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T H E R E F U G E E C O L L E C T I V E 2024 Impact Report Producing Possibilities for Refugees Through Food & Fiber C E O R E F L E C T I O N S To Our Beloved Community: In 2024 we celebrated 15 years of creatively responding to the needs of Austin's refugee community. Our story has deep roots. It begins with four unlikely friends who met serendipitously and shared their unique perspectives and experiences to form the Multicultural Refugee Coalition in 2009. From 1946-1966, Central Presbyterian Church sponsored a family to support community development efforts in rural DR Congo, one of which was to teach sewing to local women. This was the family of our co-founder Sarah Stranahan, who many years later, taught sewing to refugee women here in Austin that began our work in the textile space. We cherish the beautiful light-filled space we get to work out of in the historic Central Presbyterian Church today for our office and textile studio, and love knowing that these roots run deep. During the Civil War in Liberia in 1989, Johnson Doe and Paul Tiah were from opposing counties. After many years in refugee camps in the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, both made their way to Austin, Texas through the federal refugee resettlement program. Paul arrived first in 2003 and invited Johnson over for dinner once he had arrived in 2004, since they were from the same country and spoke the same dialect. Even though they were supposed to be considered enemies, through love, acceptance, and reconciliation efforts they not only became the best of friends but consider themselves brothers. It is through their love and perseverance that they wanted to start an organization to support other refugees resettled to Austin and provide encouragement and resources to ease their journey. Finally, as a conservation biologist, I was yearning for a more international experience and the world came to me in my own community when I began teaching ESL to refugees in 2006 and met so many people sharing their desires and dreams in their new city of Austin that it changed my life forever. Some of these shared dreams included getting their hands in the dirt growing culturally desired food for their communities and being able to have the resources to sew things for their families. Through our shared desire to provide a community of support for Austin’s refugee community, the Multicultural Refugee Coalition was formed and hundreds of refugees have been impacted through job skills training, community gardens, citizenship support, sewing, and full-time fair wage work. As we reflected on where we have come and envisioned where we are headed, our team was inspired to undergo a rebrand through the support of a Leadership Austin mentor. In 2024, we rebranded to the Refugee Collective with a tagline of Producing Possibilities through Food and Fiber. This better reflects our work both at the studio and the farm and our more integrated approach to our team as a whole. Many of you have been with us since the very beginning and some of you are just learning of our work today. We couldn't do this work without the love and support of this beloved community and we are incredibly grateful. We look forward to where this new rebrand is guiding us and hold dear the deep roots upon which we were built. With much love and gratitude, Meg Erskine Co-founder and CEO O U R M I S S I O N Producing Possibilities for Refugees Through Food & Fiber The Refugee Collective is an innovative nonprofit organization employing refugees in fair-wage, dignified work through two social enterprises: a textile production studio and an organic farm. Studio In the Refugee Collective Studio, highly-skilled refugee seamstresses receive year-round, fair wage employment. They often have decades of experience sewing for their families before being professionally trained on specialty sewing equipment and industrial machines. Through traditional and newly acquired methods, our team produces our own artisan home goods collection featuring natural dyes from our organic farm, as well as private label items for local production partners and retailers. Farm The Refugee Collective’s primary farm team earns a fair wage growing produce for our USDA Certified Organic Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, as well as restaurants and wholesale partners. Partnerships with local food businesses like Texas Roselle create seasonal income opportunities during peak harvest seasons. The farm uses regenerative agriculture practices to implement our Resilient Farm Plan, the first of its kind in Texas. the Refugee Collective's 2024 Impact Snapshot A glance at the impact your support had on our growing programs