Belonging Fund expands focus to cover legal services for immigrants
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A highly scrutinized fundraising effort formed in response to President Trump's immigration crackdowns in Nashville recently expanded its focus and will begin paying for legal services for immigrants.
Why it matters: The Belonging Fund drew fierce criticism from Republicans, who blasted Mayor Freddie O'Connell for publicly promoting the effort and opposing local ICE raids.
- The move to cover legal work contradicts O'Connell's repeated descriptions about the fund's intent.
Catch up quick: O'Connell and the nonprofit Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which administers the Belonging Fund, were initially clear that money raised for the new fund would not be spent on paying for immigrants' legal fees.
- "The Belonging Fund is not set up to support legal services," O'Connell said at a May 5 press conference announcing the formation of the fund. The fund does not use public money.
- Community Foundation CEO Hal Cato said at the press conference announcement the Belonging Fund would be used for child care, transportation, housing assistance, food insecurity and "anything else they need."
"I think what you'll probably see going forward is independent efforts to look at scenarios related to deportation, but that's not what the Belonging Fund is constituted for," O'Connell said on May 5.
- Although O'Connell touted the Belonging Fund, the city does not financially contribute or decide how the money is spent.
- Congressional investigations championed by U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles are probing Metro's response to the May raids.
Friction point: After Ogles criticized the effort, O'Connell reiterated the fund was for pressing family needs, not legal services.
- "It's not even intended to be about legal services," he said in mid-May.
Yes, but: The Belonging Fund website now says it will provide money to nonprofits for "legal services, including immigration-related representation and advocacy."
Driving the news: A spokesperson for the Community Foundation tells Axios the Belonging Fund was initially used to "quickly respond to families experiencing acute crisis in our community."
- Spokesperson Kelly Walberg says now that the immediate response phase is over, the Community Foundation is working with its nonprofit partners to "revisit the original intent/long-term vision of the fund."
- "The fund has currently paused its distribution as we formalize new processes to fulfill the long-term intent of the Belonging Fund," Walberg tells Axios.
- "Ideally, the grant dollars will soon be available to support legal and medical assistance, and it will likely open up even further to support additional humanitarian needs."
By the numbers: The Belonging Fund raised more than $525,000, Walberg says.
- To date $98,000 has been sent to the nonprofit Conexión Américas and was used to support 132 immigrant families via that nonprofit. Just under $430,000 remains with the Belonging Fund, according to Walberg.
- "In one case, emergency support helped a single parent with a child on the autism spectrum remain safely housed," she says.
What he's saying: "The fund is run by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and includes only private donations," O'Connell spokesperson Alex Apple says. "How they use the funds is at their discretion. Metro has no involvement and continues to follow guidance that keeps us compliant with state and federal law."