We advance the rights & wellbeing of people on the move.
The number of people forced to flee their homes due to conflict and climate has nearly doubled to 114 million since the inception of the Global Whole Being Fund (GWBF) in 2015. Community and Refugee-Led Organizations provide effective and holistic rapid and long-term support to millions of people who fall through the cracks of traditional refugee response. However, they only receive <2% of global humanitarian funding and lack access to resources to deepen and scale their impact.
The Global Whole Being Fund (GWBF), a 501(c)3, is a global philanthropic fund that resources Community and Refugee-Led Organizations in 65 countries, supporting over 5 million people on the move.
We identify, seed, and scale the most effective and holistic Community and Refugee-Led Organizations directly or through value-aligned, equity-driven, and smart intermediaries.
We apply a holistic resourcing approach that entails grantmaking, organizational development, accompaniment, and leveraging additional philanthropic funding.
We focus on key geographies across the globe, such as Central America, East Africa, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East.
We apply a collective impact approach and collaborate with a network of 400+ local and national non-profits and philanthropies globally.
We are nimble yet thoughtful, focussing on rapid response and sustainable programs.
learn more about our impact by emailing nicole(at)gwbf.org
Impact
Since our inception in 2015, we have successfully anchored equity, dignity, and collaboration into the global refugee response.
We apply a collective impact approach; therefore, our impact is a result of collaboration and coordination with non-profits and philanthropies. By unlocking the complementary positions, strategies, and assets of a diverse network, we have advanced the rights and wellbeing of millions of people on the move. Our holistic resourcing has been pivotal in times of crisis and beyond and contributes to transforming the refugee response to be rooted in local realities and co-led by impacted people and communities.
Collective Crisis Response During Emergencies: Together with value-aligned, equity-centered, and smart intermediaries, we have evolved nimble, effective, and transformative collective crisis responses. In close partnership with Choose Love, we have been able to resource Community and Refugee-Led Organizations in times of crisis.
12 hours after the devastating earthquake at the Turkish border, we were able to support Choose Love to fund more than 30 Community and Refugee-Led Organizations that collectively saved and eased millions of lives of people who had been displaced multiple times already. The collective earthquake response mobilized $6 million.
In the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, we supported Choose Love to stand up a critical collective response mobilizing more than $14 million to resource Community and Refugee-Led Organizations through funding and organizational development. It was the first time that Community-Based and Refugee-Led Organizations accessed comprehensive organizational development in the early stages of a conflict.
Beyond a crisis: We continuously have to balance responding to emergencies in real-time while ensuring support beyond moments of crisis; especially given that most crises become protracted. We believe that advancing the rights and wellbeing of millions of people on the move requires centering Community and Refugee-Led Organizations, which currently receive less than <2% of global humanitarian funds.
Some of our impact on transforming the global refugee response has been to advance refugee leadership by resourcing Community and Refugee-Led organizations through funding and organizational development. We are currently running a comprehensive three-tier program geared to strengthen a cohort of 20 Refugee-Led Organizations across 11 countries through coaching, consulting, and Organizational Development grants. We have also co-founded the Collective for Refugee Leadership in the Middle East and North Africa (CRLM) together with six other peer funders to strengthen refugee leadership in a critical refugee-hosting region. Together we have resourced dozens of Refugee-Led Organizations in Lebanon and are now looking at the broader region.
At the core of our impact has been to steward centering wellbeing and holistic support for people on the move. Given the nature of the refugee context, a holistic approach that centers on the wellbeing and dignity of people on the move has been overlooked. Over the last seven years, we have worked tirelessly to center wellbeing and holistic community-centered solutions in the global refugee response.
learn more about our impact by emailing nicole(at)gwbf.org
Our Purpose in Action
Imagine a world where people forced to flee their homes can survive, thrive, and rebuild their lives.
To advance the wellbeing and rights of people on the move, we holistically resource effective Community-Led and Refugee-Led Organizations impacted by conflict and climate disasters through grantmaking, organizational development, and leveraging and organizing philanthropy.
GRANTMAKING: We provide catalytic funding to seed and scale Community-Based and Refugee-Led organizations directly or via value-aligned, equity-centered, and smart intermediaries. We focus on organizations that demonstrate a commitment to impact ecosystems and go beyond their institutional agendas, supporting the needs of people on the move effectively and holistically.
ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: We believe that grantmaking is most effective when financial investments are mission-aligned and complemented with meaningful organizational development, including leadership coaching, consulting, and discretionary funding to cover organizational needs.
LEVERAGE & ORGANIZE PHILANTHROPY: We believe that we can only advance the rights and wellbeing of millions of people on the move through a collective impact approach. We partner and co-fund with others and cultivate new funders for the global refugee response and Community-Led and Refugee-Led Organizations.
learn more about our WOrk by emailing nicole(at)gwbf.org
Team
As a collective impact driven 501(c)3 we work with many talented and committed leaders and advisors. We acknowledge all of them and their immense contribution to our work in advancing the rights and wellbeing of people on the move.
Negar served as a judge for the W.K Kellogg Foundation’s $90 million Racial Equity 2030 award for transformative change in the social, economic, and political systems and institutions that uphold inequities.
Negar also served as a judge for the $12 million Larsen Lam Iqoniq Impact Award for innovative, scale-ready solutions to support the well-being of refugees worldwide.
Negar serves as the BOARD chair of Choose Love Inc.and on the boards of atmos and International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP).
Negar Tayyar
Co-Founder and Executive Director (she/her)
Negar is a passionate philanthropic advocate supporting the global refugee response driven by her professional and personal experience with forced displacement. Across her work, Negar has centered on the rights and wellbeing of marginalized communities. From 2009 to 2015, Negar worked on 20 international development projects in 9 countries with UN agencies, governments, bilateral donors, and NGOs.
Negar is a Women Moving Millions member and a certified leadership coach and organizational development advisor running her private practice Resonance Coaching and also teaches women on the frontlines Empowerment Self Defense.
Nicole represents GWBF at Solidaire and the Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership collaborative.
Nicole Jaramillo Paul
Operations and Grants Manager (She/her)
Nicole is a passionate public health and social justice advocate dedicated to supporting the global refugee response. Nicole has spent her career focused on improving the social and economic determinants of health and well-being for marginalized communities in the public sector across the U.S. In her previous role, Nicole oversaw grant portfolios of $23M+ for seven departments while cultivating new partnerships to initiate equity-centered projects and policies for marginalized communities related to food systems and sustainability issues.