Other Organizations

The Diocese offers these organizations and Web sites as resources for you to explore, and does not necessarily endorse or recommend all content and materials produced by these organizations.

• For Virginians, the most important resources is the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy, which “empowers Virginians to create social justice for all advocating for systemic change. We envision a world where people of all faiths cooperate to create compassionate communities that are just, peaceful, equitable and sustainable.” The Diocese of Virginia is but one of many supporters and members of the center.
  More information can be found at www.virginiainterfaithcenter.org.
• The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis in Richmond has an excellent analysis on the tax contributions of undocumented immigrants in Virginia, whose contributions total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
• The Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations (VACOLAO) is a coalition of non-profit organizations serving the immigrant community in Virginia. Its mission is “to serve as a working alliance among organizations in Virginia that serve or support the interest of the Latino community in order to empower the community and secure equal treatment, equal opportunity and equal representation for Latinos/Hispanics.”  
• Virginia Common Sense focuses on immigration issues and educating the public about immigration.
• Sojourners is a progressive Christian commentary on faith, politics and culture seeing to build a movement of spirituality and social change. “Our mission is to articulate the biblical call to social justice, inspiring hope and building a movement to transform individuals, communities, the church, and the world.” Sojourners has several resources on immigration, including sermon preparation, studies guides and past articles on the theology of immigration.
• Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE) of Northern Virginia “is a broad-based, multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-issue, multi-county, strictly non-partisan citizens’ organization dedicated to making change on social justice issues – such as affordable housing, healthcare, immigration – affecting the lives of low- and middle-income residents in four Northern Virginia jurisdictions: Prince William, Fairfax, and Arlington counties as well as the City of Alexandria. Our membership includes more than 45 houses of worship.” 
• Teaching Tolerance, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, has resources for improving tolerance in a variety of settings. They offer specific resources on immigration as well.
• The Immigration Policy Center (IPC) is the research and policy arm of the American Immigration Council. IPC's mission is to shape a rational conversation on immigration and immigrant integration. Through its research and analysis, IPC provides policymakers, the media, and the general public with accurate information about the role of immigrants and immigration policy on U.S. society. IPC reports and materials are widely disseminated and relied upon by press and policy makers. IPC staff regularly serves as experts to leaders on Capitol Hill, opinion-makers and the media. IPC, formed in 2003 is a non-partisan organization that neither supports nor opposes any political party or candidate for office.