FAQs about our group and how to make a donation


What is the Ripple Refugee Project?

The Ripple Refugee Project is a group of concerned private citizens who live in downtown Toronto. Our members include doctors, nurses, a lawyer as well as people working for non-profits, environmental organizations or in the areas of human resources, academics and finance. Our group has no affiliation to any religious group or ethnic association – we are working independently due to our members' desire to support and advocate for refugees and to raise awareness about refugee-related issues. The group initially formed in May, 2015.

Why did you choose to name your group Ripple Refugee project?

When we founded the group in May 2015, alarmed by the plight of Syrian and other refugees, there were not many citizen sponsorship groups in Canada, and the Canadian government at the time did very little to help mitigate the global refugee crisis. We hoped that our example, and our advocacy -, media - and other outreach work would have a ripple effect. 

What are donations to the Ripple Refugee Project being used for?


We are currently (starting in September 2018) trying to raise $ 25,000 for the settlement of a young mother from Eritrea with her four small children who are residing under precarious circumstances in a refugee camp in neighbouring Sudan. The family's application for refugee status has been reviewed and approved by the UNHCR and the Canadian government and they could arrive in Toronto before the end of 2018. 


We will sponsor and settle the family through the Blended Visa Office Referral (BVOR) program for refugees. Under this program, private citizen groups such as ours are responsible for paying for the costs of initially setting up the living arrangements for the family (providing furniture, clothing, kitchen supplies etc).  We are also responsible for providing the family with a monthly basic living allowance over a 6 month period.  This basic monthly allowance will help the family pay for rent, food, transit, utilities and other basic necessities.


The Canadian government is responsible for providing the basic living allowance for an additional 6 months.  At the end of the 12 months the refugee family is expected to be self-sufficient.

We will be responsible for most settlement tasks for at least the first 12 months, helping the family to make Canada their new home. 


How can I make a donation?

Donations can be made online via the Rosedale United Church’s donation page at Canada Helps (please click here).


Please be sure to indicate in the box marked “Include a message for this charity” that the donation is for: “RUC – 25 Ripple Refugee Project”.


Rosedale United Church is our group's Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH). Private sponsorship groups like ours are obliged by law to work with an SAH as a guarantor. Most of the SAHs in Canada are faith-based. As a charity the United Church can give tax-receipts to donors. In all other aspects, our group is unaffiliated to the church, is secular and acts independently.


You can also write out a cheque to Rosedale United Church, with Ripple Refugee group in the memo line of the cheque.

Can I get a Tax Receipt for my donation?

Yes, online credit card donations via Canada Helps automatically and immediately generate an electronic tax receipt which can be printed out and submitted for your taxes.

You will be sent a tax receipt by mail if you write a cheque.

How much of the donation is actually used to settle refugee families and how much is used for overhead (eg: administrative expenses)?

100% of the donations are used to directly settle the refugee families we are sponsoring.  No funds are used for overhead, administration, staffing etc.

What happens if the Ripple Refugee Project raises more money than is needed to settle a particular family?

As the Ripple Refugee Project is an ongoing project, any funds raised which exceeds what a current family settlement requires will be used to sponsor additional families in the future.

How has the money the Ripple Refugee Project has raised so far been used? 

Our group has sponsored a Syrian refugee family of eight who arrived at the end of 2015 through the BVOR program. A Syrian family of three who arrived at the end of 2016 and a family member of the first family who came to Canada in the middle of 2018, were sponsored as named cases. 

How can I follow the progress of the settlement of the refugees the Ripple project is sponsoring?

Please click here to read our Ripple Refugee Project blog. On this page you can also sign up to receive email alerts whenever the blog is updated.





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