The best charities for refugees depend on the help you want to fund: World Relief for emergency aid and services, Arrive Ministries or Oasis International for local resettlement, and Refugee Council USA for advocacy. No ranking applies; match the charity to the need.
The list below groups named organizations by what they do, because a donor funding tents and a donor funding a local resettlement program want different things. For the basics of giving, see our guide on how to donate to humanitarian charities.
Choosing a refugee charity by the kind of help
Refugee work falls into distinct kinds of help, and the organizations below sit in different places. The facts do not support a single ordered ranking, so treat this as a selection guide and pick the category before the charity.
- Emergency aid and broad services: World Relief supplies essentials to families in temporary shelters and funds longer-term support. It suits donors who want one organization covering several needs.
- Local resettlement: Arrive Ministries (Minnesota) and Oasis International (St. Louis) help refugee families after arrival. They suit donors who want to support people in a specific community.
- Advocacy and coordination: Refugee Council USA works through a coalition rather than delivering direct services. It suits donors who want to strengthen policy and communication on refugee issues.
Funding structure matters too. Both local groups describe partnerships with churches, and Arrive Ministries credits volunteers for much of its work, so a gift supports a community-based model. Before giving, read each organization’s own program page and look at its filings, as covered in the ratings section below.
World Relief: emergency aid and wide-ranging support
World Relief says it has worked with displaced families for 80 years. Its refugee work includes emergency aid for families living in temporary shelters, such as clean water, food, tarps and hygiene kits.
It suits donors who want immediate relief and also want their gift to reach longer-term programs. The limit is breadth. A large, multi-service organization gives you less control over which program your money reaches, so read its program descriptions before choosing a general or a designated gift.
How refugee charities spend donations
Refugee charities typically split spending between immediate relief and services that help people rebuild. World Relief describes funding trauma counseling, mother and parent groups, immigration legal services, and safe space and literacy clubs, alongside its emergency supplies.
It also publishes example gift amounts. A $35 gift is listed as sending a refugee child in South Sudan to school, and $150 is listed as providing a Syrian woman with a trauma support group. These show what a gift is meant to fund, but they are illustrations from the charity itself, not a guarantee of how every dollar is allocated.
Services differ widely between organizations. Health care is not among the programs described by the charities profiled here, so if clinics are your priority, look for an organization whose own program pages say it provides them.
Local resettlement groups: Arrive Ministries and Oasis International
Small and local resettlement groups are a good fit if you want your gift to stay in one community and support people after they arrive. Both groups below describe church and volunteer partnerships.
Arrive Ministries
Arrive Ministries describes itself as a Christian nonprofit serving refugees and immigrants in Minnesota, in partnership with local churches. Since 1988 it has resettled more than 12,000 refugees with the support of 6,000 volunteers. Its immigrant services cover housing, employment, classes and immigration legal services.
It suits donors in or connected to Minnesota who are comfortable with a faith-based organization. If you want a secular recipient, check how it describes its approach before giving.
Oasis International
Oasis International provides support, resources and community for refugee families resettling in St. Louis, including furniture, housing, clothing and classes. It says it has spent 15 years partnering with businesses, churches and individuals, and reports serving refugees from 50+ countries.
It suits donors who want to fund practical household and community support in one city. It also explains that resettlement to the United States is a long process that can take months, even years, so ongoing local support matters well after arrival. If your priority is stable housing for people at risk of losing it, our guide to the best charities for homelessness covers a related set of organizations.
Refugee Council USA: advocacy and coordination
Refugee Council USA is a coalition of more than forty US-based nonprofit organizations. Its work focuses on advocacy, strategic communications and programmatic coordination.
It does not supply tents or run a local resettlement office in the way the groups above do. It suits donors who think policy and coordination across many organizations will do more good than direct relief. If you want your gift to reach a family directly, choose a service provider instead.
How refugee charities are rated
Rating sites give a quick view of how transparent a charity is. Charity Navigator’s profiles draw on public IRS Form 990 data, the annual filing most US nonprofits submit, and score individual checks rather than only a single overall impression.
The Refugee & Immigrant Services Northwest profile for fiscal year 2025 shows how mixed a result can be and why the line items matter.
| Rating check | FY2025 result | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Financial statements audited by an independent accountant | No (0%) | Ask the charity for its financial reporting before a large gift. |
| Tax form disclosed on website | No (0%) | Expect to look up the Form 990 yourself rather than find it on the charity’s site. |
| Website reported on tax form | Yes (100%) | Shows the charity discloses where the public can reach it. |
| No material diversion of assets | Yes (100%) | A self-reported confirmation, useful alongside the audit check. |
These figures come from the Charity Navigator FY2025 profile for Refugee & Immigrant Services Northwest, which cites public IRS Form 990 data.
A strong result on some checks and a weak one on others is common, so read the individual lines before relying on an overall impression. A single score should not decide your gift. Use ratings alongside the charity’s own description of what it does, and look up any organization you are considering, including small local groups, the same way. If your giving follows a sudden crisis rather than displacement, see how to how to donate after a natural disaster.
Frequently asked questions
Should I donate to UNHCR or IRC?
Both are large, well-known names, and the choice between them depends on what you want funded. Apply the same checks you would to any charity: read what its programs do, review its Form 990 where one is filed, and look at its Charity Navigator profile.
Do small refugee groups need a rating to be worth supporting?
No. A local group may have a thin rating record, but its own description of its services and partners still tells you a lot. Oasis International and Arrive Ministries, for example, publish what they provide and whom they serve, so you can judge fit directly.
What does a missing audit mean for a donor?
It means the charity’s financial statements have not been checked by an independent accountant, according to the rating’s own definition. It is a reason to ask questions, not proof of a problem.
How long does resettlement in the United States take?
Oasis International says resettlement to the United States is a long process that can take months, even years. That is why local groups that help after arrival remain useful long after a crisis leaves the news.