Announcement
The mission of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) is to respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future.
The IRC in Salt Lake City maintains robust opportunities for local and national organizations to engage meaningfully in our local work and support the efforts of refugee, asylee, immigrant and new American families to positively integrate into our community. Engagement in our work ranges from volunteer opportunities to team donation drives, educational presentations, event support and more. You and your team will learn more about refugee resettlement in Utah and other vital services provided by the IRC in Salt Lake City.
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Frequency Asked Questions (FAQ)
The IRC Way: Principles of Partner Engagement
The International Rescue Committee's code of conduct, the IRC Way, guides staff around the world as they diligently work to focus efforts on the wellbeing of the families we serve while meeting the expectations of the IRC’s donors as responsible stewards of their resources. The IRC in Salt Lake City developed the following Principles of Partner Engagement in our effort to align with both our own guiding values reflected in the IRC Way and principles established by Community-Centric Fundraising. We hope you will join us in striving to meet the following principles as you engage in our work:
1. The people we serve benefit first.
- The IRC and partners are responsible to the people we serve.
- We strive to create a sense of belonging for the people we serve by building a supportive space and welcoming refugees and immigrants to the community.
- Our goal is to create accessible, tailored tools and resources for the people we serve to leverage as they work to achieve greater upward mobility and to be fully included in their new communities.
2. Our efforts align with IRC’s mission and Values: Integrity, Equality, Accountability, and Service.
3. The IRC and community partners act as supporters, not saviors.
- As we work together, our role as supporters to the communities we serve must be clear. We do not center ourselves and our story in the work we do together; we leverage combined resources to ensure the people we serve are able to center themselves in the story.
4. The IRC and community partners mutually commit to integrating racial justice, human rights, and intersectionality in our work.
- We are part of a larger ecosystem working to strengthen and build the capacity of refugee and immigrant communities in Utah for the good of the entire community.
5. Mutual Accountability: The IRC and community partners hold each other accountable for the behaviors, actions, and results of the partnership.
- We treat supporters as partners, and this means that we are transparent, assume the best intentions, and occasionally have difficult conversations.
Join Us as a Partner
With over 20 different programs, the IRC in Salt Lake City offers a variety of engagement opportunities for corporate and community partners. From one-time engagement to a full year of activities, we work with you to build a lasting and mutually beneficial partnership. Activities could include consistent employee volunteer opportunities, a pledged yearly donation or event sponsorship, engagement with IRC’s food entrepreneurship program, education or awareness-raising campaigns and/or support of the IRC’s current advocacy initiatives.
Start by learning more about past community partners and their experiences below, then email us at [email protected] to begin the conversation.
Read the stories of some of our community partners and their experiences:
- Cotopaxi hosts refugee entrepreneurs
- First Unitarian Church welcomes families home
- Celtic Bank organizes a Youth Career Shadow Day
- Goldman Sachs steps up during Women’s History Month
Review other successful partnerships at the IRC in Salt Lake City here »
Partner Engagement Opportunities
Learn more about the activities your organization can support at the IRC in Salt Lake City:
Volunteer
- Volunteer with your team. Invest your time in our programs and the people we serve through group volunteer opportunities Learn more about Group Volunteer Opportunities here »
- Support an education workshop. Share your skills through a presentation or workshop focused on needed skill-building for refugee youth, job-ready adults, or budding entrepreneurs.
- Encourage employees to volunteer on their own. Team members can support IRC programming as mentors, tutors, and individual volunteers building program capacity and support for refugee families. Interested individuals can learn more at Rescue.org/VolunteerSLC
Email [email protected] to learn more.
Organize Donation Drives
- Host an in-kind donation drive as a team. Gather much-needed supplies at any time during the year for newly arrived refugee families and individuals. Learn more by visiting Rescue.org/DonateSLC.
- Become a Neighborhood Partner. Gather much-needed in-kind supplies on a monthly or bi-monthly basis to ensure consistent deliveries of the basics as families work toward self-sufficiency.
- Join our seasonal in-kind drives.
- Warm Welcome Winter Clothing Drive: Ensure a warm welcome by supplying refugee families with winter gear ahead of their first Utah winter.
- Light One Candle: Sponsor a refugee family during the holidays and fulfill their wish list of much-needed items and other gifts.
- Facilitate a device donation: If your office gets new laptops or tablets every few years, work to refurbish the outgoing inventory as a donation to connect newly arrived families with devices.
Email [email protected] to learn more.
Every fall, the IRC in Salt Lake City organizes the Warm Welcome Winter Clothing Drive to distribute winter essentials for newly arrived refugees.
