RefugePoint

What RefugePoint does

RefugePoint is a nonprofit humanitarian organization founded in 2005 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with operational offices in Nairobi, Kenya and Geneva, Switzerland. It focuses exclusively on expanding access to lasting solutions for the world's most vulnerable refugees, distinguishing itself from short-term emergency aid providers by emphasizing resettlement, complementary pathways (family reunification and labor mobility), and self-reliance programming. Its core service portfolio is organized around two programmatic pillars: Self-Reliance (anchored by the Urban Refugee Protection Program in Nairobi and the global Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative, a network of 600+ organizations) and Resettlement & Other Pathways to Safety (resettlement referrals, family reunification navigation, and labor mobility through the Economic Mobility Pathways Project). Cross-cutting capabilities include child protection, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and refugee-led organization support. Since 2005, RefugePoint has helped 188,757 refugees access resettlement and other pathways to safety and has worked in 89 countries, largely through a formal global partnership with UNHCR formalized in 2008.

RefugePoint's business model is donation-funded rather than revenue-generating; services are provided free of charge to refugees, and the organization does not monetize any program outputs. Funding sources include individual donations, the Karibu Circle monthly giving program, foundation grants, and institutional funders. The organization operates a Deployment Program that places staff into UNHCR and partner-led operations worldwide (37 countries by end of 2022), enabling field building as a core lever alongside direct services and systems-change advocacy. It has also developed the Self-Reliance Index (SRI), a measurement tool adopted by 85 agencies in 40 countries, which functions as a sector standard rather than a commercial product. Geographic footprint spans Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and since 2024, Latin America.

The organization is founder-led, with Sasha Chanoff serving as Founder & CEO since inception. Leadership includes a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Administrative Officer/Country Director (Kenya), Chief of Policy and Practice (Geneva-based), Chief Program Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Development Officer, indicating a mature CXO structure appropriate for a 101-250-employee organization. There are no disclosed subsidiaries, no parent organization, and no private equity or venture capital ownership; governance is through an independent board typical of a 501(c)(3). No proprietary software products, mobile applications, or API platforms are operated by the organization.

Name

RefugePoint

Legal name

RefugePoint

Website

https://refugepoint.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

RefugePoint is a nonprofit humanitarian organization founded in 2005 that expands access to lasting solutions for vulnerable refugees through resettlement, family reunification, labor mobility, and self-reliance programs across 89 countries, delivered via UNHCR partnership and donor funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Refugee Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee Reception & Registration (BPADAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• Refugee resettlement services
• Humanitarian nonprofit programs
• Refugee self-reliance support
• Family reunification assistance
• Labor mobility pathways

Headquarters

HQ city

Cambridge

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Donations: RefugePoint generates revenue primarily through charitable donations from individuals, foundations, and institutional funders. They accept one-time donations, recurring donations through their Karibu Circle monthly giving program, and other forms of charitable contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

RefugePoint is a humanitarian nonprofit that delivers direct refugee services and field-building programs across two pillars: Self-Reliance (Urban Refugee Protection Program in Nairobi, the global Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative) and Resettlement & Other Pathways to Safety (resettlement referrals, family reunification navigation, labor mobility / Economic Mobility Pathways Project). All services are provided free of charge to refugees and funded through charitable donations and institutional grants.

Product overview

RefugePoint is a humanitarian organization that offers a portfolio of service programs organized around two main programmatic pillars: Self-Reliance and Resettlement & Other Pathways to Safety. The Self-Reliance pillar includes the Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP) in Nairobi, Kenya and the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI), a global network. The Resettlement & Other Pathways pillar includes direct resettlement services, the NGO Referrals Program, Family Reunification services, and Labor Mobility programs. Cross-cutting programs include Child Protection, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS), and Promoting Refugee-Led Efforts. The organization also operates a Deployment Program for field building and has developed the Self-Reliance Index (SRI) tool. These programs work together through a three-pronged approach of direct services, field building, and systems change to help refugees access lasting solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI): A strategic initiative co-founded with the Women's Refugee Commission that aims to advance self-reliance opportunities for refugees through a global network of organizations.
• Economic Mobility Pathways Project
• Family Reunification Initiative

