The International Institute of Akron said this week that, following changes to the nation’s refugee resettlement program that limit where people entering the country can come from, it would no longer accept federal funding.
“We haven’t participated in how resettlement has changed and who the administration has deemed refugees,” said Liv Randall, the IIA’s communications and development specialist. “We never pick and choose who comes.”
The administration has prioritized bringing white South Africans to the country. Since January 2025, when Donald Trump returned to office, the IIA has not resettled any refugees, Randall said. The IIA resettled 247 refugees in the Akron area in 2024 according to its 990 tax filing for that year, the last year that the nonprofit’s tax form is available.
In 2024, the IIA took in $5.3 million in revenue, its 990 says. Randall said federal dollars represented 70 percent of that total. Signal Akron couldn’t independently verify the level of grants the organization received.
In a statement, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, part of the Administration for Children and Families, said it does not comment on its contract activities.
Despite the hit to the IIA’s bottom line, Randall said the decision was made to stop accepting federal money because to do so would require that the organization make decisions that violate its values.
Its mission, she said, is to help refugees and immigrants achieve an empowered life with dignity, connection and belonging. By taking federal money, Randall said, the IIA would be agreeing to let the Trump administration decide who could be resettled and that, for the organization, was a non-starter.
“We don’t want to be complicit with that new definition,” Randall said. “That’s where it would start. We don’t know what we would have to comply with going forward. If we are going against our mission now, how far would this be taken?”
International Institute of Akron pivots as resettlement activity lags
While the IIA has spent more than a century helping to welcome immigrants to the city, Randall said over the past year and a half there has been a shift toward the IIA acting as a human rights agency, helping with health care, food and social services for people who are already here.
The organization has helped existing residents navigate changes to the immigration rules, including by hosting an emergency food bank for seven months after Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits were cut for refugees who had been here fewer than five years.
She said IIA has pivoted by, among other things, creating a driver’s education course for Afghan women in the Dari language — while traditionally the women would have stayed home, they’re now looking for opportunities to work.
Additionally, while no new refugees have come to the city, Randall said some who were in other parts of the country relocated to the Akron area in the last 18 months.
Randall said the IIA will not close, but it’s already taken steps to cut costs, like not filling positions when employees leave the organization. She said there is now a staff of 25 to 30 people; in 2024, that number was as high as 43 employees, according to the 990.
“We don’t want to give in,” she said.
Randall said in an email that every one of IIA’s programs received some level of federal funding, though none were completely paid for with federal dollars.
Fundraising totals show connection to Akron community
In announcing the decision to forgo federal dollars, the IIA said in a statement that it needed help to “preserve this vital resource for Akron’s refugee and immigrant communities while we work toward a future where humanitarian resettlement is fully restored.”
“Today, we are asking our community to stand with us,” the message said. “If you believe every person deserves the opportunity to build a safe and stable future, we invite you to support the International Institute of Akron.”
The response, Randall said, has been strong. The message was shared Tuesday morning, and by late Wednesday afternoon the organization had already raised more than $27,000.
Madhu Sharma, the IIA’s executive director, texted the staff to say, “We are not alone” as people began to react to the IIA’s request, Randall said.
She said she’s also heard stories about people the IIA has helped, going back generations.
“It gives a lot of hope and reaffirms that we’re making the right choice because it’s what our community wants to do,” Randall said.
Additionally, she said, organizations have reached out to ask if they can host fundraisers or otherwise spread the word about the IIA’s need.
In its statement, the IIA said many long-standing resettlement agencies have been forced to close their doors. Randall said whether or not to take money to continue work that might not fully align with an organization’s mission can be “a hard decision” for a group that’s trying to keep its doors open.
“I’m pretty confident we can make it work,” she said. “This is our ask so we can keep doing our work.”
IIA is accepting donations at www.iiakron.org/take-action. Anyone who wants to host a fundraiser for the organization or to share how IIA has affected their life can email Kevin Walter at kevin.walter@iiakron.org or Randall at liv.randall@iiakron.org.
