Miles4Migrants
Donate miles. Reunite families.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
For displaced persons who are granted asylum or approval to legally migrate to a new country to be reunited with family, financial resources to purchase airfare are a significant barrier to resettlement. Before refugees and asylum seekers find a temporary safe haven or reach a refugee camp, their journey often begins by having to flee their homes and spend their available financial resources to reach safety. While some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and UN Agencies will provide loans for airfare, the burden of arriving in a new country with a debt to be repaid is also a barrier for newly arrived persons to resettle and start their new lives. Without assistance, refugees must take loans and begin repayment six months after resettlement. The average loan amount is $1,100 per person.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Family Reunification Award Flights
Using donated airline miles and credit card points, Miles4Migrants obtains tickets for refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers who have been legally approved by the receiving country's government to travel for migration or family reunification purposes, but who lack the financial means to purchase airfare themselves.
The flight requests we receive come from other non-profit NGOs who are serving individuals and families directly. Our NGO partners are located in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Belgium.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Miles4Migrants’ goal is to help refugees, asylum seekers, and their families reach safety and to reunite with their loved ones. We believe the financial cost of airfare should not prevent individuals and families from rejoining their loved ones. In addition, we believe that displaced persons have a much greater chance of thriving in their new communities when they arrive debt free. Mitigating the cost of resettlement allows displaced persons to more effectively focus on building their careers, raising their families, finding their first dream home, and assimilating in their new communities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
To help make a difference in responding to the critical need of travel support for individuals and families, a group of concerned Americans decided to test an innovative idea to remove the financial burden of resettlement. In 2016, Miles4Migrants was formed with the goal of helping families rejoin their loved ones as quickly as possible, and without undue financial hardship. We partner with other nonprofits to identify refugees, asylees, asylum seekers, and their immediate family members in need, and donations or airline frequent flyer miles, credit card points, and cash pay for flights for those who have legal approval to join their loved ones in their new country, but can’t afford the airfare. Miles4Migrants alleviates displaced persons from the financial burden of expensive airfare, and eases their logistical concerns in making complex travel arrangements.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
For nearly the first three years of Miles4Migrants existence, the organization was run by an all-volunteer staff, many of whom have extensive knowledge in using airline miles and credit card points efficiently for the purchase of travel related expenses.
Miles4Migrants quickly established systems for operations and linked with NGOs and other agencies working with refugees to identify families eligible for resettlement. As Miles4Migrants sponsored more flights, an organic movement took hold as social media posts and then national and international media stories led to a spike in donations of over 40 million frequent flyer miles and credit card points. At the same time, fueled by new partnerships, demand for Miles4Migrants’ services grew substantially.
In 2019, Miles4Migrants received funding from both the TripAdvisor Foundation and The Shapiro Foundation. These two champions of refugees and asylum seekers shared our values and appreciated all we had achieved as a volunteer run organization. The generous grants they provided allowed us to hire our first paid employees - three of whom were already our volunteers - and begin to invest in the infrastructure to improve our donor and partner experience to fuel our growth.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since flying our first family of heroes - Syrians - to safety and reunion in Belgium in November 2016, we have multiplied this impact year after year, from providing airfare for less than 100 individuals in 2017, to flying over 1,500 heroes in 2019. In total, Miles4Migrants has provided airfare for more than 2400 refugees, asylees, asylum seekers, and their families. These airline tickets have helped reunite over 865 families.
Along the way, we’ve been humbled by the generosity and support of donors who selflessly contribute their miles and points, changing the lives of our heroes forever. We’ve also built a network of connections with charities large and small across the globe, whom our small - yet fiercely dedicated - team at Miles4Migrants work with to safely reunite our heroes with their families.
Our goal for 2020 is to provide airfare for over 2500 displaced persons and their families.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Miles4Migrants
Board of directorsas of 04/27/2020
Seth Stanton
Nicholas Ruiz
Andy Freedman
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Gender identity
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Transgender Identity
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Sexual orientation
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Disability
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