Products and services

• Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP) A holistic program in Nairobi, Kenya assisting refugees experiencing extreme vulnerabilities with stabilization services (food, rent, medical care, education, counseling) and livelihood support including business training, grants, and micro-business development to help clients achieve self-reliance.
• Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI) A strategic initiative co-founded with the Women's Refugee Commission that advances self-reliance opportunities for refugees through a global network of more than 600 organizations, foundations, governments, and other partners, transforming how the world responds to forcibly displaced populations.
• Self-Reliance Index (SRI) The first-ever global tool for measuring refugee household progress toward self-reliance, developed in collaboration with 25+ partner NGOs and adopted by 85 agencies in 40 countries.
• Resettlement Services Helps refugees who cannot return home or safely remain in their host country to permanently resettle to third countries, focusing on those with particular vulnerabilities or facing life-threatening situations and promoting equitable access to resettlement globally.
• Family Reunification Services Helps separated refugees reunite with family members in third countries through legal immigration pathways, including the Family Reunification Navigation Assistance Program in Kenya, and includes the broader Family Reunification Initiative aiming to reunite 1 million separated refugees over five years.
• Economic Mobility Pathways Project (EMPP) / Labor Mobility Program An immigration pathway through which refugees use their skills and experience to obtain jobs that allow them to relocate to third countries, providing a path to permanent residency and lasting solutions to displacement.
• NGO Referrals Program Enables RefugePoint to make resettlement referrals directly to governments through partnerships in Kenya and globally, expanding equitable access to resettlement for refugees.
• Deployment Program Deploys RefugePoint staff across the globe to build systems and solutions for NGO resettlement referrals, best-interest procedures for children, and family reunification, working in partnership with UNHCR.
• Child Protection Services A commitment to protecting children underpins all RefugePoint's work, with Child Protection Experts deployed throughout Africa to conduct assessments for unaccompanied children and support families through food, rent, and medical assistance.
• Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)

Quantifiable outcome

• 188,757 refugees helped access resettlement and pathways to safety since 2005
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• Sponsor Circle Program for AfghanssecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022RefugePoint was among the founding partners for the Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans, which allowed communities in the U.S. to welcome displaced Afghans by pairing refugee families with groups of Americans who committed to receiving and training them.
• Self-Reliance Index Partner NGOs (25+ organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Launched the Self-Reliance Index (SRI) in collaboration with 25+ partnering NGOs as the first-ever global tool to measure the progress of refugee households on their path to self-reliance.
• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Collaborated with IRAP to launch the Family Reunification Pilot Project to help reunite unaccompanied and separated children with their family members in safe third countries.
• Women's Refugee CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018RefugePoint co-founded the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI) with the Women's Refugee Commission to expand self-reliance opportunities for refugees and build a global network of organizations, foundations, governments, and other partners focused on refugee self-reliance.
• Talent Beyond BoundariescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Partnership to expand access to labor mobility as a new pathway to safety for refugees. RefugePoint partnered with Talent Beyond Boundaries and the Canadian government to enable qualified refugees to access immigration to Canada through work-based visas.
• Canadian GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Launched the Economic Mobility Pathways Project (EMPP) together with Canadian partners, enabling skilled refugees in Kenya and the Middle East to access immigration to Canada through work-based visas.
• UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008RefugePoint partners with UNHCR through a global partnership to identify vulnerable refugees who need relocation. Their team works in dozens of countries globally through this partnership. RefugePoint also makes resettlement referrals directly to governments through their NGO Referrals Program.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• UNHCR (UN Refugee Agency): The UN agency mandated with refugee protection; RefugePoint's global partnership since 2008 makes UNHCR both a key partner and a comparable organization operating in the same refugee-referral and resettlement space, but at vastly greater scale.
• Norwegian Refugee Council: Major international humanitarian organization delivering protection, shelter, education, and durable-solutions programming for refugees across dozens of countries — a broad incumbent serving overlapping populations and competing for similar multi-year institutional grants.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Large, well-established humanitarian NGO providing refugee resettlement, humanitarian aid, and self-reliance programming globally. Operates across many of the same refugee contexts as RefugePoint and competes for institutional donor funding, though at a much larger scale.
• Mercy Corps: Large global humanitarian organization with overlapping livelihoods, self-reliance, and emergency-response programming for refugees and displaced populations; competes for the same institutional donor pool.

Direct peers

• Church World Service (CWS): Direct peer providing refugee resettlement and durable solutions programming. Multiple RefugePoint senior leaders previously held senior roles at CWS, and CWS operates the Resettlement Support Center Africa — the same operational footprint RefugePoint works within.
• Women's Refugee Commission: Advocacy and research NGO focused on refugee women, children, and displaced populations; co-founded the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative with RefugePoint and shares a closely aligned programmatic focus on refugee self-reliance.
• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP): Legal aid organization helping refugees access resettlement, family reunification, and other pathways — a direct collaborator on the Family Reunification Pilot Project with RefugePoint.
• HIAS: Jewish-American refugee resettlement agency offering refugee reception, resettlement, and legal aid services in the U.S. and overseas — directly comparable in mission, target population, and service mix to RefugePoint.
• Talent Beyond Boundaries: Organization pioneering labor mobility as a refugee resettlement pathway; partnered with RefugePoint on the Economic Mobility Pathways Project (EMPP) enabling skilled refugees to access work visas to Canada — closely aligned mission and pathway model.
• International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC): Global NGO delivering migration, refugee resettlement, and counter-trafficking services; a former RefugePoint Deputy Country Director served on ICMC deployments. Directly comparable in resettlement-and-pathways focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@refugepoint
• Facebookfacebook.com/RefugePointLifeline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/refugepoint
• Instagraminstagram.com/refugepoint
• Xx.com/RefugePt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about RefugePoint