Thrive International pushes forward despite new federal refugee cuts
News Story by Morgen White | FāVS News
While other refugee organizations scramble amid federal funding cuts, a Spokane-based refugee resettlement nonprofit is expanding westward, drawing on private donations and state funding to continue its mission.
Thrive International, founded in Spokane in June 2022, opened a new location in Tacoma last September after King County officials sought help with homeless immigrants. The organization’s funding model — relying primarily on private donations, resident payments and state funding — has enabled its growth even as new federal policies threaten similar organizations.
“About 10% of our budget is related to federal funding that’s passed through partner organizations,” said Mark Finney, Thrive International’s executive director. “We don’t anticipate changing our core operations because our funding is not dependent on Trump administration funding decisions.”
The contrast couldn’t be more different to refugee resettlement groups when they were directed last week to stop using certain federal aid due to the president’s suspension of American foreign aid. World Relief Spokane immediately appealed to donors, warning that nearly 4,000 refugee clients nationwide — including 177 in Spokane and Spokane Valley — faced risks of hunger and homelessness.
For Thrive International staff, many of whom are immigrants themselves, the policy shifts hit close to home. Saw Gary, the Spokane programs director, was born a refugee with no country to call home after his parents fled persecution in Burma, now Myanmar.
“I feel like I went back into a third world country,” Saw said, referring to Trump’s stated aim to end birthright citizenship. “If you’re born in the country, at least in my personal opinion, you should also be part of the community.”
The organization’s resilience stems partly from its housing-based model. In Tacoma, after initially housing about 80 families in a SeaTac hotel, Thrive Center Tacoma secured a three-year master lease on a hotel property to create a more sustainable solution.
“We’ve had almost 1,000 people live with us in the Thrive Center here in Spokane, and then move on to pursue their dreams,” Finney said. “We’ve also had more than 50 families, or somewhere in the neighborhood of 200 people, that have had that same experience in the Seattle-Tacoma area.”
While Finney, also a pastor at Emmaus Spokane, maintains that Thrive International isn’t explicitly faith-based, he credits religious values for inspiring the mission. The organization partners with diverse faith groups, including Temple Beth Shalom and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“What compels me to do this is the injunctions in the Christian faith, and in the Hebrew Scriptures … to welcome immigrants and to recognize the image of God in every person,” Finney said.
Thrive International’s success stems from a model focused on quick transitions and empowerment, says the Rev. Jim CastroLang, who shifted from operations administrator to focus on policy and advocacy when the Tacoma location opened.
“It took about eight or nine months, but we were able to find a space that was a hotel,” CastroLang said. “We got a three-year master lease with them so that we could come in and control the space, create the community, the environment and be a safe place.”
This transition to more permanent housing comes at a critical time. More than half of Thrive’s staff are immigrants, including many Ukrainians on temporary work visas whose futures remain uncertain under new immigration policies.
“These kinds of policies make it even more uncertain,” Finney said. “It’s very unclear how long they’ll be able to stay in this country in this new administration. That’s very destabilizing, especially for people who come from places where their cities are wiped off the map and they don’t have a home to return to.”
Despite these challenges, Thrive International’s emphasis on community support has helped forge strong local partnerships. Beyond their faith-based alliances, the organization works closely with county governments and local service providers.
Finney sees these partnerships as crucial to their mission of moving “refugees from surviving to thriving.”
“Literally every day we’re having new families that are moving out. And it’s beautiful. It’s working really well,” Finney said.
In a recent Facebook post, he reaffirmed the organization’s commitment despite current political headwinds: “America as we know it does not exist without refugees. I stood with refugees when we saw this kind of cruel ban in 2017 and I’m prepared to keep working for refugees until this country wakes up and remembers who we are.”
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