THE GATEWAY FUND

Meeting Urgent Needs. Driving Systemic Change.

A new Trump administration rule forces immigrant children and youth who survived abuse, abandonment or neglect to pay $250 just to apply for legal protection. We launched The Gateway Fund to eliminate this financial barrier and keep the door to legal safety open for more children.

donateFor Legal Providers

The Gateway Fund is supported by a grant from the San Francisco Foundation.

Why it matters

Bridging the Gap to Legal Protection

$250
now required just to apply, with no fee waiver
31,933
young people applied for SIJS in a single year, each now facing the feeUSCIS, fiscal year 2022
21
the age when SIJS eligibility ends

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is the legal pathway Congress created specifically to protect immigrant children and youth who survived severe abuse, abandonment or neglect. Historically, youth who could not afford the petition fee could request a fee waiver. In 2025, the Trump administration ended those waivers, forcing a mandatory $250 fee on young people with no income and no safety net.

Under this policy, nonpayment results in immediate rejection rather than denial, which forecloses any right to appeal. Because SIJS eligibility ends at age 21, a missed payment or rejected filing can permanently end a young person's claim to legal protection.

While legal partners challenge this harmful rule in federal court and push Congress for permanent relief, mBOLDen Change is stepping in to bridge the gap to legal protection. We partner directly with nonprofit and pro bono immigration attorneys to cover filing fees upfront, ensuring an administrative fee never stands between a young person and their future.

Our Approach

How We Work

We Listen

We start by listening — to our community partners and to the families they serve. What they know and what they've lived through set our agenda and everything that follows. It’s why we co-design our programs alongside the people and partners who live these realities every day.

We Build and Strengthen

We roll up our sleeves alongside local partners to build what communities need—meeting urgent needs now, strengthening the organizations doing the work and growing what works.

We Advocate

We champion the policies and practices that allow all families to thrive. Through direct policy advocacy, public education and authentic storytelling, we fight alongside marginalized communities to defend essential safety nets and open new doors of opportunity.

Strategic Priorities

Our Focus Areas

Economic Security

Cash Plus CareMeeting Basic NeedsProviding direct cash transfers has been a central part of our model since 2020. When the cost of every essential is untethered from what people earn, even a small budget gap can lead to a permanent crisis.mBOLDen Change provides the cash resources that allow households to pay their bills and works side by side with frontline partners to co-design approaches that stabilize and support families.See it in action

Health Access

Closing Health GapsAdvancing Health EquityGood health is built long before anyone sees a doctor; it depends on safe housing, clean environments and economic security. When the social determinants of health are neglected, everyday challenges can escalate into long-term crises for families and communities.mBOLDen Change pilots solutions to close gaps in care and collaborates with partners to strengthen community resources and protect everyone's health and well-being.See it in action

Rapid Response

Meeting the MomentResponding to Urgent NeedsWhether triggered by a natural disaster, a humanitarian crisis or a sudden policy change, unexpected shocks can upend life overnight. When traditional systems are slow to react, temporary gaps can quickly harden into lasting crises for families and communities.mBOLDen Change moves quickly to deploy emergency support, adapt its resources and push for policies and systems that meet the moment.See it in action

Partner Story · The.Circuit EPA

They don’t just offer funds. They offer partnership. Minh and her team believed in us when we needed it most, and because of that, hundreds of kids in East Palo Alto now have access to technology, creativity, and opportunity.

Michele SharkeyCo-Founder, The.Circuit EPA
Students gathered together, using virtual reality headsets

Partnering on Bold Ideas

When The.Circuit envisioned a new creative technology space for East Palo Alto, they didn't bring a long track record. Instead, they brought something much stronger: a deep connection to their neighborhood and a vision students and their families were eager for. We saw a team we wanted to build with, so we stepped in early with incubation, funding and hands-on strategy. Today, hundreds of local youth have a vibrant space to build skills, unleash creativity and shape their own futures.

Our Point of View

We Said What We Said

Our take on the policies, power dynamics, values and myths that shape communities and create invisible barriers to change.

Read more on Substack