The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation announced this week that it has begun accepting applications from Massachusetts and New Hampshire nonprofits supporting immigrants under its annual targeted grant program.

The foundation plans to award more than $1.5 million this year to nonprofits addressing a range of issues that immigrants face, like assistance for people seeking asylum, separated families, ESOL and adult basic education, workforce training and support for immigrants serving in the U.S. military.

“America is a nation of immigrants and now – more than ever – today’s immigrants need our support,” Laura Kurzrok, executive director of the foundation, said in a statement. “We’ve supported immigrants in our communities even before we formed our foundation, more than 30 years ago, and we are looking forward to strengthening organizations that provide programs that address the social, legal and economic challenges facing immigrants and their families. We understand these issues because, here at Eastern, a large number of our colleagues are immigrants or sons, daughters or grandchildren of immigrants.”

Targeted grants usually range between $10,000 and $15,000, though they can run as high as $50,000. Previous targeted grant categories have included homelessness, community healthcare, workforce development, K-12 student success, violence prevention and strengthening families.