Local Organizations
In this section you'll find information about community based and other local organizations that represent the diversity of immigrant led and migrant-serving institutions. You could consider these places to volunteer, or seek out internships and mentors.
- African Advocacy Network
African Advocacy Network (AAN) is a San Francisco-based nonprofit founded in 2009 to serve the growing Diaspora of African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants. AAN provides immigration legal services, case management, and social integration services based on a unique Cultural Brokering model. - Alianza Americas
Alianza Americas is the only transnational organization rooted in Latino immigrant communities in the U.S. and focused on improving the quality of life for all people in the US-Mexico-Central America migration corridor. Its work brings an important perspective to all areas related to quality of life--economic, racial, social justice, humane migration policies, and protection for children and families seeking refuge. - Arab Resource & Organizing Center
The Araba Resource & Organizing Center (AROC) is a grassroots membership-based organization that organizes our community towards justice and self-determination for all. AROC members build community power in the Bay Area by participating in leadership development, political education, and campaigns that challenge militarism, repression, and racism. - Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus
Founded in 1972, Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Asian Law Caucus is the nation's first legal and civil rights organization serving the low-income Asian Pacific American communities. Advancing Justice-ALC focuses on housing rights, immigration and immigrants' rights, labor and employment issues, student advocacy (ASPIRE), civil rights and hate violence, national security, and criminal justice reform. - Asian Americans for Community Outreach
Asian Americans for Community Outreach (AACO) is an organization dedicated to creating a forum in the San Francisco Bay Area where Asian American professionals and students can meet and foster the common goal of community service, benefiting the extended community as a whole. - Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy
Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) is a national membership organization dedicated to expanding and mobilizing philanthropic and community resources for underserved AAPI communities to build a more just and equitable society. - Asian Neighborhood Design
- Passionately serving now for over three decades, Asian Neighborhood Design is a nonprofit architecture, community planning, employment training, and support services organization dedicated to helping disadvantaged individuals and communities become self-sufficient.
- Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
Our mission is to provide culturally competent and linguistically appropriate legal representation, social services, and advocacy for the most marginalized segments of the community including low-income women, seniors, recent immigrants, and youth. - Asian Pacific Fund
Our mission is to strengthen the Asian and Pacific Islander community in the Bay Area by increasing philanthropy and supporting the organizations that serve our most vulnerable community members. - Asian Women's Shelter
Asian Women's Shelter (AWS) was founded in 1988 to address the needs of women, children, and transgender survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking, especially those that are immigrants and refugees. - Asian Women United
AWU spotlights the rich, diverse and authentic experiences of Asian American Pacific Islander women through various platforms, including books, digital productions, and educational materials. We are volunteer-run nonprofit based in the San Francisco Bay Area. - Black Alliance for Just Immigration
The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) believes that a thriving multiracial democracy requires racial, social and economic justice for all. African Americans and black immigrants are stronger together and we can win by becoming leaders in the fight against structural racism and systemic discrimination. BAJI was formed to bring black voices together to advocate for equality and justice in our laws and our communities. - Brava! for Women in the Arts
Brava! for Women in the Arts celebrates over 30 years as a professional arts organization dedicated to cultivating the artistic expression of women, LGBTQIA, people of color, youth, and other underrepresented voices. - California-Asia Business Council
California-Asia Business Council (Cal-Asia) is one of California's leading private-sector, nonprofit, international business-promotion associations. Our mission is to help California firms of all sizes develop or expand their commercial ties with the economies of Pacific Asia and India. - California Immigrant Policy Center
The California Immigrant Policy Center (CPIC) is a constituent-based immigrant rights organization that promotes and protects safety, health and public benefits and integration programs for immigrants, and one of the few organizations that effectively combines legislative and policy advocacy, strategic communications, organizing and capacity building to pursue its mission. - California Domestic Workers Coalition
