In a world where conflicts continually displace millions, the need for humanitarian aid has reached unprecedented levels. With conflicts escalating in 13 of the last 15 years, humanitarian organizations are stretched thin, struggling to assist the 114 million refugees and displaced persons worldwide—an alarming figure likely exacerbated by ongoing conflict in Gaza, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To address this devastating global crisis, bold solutions are needed to achieve transformational change in the world. This is exactly why in 2020, we were so thrilled to partner with ICONIQ Impact and donors like Lyna Lam, Chris Larsen, and the SeaGrape Foundation on the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award. This award, which sought to scale solutions that secure a durable future for refugees and improve their lives in the long-term, successfully raised a resounding $24.25 million in funding to five excellent organizations supporting refugees around the world. This World Refugee Day, we’re delighted to share more about these tremendous nonprofits accelerating social change.

Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI) was the recipient of the $10 million award and an additional $2.25 million leveraged from other donors. RRLI is a partnership of five refugee-led organizations including Basmeh & Zeitooneh in Lebanon, RAIC in Indonesia, Refugiados Unidos in Colombia, StARS in Egypt, YARID in Uganda, and Asylum Access in the U.S. Together, they are building the capacity of other refugee-led organizations to scale up their influence and position refugees to lead solutions for their communities.

As part of these efforts, our Impact Partner Rehmah Kasule supported RRLI by helping them to develop their communication strategy and public narrative. Through storytelling, they developed digital stories to support their fundraising, visibility, and communication so the world could understand how refugee-led organizations are vital to refugee success and future security.

DREAMS for Refugees, a project led by Village Enterprise in partnership with Mercy Corps and IDinsight, as the recipient of its $2 million award plus an additional $8.25 million leveraged from other donors. This funding allowed them to scale and evaluate their ‘DREAMS for Refugee’ program, which equips refugees in Uganda and Ethiopia with the skills, support, resources, and connections they need to become successful entrepreneurs. Village Enterprise’s DREAMS Uganda has transformed the lives of 6,000 refugee and host community households to date. Through dedicated efforts, 2,000 microbusinesses have been established, accompanied by the formation of 200 Business Savings Groups.

In addition, each of the three other finalist organizations received $1.25 million thanks to other donors. This allowed one finalist Southern New Hampshire University’s Global Education Movement– an initiative which offers refugees in six countries access to a university degree program and academic and career counseling and resources– and Talent Beyond Boundaries– another finalist that is pioneering an innovative labor mobility solution to the global refugee crisis– to team up to create an internship and long-term employment program for 150 refugees in Lebanon. The program also trained employers on how to recruit and retain refugee employees.

The last finalist, Global Refuge provides an opportunity to rebuild for both new Americans and the cities they call home. The $1.25 million grant enabled their clients to secure employment that matches their skills, gain the knowledge to advocate for themselves in the US workforce, and cultivate a sense of belonging in their new city.

Since these organizations received their awards three years ago, they have learned firsthand how to best support the lives and well-being of refugees– and we wanted to share these key learnings with our community of nonprofits, funders, and partners who are also committed to addressing this pressing global challenge via a learning event and panel discussion on World Refugee Day.

[This type of funding is] basically what we received from the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award and it is the type of funding we are now replicating when we support our grantee partners on the ground.

Mohamed Ahmed, Resourcing Refugees Leadership Initiative

At this event, each organization spoke to their growth and scaling, including how they have had to iterate to meet this alarmingly increasing need. Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Global Refuge, for example, shared that they have expanded their mental health programming to a more holistic, trauma-informed approach so that refugees get sustainable support beyond the initial welcome. Village Enterprise’s Chief Program Officer Winnie Auma spoke of how localization has been a crucial part of their strategy: by providing technical assistance to community-based organizations, localized groups can adapt their model according to the unique needs of their community. Director of Partnerships at RRLI Mohamed Ahmed shared how they have achieved scale by centering: refugee leadership so they can represent the true needs of the community better; a clear and consistent vision as they grow; as well as flexible, unrestricted funding that allows them to achieve their goals. Ahmed added that this type of funding is “basically what we received from the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award and it is the type of funding we are now replicating when we support our grantee partners on the ground.” Learn more from these outstanding organizations at the recording of the 2024 World Refugee Day webinar below.

As Auma shared, supporting these organizations allows them to “scale dreams…and reach millions collectively,” Given the rise in global displacement across the globe, the work of these organizations and others is critically important to secure a brighter future for refugees. As RRLI shared, larger grant amounts with multi-year commitments and fewer restrictions are essential to support refugees globally. If you’re a donor interested in funding refugees, check out our refugee-focused Curated Collection below.