APPROACH:

Global Impact will build and manage the Syrian Refugee and Resiliency Fund to provide CGI members with access to a neutral platform to raise funds for Commitments to Action related to the Syrian refugee crisis. The fund is a fiduciary mechanism that can receive contributions from foundations, corporations or individuals. The fund will be supported by a microsite, a custom, branded platform for online giving methods (credit card and check pledging), content related to the Fund (text, photos, videos, and success stories), as well as beneficiary organizations' information. The microsite is 100% mobile responsive and can also be set up with a text-to-give option. Global Impact will work to create a governance structure to determine how funds are distributed to partner organizations and will deliver, track and report monies distributed. Through fund participants, the fund will raise million to provide support to Syrian refugees in Jordan, as well as to Jordanians impacted by the crisis, and will have the ability to accept 120 currencies and is translatable into 70 languages. Global Impact will also list the fund as a charitable giving option in the global workplace giving campaigns it facilitates for companies. These campaigns enable employees working in both private and public sector organizations to direct their charitable gifts to international causes through paychecks and workplace giving drives.

The goal of the Syrian Refugee and Resiliency Fund is to serve as a platform to transform private donations into investments that will assist in the long-term development in the Middle East, as well as reduce the pressure on Jordanian government. The fund will help to finance Commitments to Action which have funding gaps in areas such as education, healthcare and economic development.

ACTION PLAN:

September 2014: Global Impact will work with CGI members with Commitments to Action focused on the Syrian refugee crisis to collect their inputs and gather marketing materials to highlight each member organization's intended work. Global Impact will create the fund and establish a microsite with the intent to launch the site at the 2014 Annual Meeting. Concurrently, Global Impact will establish the governance, fiduciary platforms, and tracking and reporting mechanisms required to collect donations.

October 2014: The Syrian Refugee and Resiliency Fund will be added as a giving option in up to 200 of Global Impact's workplace giving campaigns.

January 2015 to September 2015: Funds will be distributed to commitment partners on a quarterly basis with progress-to-date reports of funds raised. In the case of emergency relief, funds can be distributed in one week's time.

September 2015: Global Impact will revise and refine strategies, commitment members and governance to increase impact and fundraising.

Background

The three-year long conflict in Syria has created a humanitarian crisis that requires international aid and support. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that, as of September 2014, approximately 3 million refugees have been displaced from their homes and have crossed the borders to seek asylum in neighboring Turkey, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon .

One of the impacted countries, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is experiencing economic and political pressure due to the massive refugee influx that has dramatically increased its population and strained its resources. Nearly 600,000 Syrian refugees have registered with the UNHCR and live in Jordan, constituting 20 to 30% of the country's total population, severely stressing Jordan's fragile economy and placing great pressure on its infrastructure, specifically in the areas of health, education and energy. Jordan has provided refugees access to its public services and is now experiencing an over-exhaustion of its socio-economic infrastructure and resources. Shortages in social and health services, as well as water, sanitation, and energy have begun to affect Jordanians, and the lack of resources is potential catalyst for social tensions between Jordanians and Syrians.

In order to address this strain on resources and facilitate assistance in dealing with the crisis, Jordan has published a three-year National Resilience Plan, which requests billion in assistance to support the implementation of mid to long term infrastructure projects. To date, international donors have only contributed 30% of the total amount, and there therefore remains a gap in investment and funding to assist the country with the long-term development and support of Syrian refugees.

Partnership Opportunities