Help create the first permanent DACA Renewal Fund

Short Summary

Hi friend, my name is Luis Antezana and I’m founder and CEO of Juntos2College. Juntos means Together. I am a DACA-recipient, educator, entrepreneur, and most importantly I'm a human being who believes our undocumented communities deserve freedom and opportunity.

 

This is why I founded Juntos2College, and why I'm asking for your help to make history and transform people's lives by creating the first permanent DACA Renewal Fund in the United States. The problem is that there’s over 14,000 dreamers across Colorado who face systemic barriers that prohibit them from being able to renew their work permit. And without a work-permit, employers are forced to fire them. At Juntos2College, we’ve created DACA Works, a service that helps DACA-recipients learn how to accurately renew and submit their work permit so they can continue working and earning wages. Most importantly, we provide DACA renewal grants for Colorado residents who live underneath the poverty line, so they too have a fighting chance at renewing.

 

Help us make history. Your donation will help us create a fund so that we can award more than 120 DACA renewal grants EVERY YEAR to our most vulnerable Colorado residents. Not only will we help our DACA-recipients increase their wages, but our local economies will also benefit through the estimated 800 million dollar contribution to the Colorado GDP every year by DACA-recipients. Our fund will be replenished each year by our exceptional tech-powered service, DACA Works, offered across the nation. Colorado will be at the forefront of creating a new system that uplifts our undocumented communities, and thereby, uplifting us all.

 

What We Need & What You Get

Here's the break down of our campaign:

 

The Impact

Your contribution will help write a new revolutionary chapter in helping undocumented families access upward mobility. In helping us create the first permanent DACA Renewal Fund, you will help Dreamers:

 

Since our service, DACA Works, launched in late January 2022,

 

Our families have said this about our DACA Works service:

We have a 100% DACA renewal approval rate, with an average 4-week processing time from submission to physical card received, and we are damned proud of it.

 

Risks & Challenges

The truth is that no state has been able to develop a sustainable model for DACA renewal grants, and here's why: it is tough because as soon as a grant is awarded, that is a 100% loss and 0% financial return to an organization. Without an earned revenue stream that can replenish these funds, organizations and DACA funds deplete and end too quickly, resulting in a terrible loss for the community they serve.

 

At Juntos2College, we've figured out this challenge! We've created a model that will allow us to sustain our fund and replenish it each year, making it a permanent fund to help our low-income Colorado families year around. It's simple and sophisticated: 100% of revenue earned from our clients outside of Colorado and across the nation will go directly back into our fund for Colorado families. Our innovative tech-powered service, DACA Works, is ready to make an impact nationwide. 

 

There's another challenge that is out of our control. And that is the current litigation regarding DACA in the federal courts. Regardless of the outcome, we know DACA-recipients still need to work to support their families today, and our service will strive to ensure all can renew their work permit in a timely manner. As a startup organization, we are in control and positioned to help our undocumented families access upward mobility no matter what. 

 

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean they can't help:

 

Juntos 2 College is a fiscally sponsored Project of Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, a nonprofit charity exempt from federal income tax under the 501(C)(3) Internal Revenue Code. EIN:  About Colorado Nonprofit Development Center: As a comprehensive fiscal sponsor, Colorado Nonprofit Development Center's mission is to foster the development of a healthy and vibrant nonprofit sector in Colorado by enhancing the effective and efficient use of community resources and by the supporting the development of charitable projects and nonprofits.