Request for Proposals (RFP)

PIF Advocacy Collaborative: Powering Campaigns for Immigrants’ Basic Needs

Release Date: 5/27/2026
Application Portal: Applications must be submitted through the application portal at this link. Emailed submissions will not be accepted.
Application Deadline: 6/30/2026
Selection Notification: 7/31/2026
Subgrant Period: 9/1/2026 – 8/31/2027
Award Amount: $15,000-18,000, 16-18 awards
Reporting Requirements: Subgrantees must send a paragraph summarizing their work on the funded project. Must send budget vs actuals for the funded project.

I. Background

Immigrant families across the United States face escalating threats to their safety, stability, and access to essential services. Since January 2025, federal and state actions have rolled back protections, restricted health care and benefits, and destabilized immigrant communities. Congress passed H.R. 1 (OBBBA) which included devastating cuts to lawfully present immigrants’ eligibility for public benefits. Agencies including the Departments of Health & Human Services, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development and others have issued policy changes that further jeopardize access to the safety net.

In November 2025, the administration released a public charge proposed rule that would dramatically expand penalties for immigrant families who access basic services—one of the most serious threats to immigrant well-being in recent years. PIF is leading a national response, mobilizing legal experts, state partners, and community organizations to oppose the rule and mitigate harm.

The Protecting Immigrant Families (PIF) Coalition—representing more than 800 organizations—has mobilized quickly, but the scale of these attacks has strained capacity, especially for community-based groups closest to impacted families.

To meet this moment, PIF is launching the PIF Advocacy Collaborative: a cohort of 16-18 state-based advocates who will receive training and support to strengthen advocacy capacity and influence policy in real time. This RFP invites PIF members to apply to support a designated advocate from their organization.

II. Purpose of the RFP

The purpose of this RFP is to identify local- or state-based PIF member organizations that are committed to advancing immigrant-inclusive public benefits policies and are positioned to engage in coordinated federal advocacy. Selected organizations will designate one staff member or community advocate to serve as a PIF Policy Advocate, who would have the opportunity to participate in a structured training and advocacy program, and obtain general support from PIF’s team of staff and consultants in developing capacity to engage in targeted policy campaigns consistent with PIF’s policy priorities on the federal and state/local levels for a period of twelve (12) months.

PIF requests that organizations participating in this cohort use the capacity developed to support policy priorities consistent with PIF’s mission. For example, on the federal policy level, PIF policy priorities may include but are not limited to the following:

• Expanding access to public benefits for immigrant families: Advance policies that remove eligibility barriers and broaden access to healthcare, tax credits, nutrition, and housing — including repealing harmful H.R.1 provisions and ending the five-year bar for green card holders.
• Opposing and blocking harmful policy and enforcement proposals: Resist efforts that expand public charge penalties, enable data-sharing with immigration enforcement, or otherwise weaponize public benefits systems against immigrant and mixed-status families. Support legislation that blocks the public charge rule from being implemented, prohibits data sharing, or castigates the administration for doing bad things.
• Restoring protections in sensitive community spaces: Support renewed safeguards limiting immigration enforcement in hospitals, schools, places of worship, and other trusted community settings.

On the state or local policy level, PIF’s priorities include:

• Inclusive local safety net services: Collaborate with local government agencies, health departments, health care providers, food banks, mutual aid groups or other local entities to ensure safety net programming and services are inclusive and accessible to all residents, regardless of immigration status. 
• Protected areas and sensitive locations policies: Support state efforts to establish or strengthen protections that limit immigration enforcement in hospitals, schools, courts, and other trusted community spaces.
• Data privacy and protection measures: Advance policies that safeguard personal information collected through public programs, prevent harmful data-sharing with federal immigration enforcement, and strengthen confidentiality standards.
• Implementation of federal policy changes to public benefits administered by state agencies: Support advocates’ efforts to mitigate the harm of state benefits agencies’ actions taken to implement the immigrant eligibility restrictions in H.R. 1 and other federal policy changes. 
• State-level benefits protection and expansion: Promote inclusive state policies that protect or expand access to healthcare, nutrition, tax credits, and other safety-net programs for immigrants and mixed-status families, regardless of federal restrictions.

Organizations selected through this RFP will receive:

• A subgrant in the amount of $15,000-$18,000 to the organization to support participation of Policy Advocate
• Access to training, technical assistance, and model materials
• Ongoing technical, strategic, communications and educational support from PIF team
• Opportunities to influence local, state and federal policy debates
• A peer network of advocates across 8–10 states

III. Program Overview

A. Objectives

The PIF Advocacy Collaborative aims to:

• Build the state and/or federal advocacy capacity of local and state partner organizations
• Strengthen understanding of public benefits policy and immigrant access issues
• Equip advocates with tools, strategies, and messaging to influence policymakers
• Support real-time advocacy campaigns in key states
• Foster long-term collaboration and shared strategy across the PIF network
• Improve policymakers’ understanding of the real-life impact on immigrant families of current and proposed policies, leading them to advance policies that better support our communities.  

