Larsen Lam ICONIQ Impact Award Grants Over $24M to Five Non-Profit Organizations to Create Long-Term Transformational Change for Refugees - Seite 2

Mohamed Ahmed, Programs Director of StARS, said, “The $10 million donation will help put philanthropic ownership in the hands of refugees and offer donors a way to overcome the structural complexities of funding RLOs directly. With this grant, the coalition will have the capacity to fund long-lasting community solutions, rather than short-term projects that often miss the mark.”

“We are honored to receive the $10 million grant sponsored by Chris Larsen and Lyna Lam,” said Diana Essex-Lettieri, Vice President and COO of Asylum Access. “RLOs are leading change as the architects of strategic solutions and holistic services that secure rights and well-being for refugees in their communities, and Asylum Access is proud to convene this coalition of some of the most established and impactful RLOs in the world. This funding is a game-changer for the refugee rights movement as it will help scale outstanding RLOs around the world and increase the representation and inclusion of refugees in the design of refugee solutions at national, regional, and global levels, transforming the lives of millions more refugees in the years to come.”

“We were so impressed by the Initiative’s unique commitment to positioning local refugee leadership at the forefront of the pursuit to broaden access to durable solutions for refugees,” said philanthropists and Award sponsors Chris Larsen and Lyna Lam. “The coalition is challenging the status quo by introducing a groundbreaking approach for placing donor’s funding directly into the hands of RLOs to empower and enable the refugee leaders who drive community solutions forward. We couldn’t be more thrilled to support this outstanding coalition of partners and are incredibly proud to join hands with the additional donors who have stepped up to help fund the four other outstanding solutions selected as finalists in this competition.”

DREAMS for Refugees will use the collective funds awarded to it by the Sea Grape Foundation and the anonymous ICONIQ network donor to help equip refugees in Uganda and Ethiopia—the two African countries hosting the continent’s largest refugee population—with the skills, support, resources, and connections they need to become successful entrepreneurs of thriving businesses.

“This is an incredible milestone for the five well-deserving recipients of these awards, and we cannot wait to follow along with their respective journeys and see how the funds help accelerate their efforts to support refugees globally,” said Michael Anders, founding partner of ICONIQ Capital. “Two years ago, we launched ICONIQ Impact with the vision of bringing our network together to fund innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing social problems. We are incredibly humbled by the engagement we have seen from the ICONIQ community. The fact that we were able to more than double the Award’s initial pledge of $12 million to over $24 million is a testament to what we can achieve when we bring people and their passions together for social good, and we’re just getting started.”