who are we?

We are a six-organization-strong global coalition driven by the importance of transferring power and resources to refugee-led organisations.

our mission?

Our mission is to resource refugee-led organizations (RLOs) to uplift communities and combat systematic refugee exclusion within refugee response. When we center people who have been forcibly displaced, we also center innovation, solutions and movement building leading to immediate and long-term improvements in our lives.

our values

WE FIGHT FOR REFUGEE LEADERSHIP

  • We believe that refugees do not just deserve a seat at the table - we own the table! 

  • We defend refugees’ right to self-representation 

  • We hold people in power accountable for their (in)actions

WE ARE COMMITTED TO RADICAL COLLABORATION

  • We have shared ownership and responsibility of our actions - We make joint, consensus-based decisions to ensure everyone’s opinions are heard 

  • We practice open communication and transparency between each other and with our grantee partners

WE TRUST REFUGEE LED ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES TO DECIDE WHAT IS BEST FOR THEM

  • We celebrate the diversity of refugee communities and acknowledge the unique struggles we face 

  • We listen actively to what refugee-led organizations want and show up with support and solutions 

  • We strive for transformative long-lasting relationships with refugee communities

our story

In January 2020, when Lever for Change and ICONIQ Impact launched a call for proposals to create long-term change for forcibly displaced people, the idea of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI) emerged. Six refugee-led organizations—Basmeh & Zeitooneh in Iraq and Lebanon, RAIC Indonesia in Indonesia, Refugiados Unidos in Colombia, St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Egypt, and YARID in Uganda—came together with Asylum Access, to develop a joint application for this funding competition.

We identified the problem: proximate organizations know what needs to be done, but do not have the funding or access to scale their efforts. Together, we identified the solution: drive funding to refugee-led organizations (RLOs) all over the world and support them to absorb that capital. If RLOs have resources, their leaders would more organically be positioned to engage with the decisionmakers that set the policies and laws that dictate the ways in which refugees are treated, including what rights they have.


In May 2021, the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative was selected as the recipient of the $10m Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award. This award was the first step in our efforts to establish the first-of-its-kind Refugee Leadership Fund, a fund for refugees by refugees. We have established a funding and support model that will enable local RLOs to sustain and scale their impact within the next five years. Through this effort, we will reach over 1,000,000 people across every major refugee-hosting region globally with holistic, community-driven support and solutions.

our structure

COALITION

The Coalition organizations provide the grounding for all of the work we do, provide direction for our implementation team’s work, and design and carry out programming such as the Strengthening RLOs Partnership Program. 

IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

The Implementation Team carries out the Initiative’s programs, operations, and strategy as developed in consultation with Coalition member leaders.

housed at Asylum Access

RRLI, including the Refugee Leadership Fund, is housed within Asylum Access, a member of the Coalition headquartered in the US. Asylum Access is a 501(c)3nonprofit organization thereby making donations to RRLI tax-deductible for US taxpaying individuals and organizations.