Support for sponsors

Not all Uniting for Ukraine sponsors are eligible to request free travel on behalf of the newcomers they are sponsoring:

• A sponsor must have a confirmed sponsorship with the newcomer family through Welcome Connect.
• The newcomer family must meet determined criteria that indicates they have a financial barrier for traveling to the U.S. Currently, this is defined as having a group size of 4 or more.

Eligibility criteria may be redefined as the program evaluates changing beneficiary and sponsor needs. Additionally, a sponsor who has already opted in for the Welcome.US Sponsor Fund Matching Grants program is not eligible to apply for travel assistance. See more information in the Welcome.US Sponsor Fund Matching Grants section.

If you are sponsoring a Ukrainian family of four or more that you connected with through Welcome Connect, you are eligible for free flights. When everyone in the beneficiary group has received travel authorization from the U.S. government and is ready to travel to the U.S., you can request free travel.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Ensure all the beneficiaries have received their travel authorization.*

Step 2: Gather the required information for each traveler.

Step 3: Complete the booking request form on Welcome Connect Travel.

Step 4: Receive your travel itinerary.

• It may take anywhere from a few days to a few months for all beneficiaries to receive their travel authorization, so you may have to wait to submit a booking request.

Eligibility requirements to receive a matching grant from the Welcome.US Sponsor Fund include:

Welcome Connect: Uniting for Ukraine sponsors seeking funding must have matched with the newcomer whom they are supporting via Welcome Connect and have submitted an I-134A form on their behalf. They must also begin the grant application within 30 days of matching on Welcome Connect.

GoFundMe: Uniting for Ukraine sponsors seeking a matching grant must have a GoFundMe fundraiser connected to the Welcome.US partner page (the maximum reward is $1,000 per beneficiary for up to three beneficiaries). If you already have a GoFundMe fundraiser that was not set up on the Welcome.US partner page, please email [email protected] so we can recognize it as an eligible fundraiser and migrate your link onto our partner space.

Community Involvement: Sponsorship is best done as a community effort. To encourage community involvement, fundraisers must have received a contribution from at least five people to be eligible to receive grant funds.

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Confirm your sponsorship on Welcome Connect.

Step 2: Create a fundraiser on GoFundMe using this link.

Step 3: Complete the initial application stage on our Matching Grant Page.

Step 4: Start fundraising.

Step 5: Welcome the newcomers when they arrive.

Step 6: Complete the final application stage on our Matching Grant Page. This should be done within 30 days of the newcomer’s US arrival.

Once you have completed these steps, you will go through a background check to receive your matching funds.

After reviewing eligibility criteria and launching your fundraiser, you can start the matching grant application process. Fill out the questionnaire and provide the link to your GoFundMe. Note—Begin the application within 45 days of matching on Welcome Connect.

Have questions about the process? Please email us at [email protected], and a Sponsor Coach will be happy to assist you!