We consider a refugee-led organization to be any formal or informal initiative/organization that is founded and run by people of forced displacement background and/or any formal or informal initiative/organization where people of forced displacement are in major leadership positions and able to influence the work of the organization.

Yes. RLOs operating with autonomy at the national level that are also part of a larger international entity are eligible to apply.

We offer two types of grants:

 1) Boost Grants - These are small (up to $25k) one-year grants that will provide seed funding for RLOs.

2) Advance Grants - These are larger ($100 - $200k) renewable grants that will provide scaling funding for RLOs.

All grantees must meet the following basic criteria:

• Good financial systems and guidelines in place;

• Ethical guidelines in programs and human resources;

• Demonstrable impact in the community; and

• Interest to participate in the movement for refugee leadership in refugee response.

 Additionally, chosen projects must have a strong project design, a well-articulated theory of change for impact, a quality project budget, and demonstrated competency in diversity, equity and inclusion. Grantees should be mindful of the historical exclusion of marginalized groups within the forced displacement sector and should strive to address these unequal power dynamics, including through a clear gender lens in their work.

See information about the Refugee Leadership Fund for more information.

Applications will be evaluated by members of the RRLI Coalition through several rounds of scoring. Decisions are made and approved by all Coalition members.

See information about the Refugee Leadership Fund for more information.

We currently fund refugee-led organizations based in the following five countries: Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Lebanon and Uganda. In future funding rounds, we hope to expand this list to further neighboring countries.

We currently fund 17 refugee-led organizations, including 11 grantee partners and the 5 coalition organizations.

Grants typically last a year with an opportunity for renewal. We strive to provide multi-year support for all grantees.

RRLI is grounded in the belief in community-led solutions. We know that refugee-led organizations best know the needs of the communities; therefore, we are not focused on specific themes and are more broadly interested in funding high-impact, community-led organizations and projects. We are interested in both providing general support funding, as well as specific project-related funding for eligible refugee-led organizations.

Of specific interest, projects should aim to:

• Provide holistic services for the community,

• Unlock long-term solutions, and/or

• Reach large numbers of people

​Please note that the three points above are not specific criteria but general guidelines

You do not need to be a registered organization to apply. If you are currently not a registered organization, please clearly indicate that in your application and we will work with you to overcome this barrier.

You do not need a registered bank account to apply. If you currently do not have a registered bank account, please clearly indicate that in your application and we will work with you to overcome this barrier.

Applications can be submitted in any language.

In addition to funding, all grantees will be offered the opportunity to build close partnerships with 

our RLO partners to help overcome any operational or programmatic barriers, be offered the opportunity to connect with refugee-led organizations around the world, and be provided networking and advocacy opportunities. We do this through our refugee-led community of practice as well as our strengthening RLOs Partnership program.

At the moment, we are not accepting applications from consortiums. We ask that only individual organizations apply. Supporting a consortium of RLOs might be feasible in future grant cycles.

Each RLO can only apply for one grant. Please select the grant type and size that suits your organization’s current size, scope, and experience.

All our grants are renewable. This means that if an organization asks for 100K the first year, the following year they can receive another 100K or more without going through an additional application process. This will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

We consider an organization's treatment of marginalized groups and specifically their attention to gender issues, but do not give special treatment to any one type of organization.

You can watch the webinars on our YouTube channel

Yes.

No. RRLI Coalition members are not able to help applicants in the application process. If you have any questions, please send them to grants@refugeeslead.org.

Right now, there is no set answer to this question as it depends on fund availability and the needs and growth of the RLO. Impact Growth grantees will have conversations with the RRLI implementation team to figure out a plan that works best for them. We aim to also support grantees through our strengthening program and connect them to additional donors.