Asylum Access

What Asylum Access does

Asylum Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2005 and headquartered in Oakland, California, that provides legal empowerment, policy advocacy, and direct funding services to refugees and asylum seekers. The organization operates national offices in Malaysia, Mexico, and Thailand, supported by a global team of approximately 100 staff across 7 countries and 14 locations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Its core service is free legal representation and community-based legal empowerment — one-on-one consultations, public workshops, and training of refugee community members as paralegals and interpreters — delivered alongside policy reform advocacy targeting national governments, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the UN Human Rights Council. The organization's product portfolio also includes the Refugee Work Rights Campaign (launched 2013 with CGI and Refugees International), the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI) — a coalition funding mechanism for refugee-led organizations — and the Equitable Partnerships Accountability Toolkit (EPAT v2.0, released August 2024) co-developed with Lighthouse Partnerships.

Underlying the service delivery is a methodology-driven technology stack rather than a productized software platform: the Asylum Access Refugee Rights Toolkit serves as a replicable blueprint for advocacy models, and EPAT provides practical assessment tools (360 ReACT, Lite ReACT) for organizational partnerships. Operational infrastructure is standard nonprofit tooling — Salesforce for donor CRM, Classy.org and Stripe for donation processing, Google Analytics for web insights — with no public-facing API, no proprietary software product, and no documented AI/ML capabilities. Revenue is generated entirely through donations and grants from individuals, foundations, and institutional partners, with documented major gifts from MacKenzie Scott ($4M, November 2022), the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award via Lever for Change ($10M, May 2021), and Google Corporate Giving Council via Tides Foundation ($100,000, 2010). All services are provided free of charge to refugee clients; the organization reported supporting 157,079 refugee clients and impacting over 1,000,000 lives through combined legal empowerment and policy change.

Name

Asylum Access

Legal name

Asylum Access

Website

https://asylumaccess.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Asylum Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2005 that provides free legal empowerment, policy advocacy, and direct funding to refugees through national offices in Malaysia, Mexico, and Thailand and a global advocacy footprint spanning 7 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Legal Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG), Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI), Asylum & Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Support (BPADAHAB)

Keywords

• Refugee legal aid
• Humanitarian legal services
• Refugee rights advocacy
• Legal empowerment
• Policy reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Oakland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Asylum Access is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that relies on donations from individuals, foundations, and corporate partners. Revenue comes through one-time and monthly donation subscriptions processed via Classy.org platform.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Asylum Access provides free legal empowerment services to refugees and asylum seekers through direct representation, community-based paralegal training, and legal literacy programs delivered via national offices in Malaysia, Mexico, and Thailand. The organization also pursues systemic change through policy advocacy at national and international bodies, strategic litigation, and direct funding to refugee-led organizations via the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative.

Product overview

Asylum Access is a nonprofit organization providing a portfolio of legal empowerment, policy advocacy, and capacity-building services for refugees. The core offerings include direct legal aid and empowerment services delivered through three national offices (Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico), policy change advocacy at national and international levels, and the Refugee Work Rights Campaign with its interactive website. Additionally, Asylum Access offers the Equitable Partnerships Accountability Toolkit (EPAT) for external organizations seeking to build equitable partnerships, and the Toolkit Site providing resources to replicate the Asylum Access model. The organization also leads the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative to direct funding to refugee-led organizations globally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Refugee Work Rights Campaign: Campaign launched in 2013 to build support for refugees having access to opportunity, entrepreneurship and a fair chance at a new life. Includes the interactive website refugeeworkrights.org.
• Equitable Partnerships Accountability Toolkit (EPAT)

Products and services

• Legal Empowerment Services
• Policy Change Advocacy
• Refugee Work Rights Campaign
• Equitable Partnerships Accountability Toolkit (EPAT)
• Asylum Access Refugee Rights Toolkit
• Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative (RRLI)