B. Activities and Support Provided

Selected Policy Advocates will:

• Participate in regular virtual meetings and targeted trainings
• Receive guidance from PIF’s team of staff and consultants
• Engage in direct advocacy with state and/or federal policymakers, applying skills to an active policy threat or opportunity in their state or at the federal level
• Contribute to coordinated PIF advocacy efforts, including State Policy and Federal Advocacy Working Groups
• Share strategies, challenges, and lessons learned with peers

Training topics may include:

• Policy Advocacy 101 (including 501(c)(3) rules for nonpartisan advocacy)
• Power mapping for systems change
• Effective storytelling for policy change
• Coalition-building and partnership strategies
• Community organizing and power building 
• Others, based on subgrantees’ input

IV. Eligibility Criteria

Applicant organizations may include those that regularly engage in policy advocacy and/or community organizing; or that provide direct services and benefits assistance, with at least some experience in community organizing and/or policy advocacy. 

Applicant organizations must:

• Be a current, state- or local-based PIF member organization striving to protect and/or expand access to safety net programs for immigrants – including health care, food/nutrition, housing, and economic supports 
• Demonstrate organizational support for the designated Policy Advocate’s participation
• Show interest and capacity to engage in sustained advocacy, in coordination with PIF, particularly at the federal level
• Commit to attending meetings, trainings, and advocacy activities where capacity allows

Designated Policy Advocates must:

• Be available for an average 2-3 PIF-led trainings, working group calls, and/or advocacy actions per month
• Have a strong interest and a basic foundation in a specific policy issue related to safety net access for immigrants
• Be able to travel to DC for a potential lobby day in Spring/Summer 2027

V. Proposal Requirements

Applicant organizations must submit a proposal that includes the following components:

1. Organizational Information

• Organization name, mission, and primary areas of work
• Geographic location and communities served
• Description of current or past advocacy efforts (if applicable), including any other national coalitions the organization is actively participating in or other key national partners (750 words maximum)

2. Designated Policy Advocate

• Name, role, and brief biography or resume (250 words maximum)
• Description of the individual’s interest in advocacy, desired learning objectives, and explanation of their availability and capacity to participate in 2-3 PIF activities per month, including trainings, working group calls, and/or PIF advocacy actions (500 characters maximum)

3. Policy Focus Area (750 words):

Organizations must identify:

• A specific policy threat, opportunity, or public benefits issue in their locality or state that affects immigrant families, which the designated Policy Advocate will use skills and experience built through cohort participation to work on
• Why this issue is urgent or strategically important
• A brief description of existing work the organization has undertaken on this issue, if available

4. Collaborative Impact Statement (150-250 words)

Applicants must describe:

• How they hope that participation in the PIF Advocacy Collaborative will strengthen their advocacy
• How the training, resources, and peer network will enhance their campaign
• How the organization plans to apply new skills in real time

VI. Selection Criteria

Organizations based in states with historically less infrastructure supporting pro-immigrant and safety-net policies are especially encouraged to apply. To promote geographic diversity and equity, no more than two (2) organizations from the same state will be selected.

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

• Capacity and readiness to engage in advocacy
• Demonstrated commitment to immigrant communities
• Potential for impact on state or federal policy debates
• Strength and clarity of the identified policy issue
• Fulfillment of requirement to be a member of PIF

VII. Award Information

Selected organizations will receive:

• A subgrant to support organizational participation, which may be used to provide a stipend to the Policy Advocate (if the individual is not a staff member) 
• Access to PIF’s training curriculum, materials, and expert guidance
• Inclusion in a national cohort of advocates
• Public recognition for participation on PIF’s website and social media

VIII. Deliverables

With support of their organization and PIF staff and consultants, participants will: 

1. Identify and create an advocacy plan for a current state or federal policy issue, threat, or opportunity related to immigrant access to health care, nutrition, or other basic needs programs that will serve as the focus of their advocacy engagement during the program.
2. Attend and actively participate in virtual cohort meetings, trainings, and technical assistance sessions provided through the Collaborative.
3. Use capacity developed to carry out at least 1-2 advocacy activities with state or federal policymakers related to the participant’s identified policy priority. Activities may include legislative meetings, policy briefings, testimony, regulatory comments, or participation in coordinated advocacy days.
4. Participate in coordinated PIF advocacy efforts, such as joining relevant State Policy or Federal Advocacy Working Group discussions, sharing state updates, or supporting coalition advocacy opportunities when relevant.
5. After completion of the program, share a brief written reflection or update with the cohort on advocacy efforts, including strategies used, challenges encountered, and lessons learned, as well as a brief financial report.

IX. Submission Instructions

Applications must be submitted through the application portal at this link. Note that you will need to create an account to submit an application. Emailed submissions will not be accepted.

X. Contact Information

For questions or assistance, contact Edith Lopez, edith@pifcoalition.org.