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On Sunday, US philanthropist Ed Shapiro pledged £1 million to launch a special fund aimed at encouraging growth in the UK’s Community Sponsorship Scheme. The fund will reduce the financial exposure of Lead Sponsors by providing a backstop that they can access as a last resort if a local Community Sponsorship Group is unable to fulfil its resettlement plan for the refugee family they have welcomed.
At Reset we’re putting the pieces in place to hold and administer the Community Sponsorship Backstop Fund. We need to work through the full sign-off process with our Board of Trustees, but everyone at Reset, both staff and trustees, is really excited about this approach to unlocking the potential of sponsorship. We’re proud to have the opportunity to play a central role in the delivery of this approach and we’re grateful to Ed Shapiro’s generosity and sustained interest in Community Sponsorship in the UK.
The fund will help Community Sponsorship in the UK to scale because it will allow Lead Sponsors (who are legally and financially liable for local Community Sponsorship Groups) to take responsibility for a further 200 Community Sponsorship applications. Lead Sponsors have a strong track record to date on fulfilling their obligations, and it is hoped this fund will enable them to support more groups, safe in the knowledge that there is financial support available should a serious problem arise. This generous initiative could enable approximately 1,000 additional refugees to be resettled in the UK!
Any Lead Sponsor will be able to apply to register with the fund, subject to providing a range of documentation. This includes charitable organisations which have already acted as Lead Sponsor and those which plan to do so.
The fund will be open for Lead Sponsors to register in early January… watch this space!
A registered Lead Sponsor will be able to receive up to a total of £5k for any registered case. This may be through a single £5k claim, or an initial £1k claim followed by a higher level claim capped at £4k because of the initial £1k already received. It will be possible to make a claim for £5k across the 24 months of a sponsorship agreement, and for £1k in the first year only.
Claims will be at the level of £5k for issues of significant concern or £1k for earlier signs of a problem facing the Group and Lead Sponsor (both assessed against a list of transparent criteria that will be available in early 2021).
No. Once open, the assurance fund will be only be open to applications approved by the Home Office in 2021.
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Read all news and insight from our initiatives
See coverage of Reset UK in the press and media
Find out how Community Sponsorship helps refugee families in need build a new life in the UK with confidence and dignity.
How do I sponsor a refugee family? How does the process work? Reset is here to support you every step of the way.
We’ve designed toolkits to make it easy for you if you’re involved as a lead sponsor or a local authority.
Wherever you are on the fulfilling and thrilling journey through Community Sponsorship, we have training courses, videos, articles and more, all designed to help your group and the family you support.
From drop-in sessions to UK-wide networking events, we bring together people and professionals involved in all stages of the Community Sponsorship journey.
Make a direct difference in the world by getting involved with your nearest Community Sponsorship group – or starting one up yourself!
Make an extraordinary difference to the lives of people who have lost everything by signing up to our (free) Landlords for Refugees register.
Not everyone can donate their time, so if you are choosing to donate money today instead or as well as, thank you. Your generosity is vital to the work we do support community-led welcome of refugees.
Help others by sharing your account. Why were you attracted to community-led welcome? What worked, what did you learn, what has the experience been like for you?
Reset empowers volunteers to welcome refugees into communities across the UK. Find out about us and the kinds of programmes we’ve been involved with.
Research, monitoring and evaluation are essential for making evidence-based decisions that will support Community Sponsorship to grow and flourish.
Sponsoring a refugee family is a significant responsibility. We advocate for Community Sponsors to ensure that they are properly supported throughout their journey.
Our advocacy focuses on representing the views of Community Sponsors to the Home Office to support them in implementing the necessary operational changes.
We also represent the views of Community Sponsors to other key stakeholders, including Local Authorities, international organisations, the wider resettlement field, housing providers and financial institutions. We also use our voice to campaign on policies affecting refugees. We are members of the Together With Refugees coalition, campaigning for a more humane approach to people seeking protection in the UK.
