Sponsorship is the ultimate neighborly act. Sponsors provide day-to-day support to make sure newcomers feel welcomed in their new communities and have the information and tools they need to start a new life in the United States.
Think about the type of support you’d need if you moved to a new country where you didn't know anyone, where the culture is new to you, and where the language might be a challenge.
What could a friendly neighbor do to make it easier for you to settle into your new community?
Sponsors serve as guides to life in the United States.
Above all, sponsors help newcomers feel at home and included in their communities by being a trusted advisor newcomes can rely on to help navigate their new life.
Sponsors can choose to work together as a group.
Sponsoring together - as friends, colleagues, congregation members - makes the work easier. It can also be deeply rewarding for everyone who gets to share the responsibility and joy of helping newcomers thrive.
Sponsorship includes basic financial responsibilities: While there is no required amount, your group should plan to raise at least $3,000 for each person sponsored, to help support newcomers in the first 90 days after their arrival in the U.S. Remarkably, most working-age refugees are self-sufficient within six months of arriving in their new communities.
First and foremost, sponsors offer friendship.
Many of the people fleeing war and persecution had lives that weren’t so different from our own - with close family and friends, decent jobs, promising futures. Now they are at a turning point. Newcomers are courageous, resourceful and resilient - but they need our help to rebuild.
Providing emotional support and being a friend that a newcomer can rely on during a difficult period in their life is one of the most rewarding aspects of sponsorship. The bonds formed between sponsors and newcomers often grow into lifelong friendships – and everyone benefits along the way!
Start your sponsor journey today. Who would you like to connect with?
Get detailed answers to your questions about sponsorship– from who is eligible to sponsor to how to help newcomers find housing, land a job, and access healthcare.
For those who want to apply to sponsor Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Ukrainians coming to the U.S. under humanitarian sponsorship programs, this document guides you through the process, step by step.
This resource offers some best practices in sponsorship that can set you and the newcomer you are welcoming up for success.
Newcomers will need to access services to get settled here. Use this checklist to keep track of initial services typically needed when a newcomer arrives.
Sponsoring with a group can make the experience easier and more enjoyable. Review recommended roles and responsibilities for your group.
Newcomers may need help with initial financial planning. This budget template helps capture initial estimated living costs.
Newcomers may need initial financial support to get on their feet. Read tips for how to raise funds to support newcomers as they integrate into their new community.
Newcomers will need to find a place to stay. Learn about best practices for sponsors to find and secure housing for newcomers.
Help make a house a home! Review a list of household supplies to help prepare a home for newcomers.
Help a newcomer feed their family. Read a list of items for a newcomer’s pantry upon arrival.
Newcomers are part of our community. Learn more about the services available to Nicaraguans and Venezuelans.
Newcomers are part of our community. Learn more about the services available to Cubans, Haitians, and Ukrainians.
In-depth resources to help sponsors and newcomers from Cuba, Haiti, and Ukraine navigate their lives in major U.S. cities including Chicago, New York/Newark, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Sacramento.
Take the following tutorials to learn more about what's required of a sponsor and how to be most successful.
