Image Credit: Canva
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
A Nashville-based fund designed to funnel money to nonprofits which support immigrant communities in Middle Tennessee has expanded its backing to include providing immigration-related legal services, claiming it has seen an increase in requests for legal representation and advocacy.
The Belonging Fund was launched in May 2025 through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee (CFMT), and the program began the day after ICE immigration enforcement operations started in the Nashville area earlier this summer.
CFMT houses over 1,600 charitable funds and supports the “causes and nonprofits most important to our fundholders”.
Like the CFMT, the Belonging Fund accumulates financial resources and distributes them to organizations which seek to “provide immigrant families in Middle Tennessee with access to the care and support they need to build safe and stable lives,” but with seemingly little visibility or accountability for the money trail.
This “care and support” includes resources and services from organizations providing housing, childcare, transportation, food, and other “urgent needs”.
Now, the Belonging Fund has expanded its reach to include supporting nonprofits which provide immigration-related legal services.
It has also revised its list of essential services to include specialized medical and mental health care, “tailored to the unique needs of immigrant communities.”
One such organization to benefit from the fund is the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC), which has spent much time advocating for illegal alien Kilmar Abrego Garcia and vilifying ICE agents and operations.
Reportedly, the NGO has received over $3 million in government grants since 2020.
The Belonging Fund claims it is completely donor funded and has received no contributions from government funds or taxpayer dollars, yet upon its creation Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s office issued a press release explicitly stating the fund is a partnership between CFMT and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County.
As reported by Congressman Andy Ogles, the organization supposedly does not have a system to track to whom the money is flowing, thereby making it unclear whether taxpayer funds are in fact being funneled through the Belonging Fund.
Ogles has been spearheading a federal probe into Mayor O’Connell for obstructions of federal immigration enforcement activities, including the financial trail of the Belonging Fund.
Legal experts are also expressing uncertainty about whether using donated funds for immigration-related legal services, particularly those for illegal aliens, could conflict with Tennessee state restrictions, though no formal challenges have yet been filed.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
5 Responses
Mayor “Freddie” has no clue what is going on with taxpayers’ money and he doesn’t care. “Freddie” knows he is a one-term mayor who will soon go to the dust pile.
Anyone or any organization supporting illegality are enemies of our Republic.
Exactly.
Once again, obfuscation and opacity have lead to the unintended funding of programs that the AVERAGE Tennessean is against. And Crashville wonders why it’s taxes are so high, and how we can have 1,000s of illegal immigrant families living in our state. Because cities like this are funding them,
It’s time to clean house Tennesseans.
We can not afford to support lawbreaking people in our state or in our country. They all need to be deported and barred from re-entry for a minimum of 5 years. Including those families that have had anchor babies. They did it intentionally to keep a foothold here in America. These families can be deported as a unit.
AMEN!!