Become a
Community Sponsor

Take our free 30-minute Sponsorship 101 training to learn more about community sponsorship and explore if it is right for you.

Community sponsorship is a powerful – and direct – way to welcome newcomers. 

By doing airport pick-ups, making grocery runs, sharing a meal, offering advice on day-to-day decisions like schools, sports, and more, you can help a new neighbor build a new life in your community.

Sponsorship is more important now than ever.

The United States has long been a beacon of hope and place of refuge. For generations, millions of Americans who started out as refugees have made incredible contributions to our country. This continues to be true today.

The magic of this moment is that the capacity to welcome newcomers is now expanding. Through community sponsorship, we are able to bring in more Americans to welcome and directly support newcomers, utilizing the power of civil society and Americans’ deep desire to help.

Over the past year some of the largest countries of origin for refugees resettled in the United States were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Burma. This includes over 86,000 at-risk Afghans who were evacuated from Afghanistan in August 2021. The American people took on a historic task, welcoming thousands of Afghans as they resettled to the United States.

Sponsorship not only provides critical support to newcomers, but uplifts entire communities in the process.

American communities benefit enormously from newcomers’ expertise, experience, and courage. But first, they need a helping hand as they get settled in their new communities. You can be that helping hand.

As one community sponsor said, sponsoring a new neighbor was “the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Ready to start your sponsorship journey?

Complete this free, comprehensive training once you identify how you'd like to sponsor.

Explore sponsorship opportunities in your state.

What can I expect after signing up here and completing the Welcome training?
Visit the Sponsorship Directory to connect with the sponsorship opportunity right for you.  

How long will it take before I get matched and get to start working with a newcomer?
This is dependent on several factors. You can expect it to take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. If you have questions as you wait, you can reach out to your sponsorship program’s point of contact.

How long do I have to be a sponsor for?
The minimum commitment to provide critical welcome support to an Afghan newcomer or family is for 90 days. During that time, you will need to connect the family to ongoing support available in your community. 

How will the newcomer be supported after the sponsorship period ends?
A role of the sponsor is to support the newcomer in assessing information and resources available in their new community. This empowers the newcomer to navigate community resources on their own. Prior to the sponsorship period ending, sponsors are encouraged to engage the newcomer in transition planning. This should include identification of ongoing needs, available resources to support those needs and clear steps for the family on how to access those resources. 

What are some of the federally funded benefits Afghan newcomers might be eligible to receive? 
Afghan newcomers might be eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, Medicaid, Refugee Cash Assistance, Supplemental Security Income, Refugee Medical Assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, and Matching Grants. 

What should our sponsor group do if we have trouble carrying out sponsorship responsibilities such as finding housing, enrolling children in schools or more?
Your sponsorship program will offer you a point of contact to provide you support throughout your sponsorship journey.

How can our sponsor group be prepared for expenses that come with sponsoring?
You will develop a budget to support you in preparing for likely expenses during the sponsorship period, and fundraise to cover those expenses.

What strategies do sponsor groups use for communicating with newcomers that do not speak English?
Sponsors use a variety of strategies for communicating with newcomers that do not speak English. Depending on the information being communicated, this may be done informally, relying on local community members, or formally, using professional services offered in-person or telephonically. Finding interpretation services is part of the preparatory work your sponsor group will do in advance of being matched with a newcomer.

Frequently Asked Questions

We invite you to join the national effort of becoming a welcomer.  

Becoming a sponsor is easier than ever. 

Interested in sponsoring Ukrainians seeking refuge in the United States? Go here. 

Introducing a National Training for Community Sponsorship

This training serves as a baseline for engaging as a community sponsorship group. Participants will receive both in-depth information around providing resettlement services and a broad overview of how to help facilitate long-term integration and success for newcomers. Pieces of this training are designed for individual learning and reflection, while others are to be discussed with the larger community sponsorship group. If your group wants to serve as a co-sponsor paired with a local refugee resettlement agency, then please be sure to contact your local agency for next steps after completing the baseline training.

Welcome.US is proud to have co-created this training alongside the Refugee Welcome Collective and the Community Sponsorship Hub. This initiative was generously funded by the U.S. State Department and the Shapiro Foundation.

What comes next will matter most for newcomers seeking refuge in the United States. Together, we can build strong communities of welcome for all newcomers.  

Once you've decided how you'd like to sponsor, take this comprehensive training to begin getting qualified.

If you're new to community sponsorship, start here!