MONEY OUT
As a MONEY IN / MONEY OUT organization, RFOH awards grants directly to REGISTERED CHARITIES across Canada.
Our Vision is realized by building strong communities of support for queer asylum seekers, refugees, and newcomers.
Applications come in through two distinct funding streams:
- Sponsorship Support – financial assistance to Canadian charities that support civil society groups working to sponsor or co-sponsor one or more individuals seeking asylum from persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIE); and
- Community Services – financial assistance to Canadian charities that support SOGIE migrants under persecution to become integrated into Canadian life as newcomers.
Sponsorship Support grants facilitate asylum seeker and refugee resettlement through private sponsorship groups:
- Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH);
- Constituent Group (CG) with a Canadian registered charity as a co-sponsor; and
- Urgent relocation and support related to sponsorship initiatives.
Community Services grants provide refugee and newcomers resettlement services including, but not necessary limited to:
- Non-government funded health services;
- Educational services to enhance resettlement and integration;
- Counselling and mental health services;
- Social services; and
- Secure housing.
As part of the Community Services stream RFOH has partnered with the GLBA LOUD Foundation to offer scholarships that support education and training needs for queer refugees and newcomers. Applications open in November and close annually on January 31st. Click HERE for more information on how to apply.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: On July 29th, 2020 the Board decided unanimously to reduce the maximum amount per application to $5,000. The decision is due to the COVID-19 circumstances and limitations on our own capacity to give.
The decision was based on evidence of the success of our grants program, as well as the heightened level of need by an increasing number of charities in our network of national partners.
GOT A QUESTION?
For any questions about our grants, including the application process, please fill out the form below.
My name is Santos. I am a 24 year-old Ugandan refugee living in Kenya and registered under UNHCR. I came to Kenya after my family and the village discovered I was a transgendered gay person. They were convinced a larger group or organization was backing me. Of course that wasn’t true, but no one believed me. The villagers attacked and beat me severely then dragged me to the police station.
At the police station I was mugged, then tortured in the holding cells for a terrible 7 days. When I was finally released I had nowhere to go, no place to live. I decided to approach one of my gay friends and was very grateful when he took me in. However, after about two weeks he began enticing me to have sex with him. I didn’t want to but I felt I had no choice because he could have turned me in or blackmailed me. When I tried to refuse him, he raped me repeatedly. Once again, I was trapped. I decided my only solution was to escape and run to Kenya as a refugee.
After a difficult journey I arrived in Kenya where I was welcomed by UNHCR. Unfortunately gay people are not allowed to live in the camps because of the torture and harassment by some of the Somali people living there.
I was given a little fund to find a rental around Nairobi. I met a few other gay Ugandan refugees and we all now live together.
I’ve been in Kenya for five months now and have been arrested two times due to my sexual orientation. Each time I was tortured in the police cells. It was painful and terrifying.
Please help me find a safe place to stay in Nairobi. The little support I receive from UNHCR is just enough for me to live in this terrible slum with only one meal a day and no medication.
I am crying out to the world for help. I am barely surviving. I need food and protection. Please.
Thank you