The California Bill of Rights (AB 241) was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 26, 2013, and went into effect on January 1, 2014. AB241 extends overtime protections to personal attendants who care for and support thousands of individuals and families in California. This legislative victory will improve working conditions for these workers and will in turn improve the quality of care that Californians receive. - California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
We are a statewide non-profit civil legal aid organization providing free legal services and policy advocacy for California's rural poor. We focus on some of the most marginalized communities: the unrepresented, the unorganized, and the undocumented. We engage in community education and outreach, impact litigation, legislative and administrative advocacy, and public policy leadership. - Cameron House
Cameron House empowers generations of Chinese American individuals and their families to fully participate in and contribute positively toward a healthy society. We put our Christian faith in action to help people learn, heal, and thrive. - Canal Alliance
Canal Alliance believes the American dream of freedom and opportunity has been built on the courage, creativity and hard work of generations of immigrants. - Casa Cornelia Law Center
Casa Cornelia Law Center is a public interest law firm providing quality legal services of human and civil rights violations. Casa Cornelia has a primary commitment to indigent persons within the immigrant community in Southern California. - Causa Justa
Through rights-based services, policy campaigns, civic engagement, and direct action, we improve conditions in our neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, and contribute to building the larger multi-racial, multi-generational movement needed for fundamental change. - Central American Resource Center
Located in San Francisco, the Central American Resource Center- (CARECEN) of Northern California provides vital direct services and engages in community development and advocacy to help create a vibrant and thriving Latino immigrant community in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and beyond. - Centro Legal de la Raza
Founded in 1969, Centro Legal de la Raza is a comprehensive legal services agency protecting and advancing the rights of immigrant, low-income, and Latino communities through bilingual legal representation, education, and advocacy. By combining quality legal services with know-your-rights education and youth development, Centro Legal promotes access to justice for thousands of individuals and families each year throughout Northern and Central California. - The Chicana/Latina Foundation
The Chicana/Latina Foundation (CLF) is a non-profit organization which promotes professional and leadership development of Latinas. The Foundation's mission is to empower Chicanas/Latinas through personal, educational, and professional advancement. - Chinatown Community Development Center
Founded in 1977, Chinatown Community Development Center's (Chinatown CDC) mission is to build community and enhance the quality of life for low-income residents in San Francisco through the development of affordable housing, grassroots leadership, civic engagement, and youth empowerment. - Chinese Cultural Center of San Francisco
Shaped by resistance, endurance and imagination, the Chinese Culture Center (CCC) ignites art interventions, engaging youth and residents, across generations and cultures. In so doing, we shift the dominant narrative about Chinese Americans, transform perceptions and empower underserved communities. - Chinese for Affirmative Action
Chinese for Affirmative Action was founded in 1969 to protect the civil and political rights of Chinese Americans and to advance multiracial democracy in the United States. Today, CAA is a progressive voice in and on behalf of the broader Asian and Pacific American community. We advocate for systemic change that protects immigrant rights, promotes language diversity, and remedies racial injustice. - Chinese Historical Society of America
The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum is the oldest organization in the country dedicated to the interpretation, promotion, and preservation of the social, cultural and political history and contributions of the Chinese in America. - Chinese Progressive Association
Founded in 1972, the Chinese Progressive Association educates, organizes and empowers the low income and working class immigrant Chinese community in San Francisco to build collective power with other oppressed communities to demand better living and working conditions and justice for all people. - Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
CHIRLA is a California leader with national impact made of diverse immigrant families and individuals who act as agents of social change to achieve a world with freedom of mobility, full human rights, and true participatory democracy. CHIRLA's mission is to achieve a just society fully inclusive of immigrants. - Community United Against Violence
Founded in 1979, CUAV works to build the power of LGBTQQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) communities to transform violence and oppression. We support the healing and leadership of those impacted by abuse and mobilize our broader communities to replace cycles of trauma with cycles of safety and liberation. As part of the larger social justice movement, CUAV works to create truly safe communities where everyone can thrive. - Dolores Street Community Services
Dolores Street Community Services nurtures individual wellness and cultivates collective power among low-income and immigrant communities to create a more just society. - East Bay Asian Youth Center