Quantifiable outcome

• 1,000,000+ lives impacted through legal empowerment and policy change
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Lighthouse PartnershipscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Independent consultants who facilitated the co-design process for the EPAT toolkit, working with Asylum Access and cohort members to develop practical tools for equitable partnerships. Kaius Clark and Katrina Munir-Asen led the facilitation.
• Local Engagement Refugee Research NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Participated in the EPAT toolkit pilot cohort for co-development of equitable partnership assessment tools.
• Independent DiplomatminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Campaign partner for 'Refugees Lead' coalition supporting refugee-led organizations.
• Xavier ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Campaign partner for 'Refugees Lead' coalition supporting refugee-led organizations.
• Basmeh & ZeitoonehcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2021Refugee-led organization in Lebanon and member of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative coalition, working to build power and resilience in refugee communities.
• Refugiados UnidoscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2021Refugee-led organization in Colombia and member of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative coalition.
• Refugees & Asylum seekers Information Centre (RAIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2021Refugee-led organization in Indonesia and member of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative coalition.
• St. Andrew's Refugee Services (StARS)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2021Refugee-led organization in Egypt and member of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative coalition.
• Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2021Refugee-led organization in Uganda and member of the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative coalition.
• NeedsListcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2020Online platform hosting the 'Refugees Lead' campaign where individuals and institutions can directly support grassroots refugee-led organizations.
• Amnesty InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2020Campaign partner for the 'Refugees Lead' coalition supporting frontline refugee-led organizations responding to COVID-19.
• Oxfam InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 August 2020Campaign partner advocating for direct support to refugee-led organizations.
• Lever for ChangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSponsor of the Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award, providing $10 million to the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative.
• Clifford ChancemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLaw firm partnering with Asylum Access for refugees' access to justice worldwide through legal expertise and support.
• CGImajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in publishing the 2022 Global Refugee Work Rights Report with Refugees International and Asylum Access.
• Refugees InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in publishing the 2022 Global Refugee Work Rights Report with CGI and Asylum Access.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• HIAS: Global Jewish nonprofit providing refugee resettlement, legal services, and policy advocacy across multiple host countries. HIAS is a direct peer in refugee legal aid and resettlement services, operating a comparable service-plus-advocacy model internationally.
• International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP): Organization providing direct legal representation and policy advocacy for refugees and displaced people globally. Closely comparable in mission, legal-empowerment methodology, and global footprint.
• Refugees International: Advocacy organization producing influential reports on refugee policy and direct funding to frontline groups. Co-publisher of the Global Refugee Work Rights Report with Asylum Access, making it a tightly overlapping policy peer.
• Kids in Need of Defense (KIND): Nonprofit providing pro bono legal representation to unaccompanied refugee and immigrant children. Closely comparable in the refugee legal-empowerment niche, particularly relevant given Asylum Access's work ending migrant-child detention.
• National Immigration Law Center: US-based advocacy and legal organization defending immigrant and refugee rights through litigation, policy, and communications. Direct peer in the legal-advocacy model for migrant populations.
• International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC): International organization providing migration and refugee services, resettlement assistance, and humanitarian response globally. Operates with a comparable legal-services-plus-advocacy model for displaced populations.
• Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS): International Catholic organization accompanying, serving, and advocating for the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced people. Comparable in combining direct service delivery with rights-based advocacy across multiple host countries.

Broad incumbents

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Large established humanitarian organization providing refugee resettlement, legal aid, and emergency response globally. A much larger broad-incumbent peer offering overlapping legal and resettlement services as part of a broader portfolio.
• Amnesty International: Global human rights organization conducting advocacy and litigation on refugee rights as part of a broader portfolio. Coalition partner on the 'Refugees Lead' campaign and a broad-incumbent peer in human-rights-driven refugee work.
• Oxfam International: Global humanitarian and development organization addressing forced displacement through advocacy and programming. Coalition partner and broader humanitarian peer operating overlapping refugee-rights initiatives.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/asylumaccessvideo
• Facebookfacebook.com/asylumaccess
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asylum-access
• Instagraminstagram.com/asylumaccessglobal
• Xx.com/asylumaccess

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Asylum Access