Giving Compass' Take:

• Migration Policy Institute shares policy solutions to increase volunteers and sponsors for resettlement and integration agencies. 

• How can funders work to encourage more volunteers and sponsors for resettlement and integration agencies?

• Read about philanthropic strategies to support refugees and asylum seekers.

Aside from their time and availability, volunteers and sponsors offer resources that may not be available to resettlement and integration agencies in house. For example, those who are familiar with particular employment sectors can help refugees tailor their resumes for specific jobs. Their social connections within the community may provide valuable sources of information about affordable housing or employment opportunities. Perhaps most importantly, when done well, sponsorship or volunteer mentorship relationships can provide companionship and emotional and social support that extend beyond the scope of professional service providers—and that isolated newcomers desperately need.

Yet, engaging volunteers or community sponsors is hardly a cost-free, or even a cost-saving, endeavor for most resettlement and integration agencies. Volunteers and sponsors require vetting, training, supervision, and ongoing support in order to be effective. The most effective programs employ a full-time volunteer or community engagement coordinator. Refugee sponsorship programs, such as those in Canada and the United Kingdom, often have dedicated bodies at the national level that provide training and oversight for sponsor groups. But many local refugee service agencies lack the expertise and financial and staff resources to provide the necessary support and guidance to volunteers and sponsors. Volunteer and sponsorship programs that do not have adequate support run the risk of backfiring and providing poor-quality services to refugees or, in the worst cases, actually doing harm.

Policymakers can step in to fill these gaps in three ways:

  • Create policy frameworks that allow agencies to engage volunteers or sponsors where they would add the most value. This can be done by avoiding overly prescriptive or burdensome service requirements and giving agencies some flexibility to determine how best to provide services.
  • Designate funding for community engagement as part of the broader integration or resettlement strategy. Funding a staff position to coordinate volunteers or sponsors is the single biggest obstacle many local agencies face to establishing an effective community engagement program. Providing dedicated financial resources for this purpose would both expand the reach of volunteer programs and improve their effectiveness. Private philanthropy can also play a role in providing supplemental funding for sponsor and volunteer support positions at the local level.
  • Provide or fund a set of learning resources for agencies seeking to engage community members in service provision. Many agencies lack in-house knowledge of how to facilitate community engagement well. Off-the-shelf training materials, manuals, and forms would help fill this gap. Train-the-trainer programs and opportunities for volunteer support staff to exchange experiences and best practices would also help develop the capabilities of local agencies to effectively engage the resources of local communities.