EBAYC envisions all young people growing up to be lifelong builders of a just and compassionate multicultural society. Our mission is to support all youth be to be safe, smart, and socially responsible. - El Tecolote
El Tecolote is a member of the San Francisco Neighborhood Newspaper Association, a group of 16 neighborhood-based newspapers, and a founding member of New America Media, a national network of ethnic news media. - Eastside Cultural Center
The Eastside Arts Alliance & Cultural Center presents free youth art classes, cultural programming, public art projects, ongoing gallery exhibitions, community town halls, and the annual Malcolm X Jazz Arts Festival. - El Teatro Campesino
Since its inception, El Teatro Campesino and its founder and artistic director, Luis Valdez, have set the standard for Latino theatrical production in the United States. Founded in 1965 on the Delano Grape Strike picket lines of Cesar Chavez's United Farmworkers Union, the company created and performed "actos" or short skits on flatbed trucks and in union halls. - El/La Para TransLatinas
We fight for the rights of translatinas. We work to build a world where translatinas feel they deserve to protect, love, and develop themselves. By building this base, we support each other in protecting ourselves against violence, abuse, and illness. - Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
The Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund seeks to fulfill our founders' vision of a just and compassionate society where all people have the opportunity to live, work, and raise their families with dignity. - Filipino Advocates for Justice
Filipino Advocates for Justice (FAJ) is a nonprofit based in Alameda County California. We are a 43 year old, service, community organizing and social justice organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. Our mission is to build a strong and empowered Filipino community by organizing constituents, developing leaders, providing services, and advocating for policies that promote social and economic justice and equity. - Filipino Community Center
Supporting organized community in the Excelsior neighborhood of San Francisco and beyond! - Galería de la Raza
The Galería is a non-profit community-based arts organization whose mission is to foster public awareness and appreciation of Chicano/Latino art and serve as a laboratory where artists can both explore contemporary issues in art, culture, and civic society, and advance intercultural dialogue. - Heartland Alliance's Rainbow Welcome Initiative
This organization supports the resettlement of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) refugees and asylees by offering technical assistance to service providers and disseminating critical resources relevant to both resettlement staff and refugees and asylees. - The Immigrant Youth Coalition
The Immigrant Youth Coalition (IYC) is an undocumented and Queer/Trans youth led organization based in California. Our mission is to mobilize youth, families, and incarcerated people to end the criminalization of immigrants and people of color. - Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are now the fastest growing racial group in the United States, increasing over four times as rapidly as the total U.S. population and expected to double to more than 47 million by 2060. Recognizing this tremendous growth and the unique needs within AAPI communities, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13515 reestablishing the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (Initiative) on October 14, 2009. The Initiative, chaired by Acting Secretary of Education John King and U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, and led by Executive Director Doua Thor, works to improve the quality of life and opportunities for AAPIs by facilitating increased access to and participation in federal programs, where AAPIs remain underserved. - Instituto Familiar de la Raza
Instituto Familiar de la Raza remains true to the same principles on which it was founded. The circumstances and specific challenges facing the Chicano/Latino community continue to change, but our unique approach to its health and well-being of our community remains intact. - Irish Immigration Pastoral Center
The Irish Immigration Pastoral Center (IIPC) is a nonprofit, volunteer managed organization assisting Irish immigrants in the San Francisco and the Bay Area. IIPC is committed to providing advice, information, advocacy, referral and support for immigrants on issues related to immigration, employment, housing, career, education and social services. - International Rescue Committee
The mission of the IRC is to help people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. - Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California
The Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) strives to meet the evolving needs of the Japanese American community through programs, affordable services and administrative support and facilities for other local service organizations. - Kimochi
Since 1971, Kimochi has provided culturally sensitive, Japanese language-based programs and services to 3,000 Bay Area seniors and their families each year. Services include transportation; referral and outreach services; health and consumer education seminars; healthy aging and senior center activities; social services; congregate and home delivered meals; in-home support services; adult social day care; 24-hour residential and respite care. - Kokoro Assisted Living
