President Donald Trump's executive order banning Syrian refugees and both immigrants and nonimmigrants from seven majority-Muslim countries has led to an influx of donations and activism nationwide.
Ellen Andrews, director of the Church World Service office in Durham, said their offices have been flooded with emails and phone calls from people wanting to help.
“We really want to keep reiterating to those people that the protests and Facebook posts and all of those things are an important part of advocacy efforts, but that they shouldn't neglect to be calling their senators, their congressmen, and letting those folks know how they feel as well," she said.
Andrews said one thing on the mind of many refugee resettlement agencies, like her own, is money.
“A good majority of our funding is per capita based on refugee arrival, and we want to be prepared for those people when they continue to come," she said.
Madison Hayes, executive director of the Refugee Community Partnership in Carrboro, said there has been a surge in activism at her organization as well.
“In our volunteer application, we ask why the applicant wants to be a part of the Refugee Community Partnership," Hayes said in an email. "Nearly all of those answers lately have been related to resisting Trump."
She said many nonprofit organizations are feeling the pressure of capitalizing on the current momentum in activism — because many are anticipating harsh cuts to federal funding under a Trump administration tax plan.
Hayes said local families are already feeling the effects of the order, if only because of the fear it produced.