As a community foundation rooted in the Jewish tradition, Rose Community Foundation’s values of philanthropy, justice and nondiscrimination are at the heart of our organization. Our work is guided by these values and by the belief that we all have a shared responsibility to do what we can to make our community a better place. So we feel we must speak out against the recent decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and in support of those in our community who have benefited from the program. We also wish to voice our support for the many organizations that work on behalf of DACA recipients. More than 17,000 Coloradoans benefit from DACA and, in turn, our community benefits from their contributions.

For more than ten years, Rose Community Foundation has proactively supported programs that provide opportunities to undocumented people who arrived in the U.S. as children. As part of the Higher Education Access Alliance, we worked with an education organizing coalition in support of in-state tuition for undocumented students to attend state colleges and universities. We contributed to the Invest in the DREAM Fund to help students eligible for DACA pay application fees. We invested in the Denver Scholarship Foundation to be able to provide support for a mobile college advisor in Southwest Denver that will serve all students including undocumented high school seniors.

More recently, we hosted educational forums for philanthropic and nonprofit leaders that provide facts, in a non-partisan setting, about policy changes facing immigrants and refugees. We also provided financial support to organizations and coalitions who are dealing with urgent demands and overwhelming stress as result of current events in this shifting policy landscape.

We urge our leaders to quickly find and implement a solution that will continue the protections DACA provides and that allows those eligible to continue to grow and thrive in our community. We will continue our support for our nonprofit and philanthropic partners who are working on behalf of and alongside DACA recipients. We will also work side by side with organizations, agencies and coalitions that are addressing hate crimes and discrimination in the Greater Denver community.

Our values of philanthropy, justice and nondiscrimination have always guided our work to make the Greater Denver community a better place for all. We find ourselves in a time that requires action to ensure that all members of our community have access to opportunities to grow, to learn and to contribute, and that our community can benefit from the talent and experience of all of its members. We will continue to support our partners who are standing for the protections DACA provides and who are working alongside these vital members of our community.