Giving Compass is teaming up with SolutionsU, a platform that connects you to stories about responses to the world’s challenges. SolutionsU is a project of the Solutions Journalism Network: a nonprofit organization that seeks to rebalance the news, providing readers with critical reporting on society’s problems and stories that explain how individuals, institutions, and communities are responding.

Want to learn more about solutions journalism? Giving Compass interviewed David Bornstein, co-founder of the Solutions Journalism Network, who helped break it down for us.

This week, we are featuring a collection of solution journalism stories from their searchable database, focusing on refugee integration in Europe.

With migration on the rise, Europe is finding ways to better integrate and support newcomers.

Although 85 percent of the world's refugees live in developing countries according to the UNHCR’s Global Trends report, recent increases in the flows of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers into Europe have strained resources and sparked populist backlash across the continent.

This collection offers a solutions perspective, highlighting stories from Finland, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, and the United Kingdom about programs that are helping to combat exclusion and offer newcomers access to work and educational opportunities.

How you can make an impact in this area:

Fund trustworthy organizations. The CDP Global Refugee Crisis Fund, which has been vetted for impact by experts at Giving Compass, provides immediate needs for displaced people around the world. And the Center for High Impact Philanthropy has listed impactful organizations working to help refugees, including Save the Children (providing food, medicine and safe spaces for young people), the UN Refugee Agency (running reception centers) and the White Helmets (volunteers who risk their lives in search and rescue missions).

Think local. Refugees face barriers to integration including legalities, language, culture, bigotry, and unemployment. Many European cities have been stepping up to the occasion by helping refugees access the resources they need to survive and thrive. Local government can fill in the gaps where national programs fall short, while community foundations are uniquely situated to support refugees as they attempt to build a new life outside of their home country.

Focus on the positive. By turning our attention to what refugees do have — skills and talents — funders can shift to asset-based funding frameworks that can make a bigger impact. Refugees can make significant contributions to the communities they join. Collaboration is a great way to increase impact.

Read the full collection about refugee integration in Europe by Marie von Hafften at SolutionsU.