When Adnan Karim and Hal Cato of Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee initially sat down with Lisa Sherman Luna from Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition, the idea of The Belonging Fund hadn’t yet been born. That first conversation was exploratory, to learn how TIRRC worked and what immigrant and refugee families were experiencing. Curiosity and compassion became something much bigger.

The Belonging Fund launched soon after to provide critical aid to our immigrant neighbors.

A conversation led by curiosity and appreciation quickly expanded to a table filled with more community partners. Organizations stepped up to help shape the work of helping immigrant and refugee families. Lisa knew the collaboration was different when the question shifted from simply funding a need to building something together.

“CFMT made it clear that this was not a transactional relationship,” Lisa said. “They wanted to better understand and serve our communities.”

That shared ownership and responsibility to our neighbors helped direct focus for The Belonging Fund steering committee, made up of immigrant and refugee-serving organizations from across the region. Importantly, the group itself helped guide the priorities.

“Nashville is almost 15% foreign born, so we know that we cannot thrive without creating opportunities for everyone to thrive, no matter where they were born or how they got here,” said Lisa. “As the federal government erodes protections and access to critical services, immigrants have the fewest resources and the greatest barriers to overcoming hardship.”

Both TIRRC and CFMT brought something the other could not. CFMT offered donor relationships, philanthropic infrastructure, and the ability to mobilize resources quickly, including nationally. TIRRC brought community trust, lived experience, and a close understanding of what immigrant and refugee families were carrying day to day.

Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors opened more than 1,000 cases in 2024, and the American Muslim Advisory Council described a growing need among Afghans, Kurds, Arabs, Somalis, and others facing financial instability and immigration-related hardship. A simple conversation between Lisa and Adnan grew into a network of partners who directly responded to those hardships. In 2025, these eight partners were able to distribute $430,000 in support for legal fees, healthcare, utility assistance, emergency housing, and other basic needs.

“My relationship with Lisa was never transactional. We were learning from each other, shaping the structure together, and making decisions collaboratively,” Adnan said. “When you combine the strengths of TIRRC, CFMT, and all our partners, the result is far more effective than working independently.”