The Newcomer Fund provides scholarships for immigrants and refugees to attend and graduate from college. Mike Francis, a former journalist, launched the fund to meet a need and create a way for him and others to give back.

“Being a journalist is a calling. By telling stories, and sharing people’s experiences you are making the world a slightly better place.” Retired after 30 years, Mike had been searching for a new mission. An opportunity arose when through a meeting at the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO). There he heard the challenges faced by immigrants and refugees in higher education and he wanted to find a way to help.

With this vision, Mike searched for a community partner. A donor-advised fund at MRG Foundation serves as a platform to reach his mission. We worked with Mike to develop a structure that fit his needs and MRG’s donor-advised program. “It would have been easy to say that this is too small or weird of a project but instead MRG staff had a ‘we can make this work’ attitude.”

We at MRG are dedicated to working with donors to find creative ways to support their desire to give back. The Newcomer Fund is accepting donations and starting the process of dispersing the funds.