What if you knew people living in the shadows? What if you found out they had a legal leg to stand on? Would you do something to change their circumstances?
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors did just that. Their mission, as displayed on their site is as follows:
Welcoming immigrants with compassion, dignity, and love.
We had a chance to chat with Wade Munday, Executive Director, to get an idea of their vision, audience, goals, and how they are using Give, a WordPress donation plugin, to help raise donations online.
About the Cause:
This group originally started from a church with an immigration lawyer who had a burden to serve the underserved: immigration services to those unjustly deported. This nonprofit advocacy group gives a voice and legal representation to those who wish to stay in the country legally.
According to Wade, there are about 120,000 undocumented persons living just in Tennessee. They work with men, women, and children to provide immigration legal services. In 2015, TNJFON serviced over 500 cases. And these cases are even sometimes related to child trafficking, abuse, and gang related violence in Central America.
TNJFON works with those who they believe have legitimate legal claims and provide those costs free of charge. That’s the mission of Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors.
They have two full time attorneys on staff and work with a network of 100 trained pro-bono attorneys from large firms in Tennessee. They also get help from students from law schools in the area.
“The need is growing, not shrinking.”
Because of industry growth in Tennessee, people are migrating there for opportunity: “both documented and undocumented,” Wade recounted. Because the need is so great, TNJFON focuses on people who live or have family in middle Tennessee.
Currently this nonprofit advocacy group gives a defense to those who cannot afford it. “A criminal,” he mentioned, “has the right to an attorney, provided by the court. Currently, the Federal Government does not afford that same right to those in these delicate situations, even children.”
Their goal in 2016 is to expand work for unaccompanied minors who fled gang violence or were victims of abuse. Often, Wade recounted, these people are afraid to speak up.
How do people find out about Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors?
Currently people find out about their advocacy program through local service providers and social services. Up to ten percent of the victims they encounter have been trafficked here. They are unaware of any rights they may have. Of course, they’re not going to look for an advocate; this group does not want to be found.
Wade referred us to “Self-defence: Deporting child migrants” published in The Economist March 26, 2016, to learn more about the people they serve.
“Like many undocumented, unaccompanied migrant children, G.J.C.P. has no lawyer to represent her in her deportation proceedings. By law, migrants facing removal are assured the right to an attorney. They do not, however, have the right to a free one—only defendants in criminal cases do.”
The TNJFON website build.
Wade is a self-proclaimed beginner and by no means does he consider himself a WordPress developer. Yet, with some research by him and another board member, they were able to find Divi Theme and Give.
It was important to TNJFON to have a site that reflects their competence as they exclusively offer legal representation and services.
No, they didn’t hire an agency. They built the site in-house with the power of WordPress.
They needed recurring donations but didn’t want an app that was difficult. Wade said, “It’s hard to find an app with a friendly recurring donations add-on.”
They struggled for a year with payment gateway and ugly form. He appreciated that Give had a “nice, seamless integration” into Divi Theme.
“I was fooling around one afternoon and realized the power of Give,” he told us.
Looking for an “app.”
We found it interesting that outside of WordPress culture, this nonprofit didn’t think to search for a plugin. Instead they wanted to look for an app. And in the end, WordPress plugins are applications, no matter their level of sophistication.
Wade said, “It’s hard to find an app with a friendly recurring donations add on.”
Why not use crowdfunding platforms?
Though they could have used other crowdfunding options, they wanted to keep the branding on their site. This is an important consideration since online donations significantly drop if donors have to leave the familiarity and comfort of your website.
Wade said,
“Gofundme and portal pages turn me off. I do not need to manage multiple donation portals. My primary concern was functionality and web experience and my site.”
Campaign and Implementation Result:
Though the results aren’t fully in, this group’s new campaign is trying to raise $40,000 and attract new donors — outside of their first circle. Expanding your donor base beyond your immediate group of friends and supporters is an important part of marketing goals of expansion into future missions.
This group of lawyers isn’t the butt of any jokes. They are changing the world through the power of words and a heart of compassion.
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