This article traces a community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) project which engaged local non-profits and the immigrant community in Flint, Michigan, USA, to identify areas for growth in support of local immigrant-background residents. Collaborative data-gathering began in 2015 with the creation of a community asset map which outlined existing services available to immigrants, as well as potential areas for growth. This was followed by a series of linguistically and culturally sensitive focus groups with immigrant-background participants. The use of CBPAR was foundational to this study because it engaged the local community in the needs analysis process and resulted in the development of grassroots ESOL programming. The article outlines steps and recommendations for community-based participatory ESOL needs analysis that can be applied to other geographical regions and ESOL programmes.