situations can be incredibly difficult for families, and many individuals, including children, are left without the support and stability they need. This fundraiser will support Defending Our Neighbors, an organization that distributes funds to nonprofit organizations across the country working directly with vulnerable immigrant communities. These groups provide legal support, advocacy, and critical resources to families navigating complex immigration challenges. Any contribution, no matter the amount, is greatly appreciated and can help make a meaningful difference for families who need support during these difficult times. Thank you for your generosity and for helping work toward a more just world! Much love, Sonya Islam
- Raised
- $1,000
- Goal
- $1,000
16 supporters
DonateFundraiser by Alexis Sypek
Runners Against ICE
The greatest strength of the running community is its ability to uplift each other - and complete strangers - in moments of deep pain, uncertainty, and self doubt out on the road or on the trail. It is a daily source of empowerment, community, and joy for so many of us. People across the country are facing unfathomable pain and uncertainty right now as we witness in real time the federal government stripping our neighbors away from their communities and their livelihoods. Let’s dig deep and show them what we, as a community, can do. We're raising money for the Defending our Neighbors fund, a new initiative launched by the ACLU to provide representation, resources, and assistance to those impacted by ICE. Thank you for anything you're able to donate. -Lexi & Fra
- Raised
- $1,865
- Next milestone
- $2,500
19 supporters
DonateDonors
Shannon McCune Dickerson 1I am grateful to have this thoughtful resource as a way to support our neighbors who have been terrorized by the Trump administration’s horrific and racist tactics.
I believe in dignity, safety and respect for every person. I hope our coun...Elizabeth McMahon 1Please keep up the good work. You are needed now more than ever. It will take years to undo even a little of the evil being done to communities of color in the current administration. I thank God that your organization already has teams in ...
Nancy Jewett I value this democracy, which so many have sacrificed for and contributed to over the last 250 years.
Renee Jackson Most of us want to take care and protect. NO ONE deserves to be taken from their home and family.
Carmen Cardenas 1Injustice and abuse cannot and must not stand.