Mayor Wu and the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement (MOIA) are awarding $50,000 in mini-grants to five nonprofits for creative initiatives that help green card holders become US citizens. The grants range from $2,000 to $12,000 for programs including citizenship classes, education, and outreach, with one grant going to the Vietnamese American Civic Association (VACA) in Fields Corner.

“We’re grateful for the city’s support on this critical issue,” said Thuan Tran, Executive Director of VACA. “This shows the city’s understanding and recognition of the public issues faced by immigrant communities today. This mini-grant will certainly support our continuing effort to assist Vietnamese green card holders in performing their citizenship interviews competently.”

“Becoming a US citizen is an important milestone, yet we know for many in our communities that it can be an expensive, intimidating and never-ending process,” said Wu. “I’m grateful to MOIA and these organizations for their critical work in reducing barriers to citizenship with creative and community-driven initiatives.”

These grants will support programming from March through September 2023.