Announcement
Newly arrived family gathers in their living room.
Before the Refugee Act of 1980 standardized refugee resettlement through the use of resettlement agencies, such as the International Rescue Committee, resettlement was largely conducted privately or through community groups.
With the recent increase in numbers and enthusiasm of local community groups wanting to partner to resettle refugees, IRC is committed to integrating community sponsorship programming at the local and national levels.
What is Community Sponsorship? What is Co-Sponsorship?
- Community sponsorship is the umbrella term which refers to different models of refugee resettlement that pair clients (refugees, SIVs, parolees) with community groups that provide clearly defined financial and in kind contributions and volunteer services.
- Co-sponsorship is a form of Community sponsorship. In this model, the co-sponsor group is within 100 miles of the local IRC office and provides the clearly defined financial and in kind contributions and volunteer services to clients, while efforts are overseen by the local IRC office. As a result, the quality of life for refugee families is immeasurably enhanced.
Co-sponsors can take many forms including local clubs, university communities, faith- based institutions, or community groups, sports teams, book clubs, and many more. Co-sponsors do not have to be a formal 501c3 but must be structured.