Providing lasting solutions for the world’s most vulnerable refugees
Locations Served
19 countries around the world
Budget
$16,400,000
Partner Since
2016
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Problem
There are over 120 million forcibly displaced individuals worldwide due to conflict or persecution. Over 43 million of those displaced are refugees, meaning they have been forced to flee their home country.
The average refugee cannot return home for 20+ years.
More than half of all refugees are children, many of whom are separated from their parents or traveling alone.
71% of refugees are hosted in low and middle-income countries.
60% reside in urban areas rather than camps.
The vast majority are stuck in limbo in their host countries, dependent on underfunded aid programs and denied the right to work, move freely, own property and access public services. This leaves many refugees in desperate situations, often struggling for survival.
Programs Offered
Through two flagship programs, RefugePoint has worked in 250 locations in 83 countries.
RESETTLEMENT AND OTHER PATHWAYS TO SAFETY PROGRAM:
This program involves permanently relocating refugees to countries that have active formal programs for resettling refugees. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for managing the resettlement process on behalf of all refugees via interactions with countries that have permanent resettlement programs. As with many of the UN’s tasks, the UNHCR is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need and under-resourced. In partial response, RP provides staff to augment UN resources in UNHCR resettlement offices across the world, taking on case management for the most at-risk refugee applicants whom they believe still have a chance of being accepted by receiving countries.
In the past decade, this has included 26 receiving countries, with the US, Canada, and Australia receiving the most resettled refugees. However, the United States, which had previously accepted 125,000 per year, shut down its program entirely in 2025. This leaves the international community with a gap to fill, and organizations like RefugePoint are taking the lead in promoting safe pathways for refugees globally.
URBAN REFUGEE PROTECTION PROGRAM:
RefugePoint’s second program helps refugees rebuild their lives in the countries to which they have fled. The vast majority of the 43 million refugees worldwide are living in urban settings in foreign countries where they struggle to survive and adapt. Refugees, even if registered with UNHCR, frequently find themselves in a quasi-legal status where there remains a perpetual risk of arrest, harassment, and persecution by local officials and residents. Although most people think of a refugee’s status as transitional or temporary in nature, the reality is that most refugees remain in refugee status for decades, and frequently the condition is permanent. RefugePoint recognizes this unfortunate reality and works to help refugees integrate locally, live safely and with dignity, and learn income-producing skills to put them on a path to self-reliance and sustainability.
Through its Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP) in Nairobi, Kenya, RefugePoint first provides a holistic set of supports tailored to families’ needs, including housing support, mental health counseling, food support, school enrollment and health care. Once a household is stabilized, RefugePoint then works with clients to build self-sufficiency by providing business training and small business grants. Thousands of clients have graduated from the program with the tools they need to utilize their skills and contribute to their communities free from dependence on humanitarian aid.
Historical Results
RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM:
RefugePoint’s M&E regarding the UNHCR Collaboration Project counts the services provided by RefugePoint-funded staff deployed in UNHCR centers around Africa. The key performance indicator is the number of resettlement referrals completed by RefugePoint staff to host nations (United States, Canada, and Australia being the major hosts). Although it is impossible to precisely link the number of submitted resettlement referral cases to a number of accepted cases, all evidence suggests that 80% to 90% of completed applications to the United States, Canada, and Australia are accepted (i.e. result in actual resettlements to the host country).
- Since 2005, RefugePoint has assisted over 179,000 refugees with casework related to resettlement and other pathways to safety (including labor mobility, family reunification, and education)
- 24,448 refugees were helped to access resettlement in 2024
- 653 were helped to access other pathways to safety in 2024
URBAN REFUGEE PROTECTION PROGRAM:
RefugePoint’s M&E regarding the Urban Refugee Protection Program focuses on moving refugees from vulnerable and unstable living conditions to becoming “self reliant.” RefugePoint determines self-reliance on the basis of the Self-Reliance Index (SRI)–co-developed by RefugePoint–by which each household is assessed every six months. The SRI scores each refugee household on a scale of 1-4 in twelve domains: housing, food, education, healthcare, health status, safety, employment, financial resources, assistance, debt, savings, and social capital.
- 5,007 refugee clients have graduated from RefugePoint’s program since 2015
- 381 refugee clients graduated from RefugePoint’s program in 2024
- 137 businesses launched by refugee clients in 2024
- 70 agencies in 34 countries have adopted and deployed RefugePoint’s SRI to date
Path to Credibility
- Focusing Philanthropy partner since 2016
- RefugePoint founder and CEO, Sasha Chanoff, has been selected as both an Ashoka and an Echoing Green Fellow, recognized as a White House Champion of Change, and received the Charles Bronfman Humanitarian Prize.
- Focusing Philanthropy has conducted five RefugePoint field visits in Kenya, Canada, Niger, and Uganda.
- Focusing Philanthropy has completed 10 successful matching campaigns with RefugePoint.