Venture: International Refugee Assistance Project

Investment: $2M grant

Portfolio: Audacious

Investment date: December 2021

Region(s) served: Global

Sector: Multi-sector

Core Impact Metric: Number of refugees and migrants who now have access to basic rights

Ensuring refugees can access high-quality legal aid and increase their odds of reaching safety

International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) mobilizes legal resources for refugees and displaced people to find pathways to safety, via free representation, advocacy, and litigation. IRAP has developed a methodology to deliver high-quality, remote legal representation to displaced people.

With its international network of more than 2,300 law students, pro bono attorneys, and partner NGOs, IRAP has built a system for legal aid unbound by geographical borders, able to support forced migrants across countries, continents, and legal regimes.

Why Rippleworks Invested:

The work of establishing a global network of legal advocates for forced migrants is gradual and complex—and it is difficult to support with traditional, short-horizon funding.

IRAP and its partners have done, and will continue to do, the litigation and advocacy work needed to enshrine safe pathways into law. Sustained funding gives more displaced people access to IRAP’s resources, while alleviating the pressures facing intermediary host countries and creating a credible path to safety.

IRAP has helped ensure basic rights for more than 339,000 forced migrants.