The State of Welcoming

2024 Report

For 15 years, Welcoming America has worked with members and partners across the globe to build inclusive communities where everyone belongs. This first State of Welcoming report highlights the history of our contributions to the welcoming movement, why welcoming matters, critical lessons learned, and where we go from here.

The 2024 State of Welcoming report is a call to build the future of welcoming with courage, conviction, and commitment. Whether you are a community leader, an executive, a funder, a public servant, a parent, or a neighbor, you have a role to play in welcoming.

A young man and an older woman, both wearing white lanyards, smile and lean toward each other for a photo outside at a conference in a nearby sunny, grassy park.

Explore The Report

  • A group of 500+ conference attendees gather and look upward for an aerial photograph.

    Learn about the roots of Welcoming America in the U.S.

    Our History
  • A woman dressed in her native African white dress and jewelry smiles and stands in front of her restaurant storefront.

    Explore why Welcoming Matters and the global impact of this work.

    Why Welcoming
  • A woman excitedly raises her hand in a conference room, sitting among other engaged and smiling conference participants.

    Understand the state of welcoming today and critical accomplishments of the movement.

    The Results
  • A man concentrates while waiting a table in an empty restaurant, picking up dirty dishes in a zoomed-out, semi-blurred shot, with leather upholstered booths, beige walls, and wooden doors behind him.

    Meet welcoming champions who are driving economic prosperity and global change.

    Stories
  • A young boy in an orange practice jersey excitedly throws his arms up during a soccer match as he is surrounded by three other young boys in red jerseys on a grassy field as people sitting on bleachers behind them observe the match. A blue tarp surro

    Preview the future of welcoming across the globe.

    The Future

Welcoming is at the heart of healing some of the most complex challenges of our time— from the loneliness epidemic to bridging social, political, and economic divides.

Listen to “The State of Welcoming in America” with Welcoming America’s Executive Director Rachel Perić →

Sparking a Movement

When Welcoming America was founded in 2009, it was to support a grassroots assertion of welcoming values and practices amid a growing backlash against immigrants. The formal concept of welcoming was relatively unknown, but organizers and leaders were uniting to write a new story for their communities.

A group of people walk together outside on a sunny day at the Welcoming Interactive conference. Two people in front smile at the camera while on waves a green flag.

Why Welcoming Matters

In 2024, more than 50 countries will hold political elections, and immigration will be on the ballot. Around the world, democracies are wrestling with the question of who belongs and how to respond to the global movement of people. Welcoming provides an answer rooted in values of human equality and prosperity.

  1. Welcoming Fosters Belonging

  2. Welcoming Contributes to Thriving Democracy

  3. Welcoming Strengthens the Economy

  4. Welcoming Counteracts Racism and Hate

  5. Welcoming Informs Effective and Equitable Policies

The State of Welcoming Today

What started as a grassroots effort in 2009 has become a powerful constellation of organizations and people building and celebrating belonging worldwide. In this report, we explore critical accomplishments of the welcoming movement, including where we started, the state of these efforts today, and what more is needed.

  • From Pilot to Proof: Welcoming Works

  • Words Matter: Asset-Based Narratives Advance Collective Action

  • Welcoming Infrastructure: A Future-Proof Strategy

Champions of Welcoming

From Dayton, Ohio to Wyndham City, Australia, champions of welcoming are improving communities and the world, one action, one initiative, and one policy at a time.

The Future of Welcoming

To ensure our shared vision for this work scales across every community and country, we must learn from our past and remain rooted in our collective why. This report explores where the welcoming movement is heading.

Ready to Take Action?

Join the global welcoming movement