Center projects are supported through funding from external donors and agencies as well as by University resources. In designing and implementing projects, CLALS establishes dynamic partnerships with academic institutions, think tanks, non-governmental and community organizations, and governmental agencies throughout the United States and Latin America. Below is a list of current and past funders, as well as partners who make the work we do possible.

Funders

American Friends Service Committee

With support from the American Friends Service Committee, CLALS staff prepared a 2011 report on the challenges of reconstruction in Haiti.

Arca Foundation

The Arca Foundation provided support for Past Research Fellow Héctor Silva Ávalos' research on the 1989 Jesuit Massacre and the case's enduring influence on the fortunes of El Salvador's justice system following the 1992 Peace Accords.

Borders, Trade, and Immigration Institute at the University of Houston

The Borders, Trade, and Immigration (BTI) Institute at the University of Houston (UH) granted the Center funds to carry out a project assessing the impact of Central American child and family migration on localities across the United States.

Central America and Mexico Migration Alliance (CAMMINA)

With support from the Central America and Mexico Migration Alliance (CAMMINA), CLALS collaborated with the Washington College of Law's Immigrant Justice Clinic and research institutions in Central America to contribute to the ongoing policy debate around Temporary Protected Status for Honduras and El Salvador.

Christopher Reynolds Foundation

From 2011-2016, Christopher Reynolds Foundation provided iterative support for the Center's Cuba Initiative, which focuses on U.S.-Cuba bilateral relations, economic reform, social welfare, and issues in health, agriculture, and the environment. The Foundation has also generously provided funds to the Center's Central American Refugee Policy & Assistance Project (CARPA).

DC Planning Office

As a part of the Center's DC-Metro Latino Research Initiative, CLALS received funding from the District of Columbia Office of Planning to host a workshop on neighborhood demographic change in DC as it affects Latino and African American communities.

Department of State

The U.S. Department of State has funded four CLALS projects undertaken in partnership with InSight Crime: a completed study of clandestine wildlife trafficking and logging industries in Latin America; a completed analysis of transnational criminal networks and state institutions in Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay; an ongoing initiative analyzing and assessing regional transnational crime in the Western Hemisphere, and a current project exploring the impacts of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Ford Foundation

The Ford Foundation has provided renewed support for the Center's research on the legacies and lessons of hybrid anti-impunity missions in Central America. The Foundation has also awarded funds to CLALS to supply pro bono lawyers and other advocates with the accurate, up-to-date evidence needed to effectively represent unaccompanied minors from Central America as they navigate the U.S. immigration system. Previous work supported by Ford includes a research program assessing the role of Central American elites and a project on participatory democracy in Latin America, which was carried out through a grant to the University of British Columbia's Andean Democracy Research Network.

Henry Luce Foundation

The Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion in International Affairs has provided $300,000 in renewed support for CLALS to undertake a three-year initiative to better understand the responses of religious actors and ideas to environmentally-induced migration and displacement in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Foundation also funded three prior phases of research: one examining religious responses to violence in Latin America, a second on religion and democratic contestation in the region, and a third on religion and climate change in cross-regional perspective.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is providing support for two CLALS research projects: one to assess the cumulative effects of U.S. engagement in Uruguay and Chile, and another aimed at illuminating China’s efforts to shape perceptions of its role in Latin America and the Caribbean. Both projects are funded through cooperative agreements between IWPR and the U.S. Department of State.

Inter-American Development Bank

The Inter-American Development Bank's Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness provided support for the Center's work on emergent challenges in Latin American and Caribbean economies, carried out in collaboration with the Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamérica (CIEPLAN).

International Development Research Centre

The International Development Research Centre provides support for a CLALS research initiative, in collaboration with FLACSO-Costa Rica, on economic opportunities for vulnerable young women in Latin America. FLACSO-Costa Rica previously subcontracted CLALS to carry out research on and disseminate findings from the IDRC-funded multi-year project Exclusion and Violence in Central American Cities

National Institute of Justice

The National Institute of Justice awarded CLALS a $670,000 grant to carry out research aimed at assessing the transnational criminal capacity of the MS-13 gang in the U.S. and El Salvador.

National Science Foundation

CLALS was awarded an NSF conference grant to convene a January 2017 workshop to advance understanding of how social science research can inform judicial decision-making on asylum cases involving Central American children and families.

Open Society Foundations

The Open Society Foundations have provided renewed support for the Center's research on the legacies and lessons of hybrid anti-impunity missions in Central America. Previous OSF-funded research analyzed the work of the Mission to Support the Fight against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (MACCIH) and the prospects for an International Commission against Impunity in El Salvador (CICIES). The Open Society Foundations have also provided support for InSight Crime, the AULA Blog, and research conducted by CLALS Research Fellows on corruption and the police in El Salvador.

Seattle International Foundation

The Seattle International Foundation has partnered with the Ford and Open Society Foundations to fund a CLALS project analyzing the legacies and lessons of hybrid anti-impunity missions in Central America.

Tinker Foundation

The Tinker Foundation has awarded CLALS funds to support graduate student research in Latin America and the Caribbean.

PartnersAnchor

Academic Institutions

Building on the breadth and depth of faculty expertise on Latin American and Latino Studies at American University, CLALS has also reached beyond campus to engage scholars from the following academic institutions, including universities and research institutes in Latin America:

Non-Governmental Organizations, Community Organizations & Think-Tanks

CLALS serves as an academic resource for civil society organizations working to expand understanding, raise awareness, change policies, and provide services. CLALS partners with the following diverse think-tanks, NGOs, and professional associations in the DC metro area and beyond:

Funders & Partners