Photo: Underbelly Creative
Engage your team
- Invite the IRC to your next Lunch & Learn or Nonprofit Day. Want your team to learn more about refugees, the resettlement process, and what the IRC does in Salt Lake City? Host a Lunch & Learn, have an IRC table at your event, or invite or invite a food truck to your office for a day! Learn more »
- Hire a Spice Kitchen Incubator entrepreneur. The IRC’s Spice Kitchen Incubator program supports refugee and new American entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams of food business ownership. Hire an entrepreneur to cater your next office event, or invite a food truck to your office for a day! Learn more »
- Support local agriculture & a New Roots farmer. During the summer months, you and our team can support local refugee farmers through our New Roots CSA program by organizing a weekly farm box delivery to your organization or visiting one of three weekly farmers markets. Learn more »
Email [email protected] to learn more.
Raise much-needed funds
- Make an annual or monthly gift. Financial contributions ensure robust programming continues for the refugees, asylees, immigrants and new Americans served by the IRC in Salt Lake City. Consider making an annual or monthly gift or invite the IRC to participate in your grant program.
- Match your teams’ contributions. Raise awareness of the IRC as a trusted organization for monetary contributions and double your team’s impact by matching member gifts or volunteer hours. If you don’t have a match-giving program, here is a helpful guide from Double the Donation (no affiliation with the IRC).
- Commit to an event sponsorship. Show your commitment to refugee communities as a public sponsor of the IRC’s events each year.
- Organize a company-wide DIY fundraiser. DIY fundraisers help raise awareness about refugees while increasing critical funding at the IRC to build firm foundations for refugee families striving to regain control of their future.
Email [email protected] to learn more.
Breaking Bread in 2019.
Photo: Brendan O'Leary/Lantern Light Media
Other Opportunities
Employ job-ready adults
- The IRC’s Employment Partners provide quality jobs at market rates with benefits to help refugee adults relaunch their careers in the U.S.
Advocate for refugee families in Utah
- Support our federal advocacy by elevating IRC’s Take Actions in communications with clients, employees, and board members. Take Actions respond rapidly to rule changes, connect the community to members of congress, and encourage civic engagement activities!
- Support our local advocacy by engaging in the Utah State Legislative Session. The Legislative Session runs from January to March; IRC will be engaging on a variety of issues related to refugee and immigrant integration.
Build a cause marketing campaign to support the IRC
- Raise awareness of challenges facing refugee communities while raising your business profile and generating a profit in support of our work!
Email [email protected] to learn more.
FAQs
How do I get started on a partnership?
Look over the options above for examples of partnerships and other types of engagement the IRC can offer partners. Once you have an idea of what you are most interested in, then email us to set up an initial meeting. At this meeting, we can provide more information about the IRC and our work, as well as go into more detail about the engagement opportunities we have available.
Can I organize a group volunteer activity for my team without a budget?
We are grateful for your invaluable contribution of volunteers and time in support of our work. However, due to the significant amount of staff time and organizational resources that go into organizing and completing successful volunteer days, we generally encourage a financial donation in addition to your commitment of time. Donations help offset the hard costs of the project in addition to directly supporting participants of the program, long-term program outcomes and staff time. With your support as a volunteer group and the additional monetary gift, we complete large-scale projects in just a few hours, and cover time spent planning for the project, gathering supplies, and other direct costs for our programs. Occasionally, depending on the project, groups can be accommodated without a direct monetary contribution.
How will our donation to the IRC be used?
If you provide a donation as part of a volunteer project, your donation will directly support the project, the program facilitating the project, and other related activities.
If you make an annual or monthly gift, your contribution could support a variety of activities including emergency housing supports for refugee families, ensuring added flexibility to our programming, supporting staff learning and training, and other local organization-wide expenses not covered by grant funding. Monetary gifts can also be allocated to meet your intent as a donor in support of a specific program or initiative.
How much advance notice does the IRC need to plan partnership activities?
Most opportunities for partnerships have flexible timing, however, some of them do require advance notice. If you are interested in a group volunteer opportunity, please let us know at least three weeks in advance to schedule a volunteer day. If you are interested in hosting a workshop, please allow up to six weeks for preparation to ensure an engaging experience for all involved. Sponsorship or volunteering for events should be planned at least a month in advance. If you are in doubt of your timeline, please reach out sooner rather than later to start the conversation.
Can we connect our grants program/foundation to your work?
Yes! In addition to partner engagement, the IRC in Salt Lake City continues to build a robust and diverse funding pipeline in support of over 20 different programs and services tailored to meet the needs of and reduce barriers for refugees, asylees, immigrants and new Americans living in Utah. We are grateful to make new connections and discuss program alignment with your organization’s funding priorities.
Do you have volunteer opportunities that meet CRA requirements?
Yes, we have a breadth of experience supporting organizations as they work to meet their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requirements.
Questions? Email [email protected].