TADAIMA! -- I'M HOME! Take in the grandeur of the old temple; enjoy the comforts of home along with the security of around the clock staffing. Located in the heart of San Francisco's historic Japantown, Kokoro is a nonprofit assisted and independent living community that blends Japanese and American heritage, culture and cuisine through activities, celebrations and dining. - Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education
The Fred T. Korematsu Institute educates about the importance of remembering one of the most blatant forms of racial profiling in U.S. history, the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, which gives historical context to a national and international movement of standing up for one's rights that ultimately can lead to racial healing, a prerequisite for racial equality. The long-term goals of the Korematsu Institute are to create a national commemorative holiday recognizing Fred Korematsu, who would be the first Asian American to have a national holiday, and to create a museum/library learning center. - La Casa de las Madres
The mission of La Casa de las Madres is to respond to calls for help from domestic violence victims, of all ages, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We give survivors the tools to transform their lives. We seek to prevent future violence by educating the community and by redefining public perceptions about domestic violence. - La Peña Cultural Center
La Peña is a vibrant community cultural center with a global vision that has promoted social justice, arts participation, and intercultural understanding for 40 years. As an internationally known gathering place, we share multiple cultural traditions, support progressive movements, and keep alive peoples' histories. - La Raza Community
La Raza Community Resource Center is a bilingual, multi-service, nonprofit organization dedicated to meeting the social service, employment, educational, and leadership development needs of low-income families and individuals. Serving the community for 40 years, our primary focus is to address the unmet needs of Latino immigrants. - La Raza Centro Legal
La Raza Central Legal is a community-based legal organization dedicated to empowering Latino, immigrant, and low-income communities in the Mission and throughout the Bay Area, advocating for their civil and human rights. Through its grassroots efforts over the last 45 years, La Raza has provided critical life changing legal services - at low or no cost. - Latino Community Foundation
We fulfill our mission by building a movement of civically engaged philanthropic leaders, investing in Latino-led organizations, and increasing political participation of Latinos in California. - LGBT Freedom and Asylum Network
LGBT-FAN is an all-volunteer network of individuals and organizations, throughout the United States, who are dedicated to helping people who are seeking safety in the U.S. because of persecution of their sexual orientation or gender identity in their home countries. We seek to leverage the resources of our members to help each other with information and support. - Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
"The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) was established in 1977 by artists and community activists with a shared vision to promote, preserve and develop the Latino cultural arts that reflect the living tradition and experiences of the Chicano, Central and South American, and Caribbean people. MCCLA makes the arts accessible as an essential element to the community's development and well-being." - Mujeres Unidas y Activas
Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) is a grassroots organization of Latina immigrant women with a double mission of promoting personal transformation and building community power for social and economic justice. - National Domestic Workers Alliance
The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the nation's leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women. - National Japanese American Historical Society
- National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
The National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) was founded in 1994 by local community centers seeking to empower and improve the lives of Korean Americans as a part of a greater goal of building a national movement for social change. NAKASEC and its affiliates form a strong and unique organizing network that forwards a holistic empowerment model. Our affiliates provide programs in education, social services, culture, civic engagement and organizing that address the full human & political needs of community members. - Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs
The Office of Civic Engagement & Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA) is a policy, compliance, direct services and grantmaking office. OCEIA's mission is to promote inclusive policies and foster immigrant assistance programs that lead to full civic, economic and linguistic integration. - Pilipino Association of Workers and Immigrants
We are Filipino workers and im/migrants, realizing the need to support ourselves collectively to strengthen our voice and stand against any forms of abuse and exploitation. Bind our selves together to create an organization, which shall have the nationalist and democratic ideals of our people in general, and in Santa Clara County in particular. We shall tirelessly work to defend the rights gained by the struggles of Filipino workers and im/migrants and shall forever uphold their welfare. - Richmond Area Multi-Services Inc.
