Upwardly Global

Mission

The number of college-educated immigrants to the US grew from to 5,821,690 to 7,800,043 (a growth rate of 34%) between 2000 and 2005 ^[1]. At the same time, the foreign born population of the United States increased from 30,760,065 to 35,689,842 (a growth rate of 16%). ^[2] However, even with more education than the majority of immigrants and extensive job experience, these immigrants still have tremendous difficulty finding jobs in their career fields. Over half of all legal immigrants to the US work in lower-skilled jobs than their education or experience has prepared them for.^[3]

Upwardly Global helps immigrant, refugee, and asylee professionals find jobs in their career fields. To date, over 800 immigrants from around 103 countries have secured jobs in their respective career fields with the help of this organization. ^[4] It operates on the belief that the hiring of immigrant professionals is beneficial not only to the individuals themselves but to the American economy, emulating Stephen Moore's belief that:^[5]

To qualify for Upwardly Global's free services, immigrants must have:

They cannot be or have been:

Beginnings

Upwardly Global was started by Jane Leu in 1999 in San Francisco. After having worked extensively with immigrants, asylees, and refugees, Jane perceived a need for programs targeting educated, experienced immigrants in particular. Newspapers have described cases of underemployed immigrant professionals—lawyers working as gas station attendants, doctors as doormen—as the “American classic.” ^[7]. Multiple organizations exist to assist immigrant job-seekers, but few have the resources required to assist those with professional-level backgrounds. Upwardly Global is unique in the United States as an organization that specializes in matching qualified immigrants with high-skill positions. Jane began working with such immigrants part-time, unpaid, from her own kitchen.

In 2000, the organization received its first official grant from the Three Guineas Fund. In the next few years, the list of donors expanded to include the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Draper Richards Foundation, and various private donors.

Present day

Headquarters are located in San Francisco's Financial District, at 582 Market St. A New York office, at 401 Broadway, was launched in June 2006. Today, the full-time staff has grown to about 10 people in the New York office, and around 10 in the San Francisco office. The volunteer network numbers over 1000. The operating budget is about $1.9 million.^[8]. Jane Leu remains Executive Director, with Camille Ramani as Chief Operating Officer. The organization has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the 2006 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award.^[9]

The organization continues to receive funding from private donors, as well as from the Achelis Foundation, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the Alan Slifka Foundation, Cisco Systems, Community Technology, Foundation for California, the Draper Richards Foundation, the Gimbel Foundation, the Johnson Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, the Leitner Family Foundation, New Profit, Inc., the New York Times Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the Third Millennium Foundation, Three Guineas Fund, Wells Fargo, and the Yahoo! Employee Foundation. In addition, companies that become employer partners of the organization (please see below) pay an annual fee in return for receiving resumes and job candidates.

Jobseekers

Jobseekers that fit requirements have free access to Upwardly Global programs and services. Activities and programs include:

These programs and activities address what Upwardly Global considers a four-fold challenge for immigrant professionals:^[10]

Employer network

Upwardly Global has partnerships with such companies as JP Morgan Chase, Google, Deloitte & Touche, Merrill Lynch, Gap, Cisco, Wells Fargo, Clorox and BearingPoint. Employer partners sign an annual contract with the nonprofit and donate in return for its recruiting services.

Upwardly Global's strategy for interaction with employer partners follows a basic three-level process:

1. Education Through training, Upwardly Global works with HR professionals to expand cross-cultural hiring practices.

2. Engagement Employees of partner companies are invited to volunteer for Upwardly Global, individually or in groups. This important step increases awareness about immigrant professional potential and creates "internal advocates for global diversity."

3. Employment The final component is the intersection of needs and goals between the jobseekers and companies. Upwardly Global functions similarly to a recruiter by steering qualified and interested candidates towards open positions in employer partner companies.

Criticism

Upwardly Global has had its fair share of controversy, from both anti-immigration activists and immigrants themselves. Some immigrants disagree with its stringent requirements; in particular, its reluctance towards remote location work, and its refusal to work with those immigrants born in Western countries or without functional English language skills.

Anti-immigration activists protest, citing fears of the United States' growing reliance on foreign labor as a threat to national security.