What Refugees International does

Refugees International is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization founded in 1979 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It investigates challenges facing displaced people, develops policy recommendations, mobilizes coalitions, and holds governments and humanitarian actors accountable. Its programming spans five regions — Africa, Americas, Asia & the Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East & North Africa — with active engagement across roughly 25 countries including Sudan, Chad, Kenya, Ukraine, Syria, Bangladesh, Colombia, and Mexico. The organization explicitly does not accept government or UN funding, funding itself entirely through individual donations and foundation/corporate grants from supporters including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Open Society Foundations, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and Democracy Fund.

The organization's core programmatic offerings are the Forced From Home podcast, the Refugee Fellows Program (a year-long fellowship supporting refugee leaders), and the Refugee Advocacy Lab (an initiative to shift power to local and refugee-led groups). Its substantive output is advocacy products: issue briefs, reports, joint advocacy letters, amicus briefs, and congressional and UN testimony. Documented recent impact includes contribution to the U.S. humanitarian parole program that enabled 200,000+ Haitians to arrive by July 2024, an amicus brief that helped strike down a restrictive asylum rule in May 2025, organization of 55+ NGOs in a joint Syria sanctions letter that preceded the announced intention to lift sanctions, and the formation of the Ukraine Humanitarian Alliance that has unlocked tens of millions of dollars for local Ukrainian partners.

The revenue model is donations-based — individual contributions and tiered foundation/corporate grants (Humanitarian, Changemaker, Visionary, Benefactor, and Refugee Advocacy Lab funders) — with no commercial products or services sold. Distribution is direct: briefings to U.S. Congress, State Department, USAID, and UN agencies; coalition mobilization with civil society partners; and digital dissemination via website, email, social media, and podcast platforms. The organization holds Charity Navigator's four-star rating, Candid's Platinum Seal of Transparency, and Charity Watch's Grade A, and maintains a board that includes former USAID Administrator Gayle Smith and artist Ai Weiwei.

Name

Refugees International

Legal name

Refugees International

Website

https://refugeesinternational.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Refugees International is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1979 that advocates for the rights and protection of displaced people worldwide through policy research, coalition-building, and accountability advocacy, funded entirely by private donations and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Asylum & Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Support (BPADAHAB), Refugee & Migrant Integration Enterprises (Livelihoods, Services) (BPAGALAN)

Keywords

• Humanitarian advocacy
• Refugee rights
• Policy research
• Displacement solutions
• Nonprofit advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Refugees International receives donations from individual supporters who contribute through online giving, mail-in checks, wire transfers, stock gifts, IRA charitable rollovers, workplace giving (including CFC), and legacy/planned giving. The organization emphasizes that independent support fuels their ability to speak truth to power without government influence.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: The organization receives funding from foundations and corporations, organized into tiers: Humanitarian Funders, Changemaker Funders, Visionary Funders, Benefactor Funders, and Funders of the Refugee Advocacy Lab. They maintain relationships with impact-oriented supporters who align with their mission and values.
3. Policy Advocacy Impact: Refugees International does not accept government or UN funding to ensure independence and credibility. This allows them to advance accountability and speak freely when others cannot.

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Refugees International is an independent 501(c)(3) humanitarian advocacy organization that investigates challenges faced by displaced people, develops policy solutions, mobilizes action, and holds powerful actors accountable. The organization delivers its work through direct policy advocacy, published reports and briefs, a podcast series, the Refugee Fellows Program, the Refugee Advocacy Lab, and grassroots Take Action campaigns targeting policymakers.

Product overview

Refugees International operates as a non-profit advocacy organization offering a portfolio of programs and services focused on humanitarian advocacy, refugee rights, and displacement issues. The core offerings include the Forced From Home podcast series, the Refugee Fellows Program for refugee leadership development, and the Refugee Advocacy Lab initiative. The organization also produces advocacy reports and briefs, organizes Take Action campaigns for supporters, and hosts events and convenings. These products and services work together to advance the organization's mission of creating a more welcoming world for people seeking refuge through investigation, policy development, mobilization, and accountability efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Forced From Home Podcast

Quantifiable outcome

• 200,000+ Haitians arrived safely in the U.S. through humanitarian parole program RI helped ensure (by July 2024)
• +7 more outcomes

Segments4 records

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 flagship and core.