RAMS is a private, nonprofit mental health agency that is committed to advocating for and providing community based, culturally-competent, and consumer-guided comprehensive services, with an emphasis on serving Asian & Pacific Islander Americans. We are a multi-service nonprofit organization serving Southeast Asians locally and nationally and small businesses in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area seeking financing and management assistance. - Rosenberg Foundation
The Rosenberg Foundation works together with our grantees, other funders, and experts to dismantle the systemic barriers that stand in the way of equity, freedom, and opportunity for far too many Californians. - The San Francisco Foundation
Since 1948, The San Francisco Foundation has been firmly committed to serving the people of our region. We are an incubator for community investment, original ideas, and passionate leadership in the Bay Area. As one of the nation's largest community foundations in grant-making and assets, we give millions of dollars a year to make the Bay Area the best place it can be. - San Francisco Public Defender
Our mission is to protect and defend the rights of our indigent clients through effective, vigorous, compassionate, and creative legal advocacy. - Southeast Asian Community Center
The Southeast Asian Community Center was founded by leaders in the Southeast Asian community in the US who saw the need for an organization that would provide hands-on assistance to the thousands of Southeast Asians who were fleeing from Vietnam after the war and seeking refuge in the United States. - Student, Family, and Community Support Department
Student, Family, and Community Support Department (SFCSD) is privileged to support San Francisco youth and families, through building school capacity to address student needs, and working to achieve District-wide academic goals. Additionally, through its programs, services and curricula, SFCSD seeks to increase student achievement, and pro-social student behaviors so all students can become high achieving and joyful learners. - The San Francisco Organizing Project/Peninsula Interfaith Action
SFOP/PIA is a member of the PICO National Network and PICO California. The PICO National Network is one of the largest community-based efforts in the United States with more than 1,000 member institutions representing one million families in 150 cities and 17 states, as well as a growing international effort. PICO California's mission is to bring the voices and concerns of regular Californians to the statewide policy arena. PICO California is made up of 19 congregation-based community organizations representing 350 congregations and 450,000 families across the state. - The San Francisco Day Labor Program
- This is a project that give a hard working person the opportunity to show what they can do.
- Transnational Institute for Grassroots Research and Action
- Vietnamese Community Center
The Vietnamese Community Center of San Francisco (VCCSF), a nonprofit organization, was established in June 1993 by a group of Vietnamese American volunteers in San Francisco. The primary objective of the VCCSF is provided services and support to over 30,000 Vietnamese refugees and immigrants living in the City. - Vietnamese Youth Development Center
The mission of the VYDC is to empower under-served Asian-Pacific Islander and urban youth with the knowledge and confidence to define their future and reach their full potential. We do this by developing leadership skills, supporting academics, providing job opportunities, and strengthening relationships with family and community. - West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Center
West Bay is the oldest Filipino-led nonprofit organization in Northern California. The SoMA area is its priority neighborhood because of the significant presence of Pilipino Americans in the community and the importance of SoMA in the history of Pilipino migration in the San Francisco Bay Area. Community involvement and responsibility are the foundation of West Bay's mission. Integral to its success is the understanding and practice of direct involvement of the community in the formulation of priorities and programs, and the active involvement of its staff and Board of Directors. - Y & H Soda Foundation
The Y & H Soda Foundation supports nonprofit and Catholic organizations committed to the full participation and prosperity of the underserved in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. - The Zellerbach Family Foundation
The mission of the Zellerbach Family foundation is to be a catalyst for constructive social change by initiating and investing in efforts that strengthen families and communities.