↝ Community sponsorship
Community sponsorship programs empower groups of individuals — as opposed to governments or settlement agencies — to take the lead in welcoming, supporting, and integrating refugees into their new community.
There are different models of community sponsorship in countries around the world. Community sponsorship programs operate as an integration and welcome tool to support refugees admitted through many different pathways when they arrive in their new country.
Spotlight
For forty years, Canada has welcomed forcibly displaced newcomers from all areas of the world. Private refugee sponsors have played a pivotal settlement role.
In 2017, Eco-Ethonomics Inc. conducted a research project for a group of private refugee sponsors to identify the gaps in support around services in Ontario. The Eco-Ethonomics report findings and recommendations became the basis for the establishment of the Private Refugee Sponsor Network (Ontario) and its incorporation in 2021. The Network represents sponsors, settlement agencies and individuals from the business community.
PRSN’s Partnership Committee is tasked with gaining insight into how PRSN might build better relationships between private sponsor groups, settlement agencies and others in the sector around post-arrival issues.
In addressing the settlement agency/sponsor post-arrival
relationship, the Partnership Committee’s undertook this study to capture
promising practices and experiences in the sector. This study can be found below.
New resources
Updates on community sponsorship
Information & data sources
Home Office (UK)
IRCC (Canada)