• United Nations ECOSOCflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Refugees International President Jeremy Konyndyk addressed the 2025 ECOSOC Humanitarian Affairs Segment in Geneva, engaging with UN member states on humanitarian financing, localization, and reformed financial architecture amidst global humanitarian funding shortages.
• Center for Global DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugees International partners with the Center for Global Development to research innovative policy solutions and ideas to expand labor market access for refugees and forced migrants around the world. They work together to support efforts to mobilize the private sector and other partners to champion this cause.
• IRCA CasabiertacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA refugee-led group in Costa Rica that collaborated with Refugees International in 2024 to encourage the Costa Rican government to change rules restricting asylum seekers' ability to work, and to create a more welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and refugees.
• The Azadi ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn NGO in India that partnered with Refugees International in 2023 to raise the alarm on mistreatment and arbitrary detention of Rohingya refugees in India, leading directly to a legal challenge against those arbitrary detentions pending before the Indian Supreme Court.
• Ukraine Humanitarian AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA new advocacy network formed in 2023-2024 as a result of Refugees International's work to organize and elevate advocacy by local Ukrainian NGOs. The alliance has helped unlock tens of millions of dollars for local Ukrainian partners.
• Syrian-led NGOs in TürkiyecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Syrian-led NGOs in Türkiye beginning in 2023 to push back against efforts by the Syrian government to close cross-border humanitarian aid to earthquake-impacted communities in Northwest Syria.
• Human Rights FirstcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugees International contributed to an amicus brief with Human Rights First and other organizations that helped lead to a U.S. District Court striking down key parts of a Biden administration rule severely restricting access to asylum in May 2025.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HIAS: The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society is a refugee resettlement and advocacy organization serving refugees and asylum seekers in the U.S. and abroad. HIAS's combination of direct services, legal aid, and policy advocacy on refugee protection overlaps directly with RI's advocacy portfolio.
• International Rescue Committee: A leading global humanitarian organization that responds to humanitarian crises and refugee situations through direct service delivery and policy advocacy. Like Refugees International, IRC works on refugee rights, resettlement, and policy advocacy across multiple regions and engages with U.S. and international policymakers.
• Mercy Corps: A global humanitarian and development organization working on conflict, displacement, and humanitarian response in more than 40 countries. Mercy Corps overlaps with RI on displacement policy, climate-conflict programming, and advocacy for affected populations.
• Church World Service: A faith-based humanitarian organization providing refugee resettlement, advocacy, and humanitarian assistance across multiple countries. CWS's refugee protection, resettlement, and U.S. policy advocacy work overlaps directly with RI's mandate.
• Norwegian Refugee Council: A major international humanitarian organization focused on displacement, refugee rights, and protection, operating globally across crisis regions. NRC's mix of direct service and policy advocacy on displacement is structurally analogous to RI's work in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and Ukraine.
• Human Rights First: A U.S.-based human rights advocacy organization that pursues refugee protection, asylum rights, and accountability through litigation, policy, and public education. Human Rights First and RI recently co-authored amicus briefs on asylum access, indicating directly overlapping advocacy portfolios.

Broad incumbents

• International Crisis Group: An independent international organization that combines field-based research with policy advocacy on conflict, fragility, and displacement globally. Crisis Group's analytical reports and policy recommendations on conflict-affected states closely parallel RI's investigative advocacy model.
• American Civil Liberties Union: A major U.S. civil rights organization that litigates and advocates on immigrants' rights and asylum access. While broader in mandate than RI, ACLU's immigrants' rights practice directly overlaps with RI's asylum and refugee protection advocacy, including amicus and litigation activity.

Others

• Open Society Foundations: A major philanthropic foundation that funds refugee rights, migration policy, and civil society globally. OSF is both a top funder of RI and a fellow actor in the broader refugee-advocacy ecosystem through its grantmaking to other migration-focused NGOs.

Emerging players

• Center for Global Development: An independent policy research organization focused on global development, migration, and forced displacement. RI partners with CGD on labor mobility and refugee economic inclusion, indicating shared analytical and policy engagement on displacement.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/refugeesintl
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC-hu-LxnpdZM89KrOkvv_Dg
• Facebookfacebook.com/13480532116
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/refugees-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/refugeesintl

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Refugees International