Creating hope for the future with Refugee Action
“The most important thing is giving people hope, so that they know tomorrow will be a good day, no matter how bad things get… If you know there is somewhere you can go, it makes you feel like there is going to be hope.”
Andy, Refugee Action client
Our long-term partnership with Refugee Action has provided urgent support to people facing destitution and exclusion, while creating spaces where people with lived experience lead change, influence policy, and rebuild their lives with dignity.
Since 2021, we have awarded £630,000 in funding to Refugee Action, with £550,000 of this being unrestricted. Throughout this partnership, we acted with urgency to award unrestricted funding so Refugee Action could remain agile and responsive within the increasingly complex and fast‑changing environment for asylum seekers and refugees in the UK.
The vital role of unrestricted funding for organisations working in rapidly changing contexts
Since we first partnered with Refugee Action, the challenges facing refugees and the organisations working with them have intensified significantly. The increasingly hostile environment for those seeking safety have put significant pressure on organisations working with asylum seekers and refugees in the UK. Despite immense challenges, Refugee Action have strengthened their frontline services, expanded legal advice access for complex cases, supported campaigns for fair treatment, and enabled rapid responses to emerging crises.
Gemma Masingiri, Senior Philanthropy Manager at Refugee Action, told us what access to unrestricted funding has meant for their work during this time:
“Our partnership with the Co-op Foundation has been incredibly meaningful for Refugee Action. Over the course of the partnership, together we have supported people through the effects of Covid, responded to an increase in hostility towards people who need safety in the UK and fought against cruel and hostile policy changes. The choice of Co-op Foundation to support our work with unrestricted gifts at this vital time has ensured the continuation of our strategic objectives to tackle systemic issues, whilst ensuring we can respond to crises and emergencies as they arise. The Foundation team are knowledgeable and supportive, creating a true partnership.”
Acting with urgency: supporting Refugee Action to respond to far-right violence
We’re proud to fund flexibly and with urgency to support our partners when it is needed. In recent years, violent attacks have left people seeking safety, and those supporting them, deeply affected. Many of Refugee Action’s staff and volunteers with lived experience of the asylum system also became direct targets, with some too afraid to leave their homes. To respond to this situation and enable immediate action to be taken, Co-op Foundation awarded additional emergency funding to Refugee Action.
With this emergency funding, Refugee Action coordinated home visits, proactively reached out to clients and ensured their teams were supported with meetings and time off. They also delivered additional wellbeing sessions for clients affected by the far-right protests in hotels across Greater Manchester & the West Midlands, as well as tailored wellbeing sessions for staff.
Unrestricted funding delivers for organisations and those they support
Access to flexible, unrestricted funding is vital for organisations to provide consistent support and meet increasing demands. Unrestricted funding has ensured that Refugee Action can continue to deliver frontline services that are providing urgent help to people facing destitution, barriers to legal advice, and exclusion from housing, work and community life.
“Refugee charities are facing unprecedented demands, and the trend of short-term restricted funding can bring about additional challenges that take up precious time and resources. With access to more unrestricted, multi-year funding, organisations working with refugees would have more time and flexibility to provide much needed frontline support, as well as to pivot in continually changing contexts and tackle the systemic issues at the root of the UK’s asylum system.”
Charlotte Wilson, Funding and Partnerships Manager, Co-op Foundation
Refugee Action does vital work countering hate and division, instead promoting the values of co-operation in communities across the UK. We are proud to have supported Refugee Action with flexible, unrestricted funding that has enabled them to be responsive and act with urgency when it has been needed.
To find out more about Refugee Action’s work go to: Refugee Action
