Citizens UK

Sponsor Refugees is a project of charity Citizens UK - the home of Community Organising.

Citizens UK is the nation’s largest and most diverse alliance of over 450 local institutions - such as faith groups, schools, universities, health trusts, charities and unions - who are committed to working together for the common good.

Through the method of Community Organising we enable communities and local leaders to come together with the power, skills and strategy to make real change.

This leads to hundreds of neighbourhood improvements - from zebra crossings outside primary schools to reopening renovated public toilets in cemeteries.

And our work has led to some of the biggest campaign impacts in the UK, such as the Living Wage with its £1.3 billion of wages won for low-paid workers, or successful campaigns to persuade the Government to stop exploitative lending by capping the cost of credit; or introducing a law to prevent the detention of children for immigration purposes.

Together We Can

Together We Can is our sister project at Citizens UK, working to build the power of migrant, refugee and diaspora leaders.

Community Sponsorship & Refugee Sector Partners

We work closely with a number of organisations to grow and strengthen the Community Sponsorship movement in the UK.

This includes Reset, the Home Office, and fellow Lead Sponsors, such as Catholic Care, Charis, Caritas, Salvation Army and the Pickwell Foundation.

We have close, productive relationships and we communicate regularly, to ensure that we provide joined up, well-coordinated support and clear strategies for growth.

You can see what each of us do and how we work together here: Community Sponsorship Stakeholders in the UK

Lead Sponsor Network: we are a member of the Lead Sponsor Network. The network brings together Lead Sponsors to share knowledge, best practice and learning of our work and overcome barriers together.

Community Sponsorship Council: we are a member of the Community Sponsorship Council. The Council is an independent body that brings together key stakeholders to set strategy to grow and improve Community Sponsorship, and provide advice to Rest and the Home Office.

Refugee Week: we are a partner of Refugee Week: a UK-wide festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.

Global Partners

Community Sponsorship in the UK was inspired by a similar scheme in Canada, which has been established for over 40 years. The UK is now a trailblazer ourselves, and is inspiring and supporting other countries across the globe to start schemes - including Spain, Germany, USA, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.

We work with international partners to share experiences and learn with one another.

Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI): works to assist and inspire countries around the world to open new pathways for refugee protection.

Share QSN: brings together key stakeholders of Community Sponsorship initiatives in Europe to exchange practices and information, in order to build and strengthen their respective schemes. Coordinated by ICMC Europe’s SHARE Network, the action is conducted in partnership with the Basque Government (ES), Caritas International (BE), Consorzio Communitas (IT), the Féderation de l’Entraide Protestante (FR), DiCV Cologne (DE), the Irish Refugee Council (IE), and Citizens UK (UK).