About The E Pluribus Unum Prizes

Too often the debate over the need to reform US immigration laws leaves little room for issues of immigrant integration.

The E Pluribus Unum Prizes have been established to help others learn more about this important work and to honor the efforts of those who are creating stronger, more unified and successful communities by strengthening relationships between native-born and foreign-born Americans, and by helping immigrants and their children to succeed in the United States.

The J.M. Kaplan Fund is generously providing support for these awards in each of the next three years to focus attention on successful integration initiatives and to inspire and provide program models to others around the United States who might also undertake such efforts.

The awards program is coordinated by the Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy (NCIIP) - a hub for groups and individuals around the United States who seek to build their knowledge and skills in the area of immigrant integration.

An Advisory Board of experts has been appointed to assist the NCIIP's staff in selecting Prize winners. The Advisory Board is comprised of experts in program evaluation and/or in immigrant integration and its various subfields. Members have been appointed for one-year terms.

2009 Applicant Pool

More than 500 applications were submitted, with applicants hailing from 47 states and the District of Columbia, and covering a range of fields of work and an even wider range of organizations and populations served. The applicants provided a rich array of examples of the integration efforts taking place in the United States as businesses, governments, and nonprofit institutions - large, medium, and small - attempt to make today's immigration policies a "win-win" proposition for immigrants and the communities in which they settle.

Applicants' initiatives include adult English and job training classes at local organizations, community colleges, and businesses; school and youth development programs that help immigrant children adapt and thrive in their new country; and a fascinating assortment of health, employment, legal, language access, and financial services efforts. They also include community associations where immigrants and native-born residents work together to address common problems, as well as volunteer mentoring, literacy, and settlement support programs that create friendships and understanding across cultures and generations.

Many of the applicants engage immigrants and their families as full partners, promoting their leadership and involvement not just within the initiative or program but in their community's broader civic and political life. And these initiatives are being spearheaded by a truly inspiring array of leaders - both native and foreign-born - and at public and private organizations including schools, community-based organizations, community colleges and universities, legal aid programs, public libraries, health clinics, foundations, businesses, houses of worship, and government agencies.

About NCIIP
About the J.M. Kaplan Fund

About the NCIIP
The Migration Policy Institute's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy is a crossroads for elected officials, researchers, state and local agency managers, grassroots leaders and activists, local service providers, and others who seek to understand and respond to the challenges and opportunities today's high rates of immigration create in local communities.

Key services the Center provides include policy-focused research; policy design; technical assistance and training for government officials and community leaders; needs assessment, program planning, and evaluation services; and an electronic resource center on immigrant integration issues.
More about NCIIP.
More about MPI.

About the J.M. Kaplan Fund
The J.M. Kaplan Fund is providing support for The E Pluribus Unum Prizes. The awards program will run in each of the next three years and provide four prizes of $50,000 each annually to exceptional integration initiatives. The J.M. Kaplan Fund was founded in 1945 by Jacob Merrill Kaplan with proceeds from the sale of the Welch Grape Juice Company to a growers' cooperative that he had helped establish. The Kaplan Fund has since established a reputation for innovative philanthropy in a variety of fields. Current grant programs support work in the environment, historic preservation, and human migration on local, national, and international scales.
More about J.M. Kaplan Fund.