in 2024 18 refugee, asylee, & immigrant individuals employed in dignified, fair-wage work at the Refugee Collective in 2024 $282,237 $17.00 average wage of RAI* staff total income invested in wages paid to refugee staff 255 refugees estimated to be impacted through employment, workshops and community gardens 104 hours of paid English Language Instruction (ELI) 258 hours of volunteer support at the Refugee Collective Farm & Studio 5 Countries represented including Afghanistan, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bhutan, & Myanmar Full Time: 15 Part Time: 8 Seasonal: 8 Studio 6 RAI* employees Farm 12 RAI* employees *RAI = Refugee, Asylee, & Immigrant Studio Livelihoods Farm Livelihoods Regenerative Agriculture Food Access Farm to Fiber Wrap Around Support Program Areas Multicultural Refugee Coalition is now the Refugee Collective 2024 Impact Report | 4 S T U D I O L I V E L I H O O D S 3 Natural Dyeing Workshops Community Workshops Partnering with the Elisabet Ney Museum & Whole Earth Provision Co, the Studio team engaged with the community about natural dyeing and sustainable artisan work in the textile industry. 33,559 Items Manufactured Sewing Production Partners 33,559 items were manufactured and made for private label partners such as Major Darling, Newton Supply Co, Trophyology, & Revision Goods. We welcomed new sewing production partnerships such as Lucky + Dog, Pet Obesessed People, and Supply Showroom. $60,000 Awarded to Fund Sustainable Textile Community Workshops in 2025 Cultural Arts Grant Awarded $60,000 to launch sustainable textile arts workshops with our refugee artisans. The Studio will be focused on teaching and creating with the community through Natural Dyeing with food waste, Block Printing, and Mindful Hand Mending Workshops. 2024 Impact Report | 5 F A R M L I V E L I H O O D S 39 Community Farmers Earned a Combined Total of $83,000 Community Farmer Program Newly arrived refugees have the opportunity to grow culturally desired produce for their own communities while earning a supplemental income. 39 MONTH 2021 Community Farmers earned a combined total of $83,000 in 2024. Developed Three New Products Pantry Line The Farm launched the Pantry Line, utilizing our own organic hot peppers. Working with both the Studio & Farm teams, we developed seasoning blends that celebrate their culinary heritage. 472 Hours of Educational Programing Farmer Training Community Farmers participate in a 6 module education course to learn about regenerative farming in Central Texas. We administered 472 hours of educational programming in 2024. 2024 Impact Report | 6 F O O D A C C E S S 2,300 Culturally Desired CSA Shares distributed to refugee households through partnerships with AISD, Foundation Communities, and Center for Survivors of Torture. 39 Community Farmers growing culturally desired produce for their friends and families 100% of Families receiving culturally desired vegetables report increased access to foods they traditionally cook with 29,747 Pounds of Culturally Desired, organic produce donated to refugee households through our Culturally Desired CSA and Community Farmer programs. “Farming is hard but it doesn’t tire me out. It actually calms me down and makes me very happy” -Community Farmer Participant From Afghanistan 2024 Impact Report | 7 R E G E N E R A T I V E A G R I C U L T U R E Resilient Farm Plan The Refugee Collective Farm has completed Texas' First Resilient Farm Plan, which utilizes the Carbon Farm Planning framework to quantify potential carbon sequestration through regenerative agriculture practices. Once fully implemented, our farm will sequester 345 metric tons of CO e annually, 2 the equivalent of taking 77 cars off the road. MONTH 2021 685 Yards of Compost, 4 Acres of Cover Crop, & 150 Rotating Laying Hens Regenerative Practices The Farm employs regenerative practices to improve soil health. In 2024 we spread 685 yards of compost on the fields, cover cropped 4 acres, and rotated our flock of laying hens over 1 acre of land. Each of these practices contributes to our ability to eliminate tillage on the farm, creating a healthy, intact soil food web. Invested in 50 Fruit Trees Tree Planting In December, volunteers helped us plant 50 fruit trees including Peaches, Plums, Pears, Figs, and Mulberries. In addition to providing fruit in future seasons and beautifying the farm, these trees help sequester carbon as they grow. 2024 Impact Report | 8 F A R M T O F I B E R Texas Organic Cotton With the launch of our own product line, we partner with Texas fiber farmers in the panhandle, reducing our carbon footprint, and investing in regenerative practices. Harvesting Madder We expanded our dye garden by planting madder, one of the oldest dye plants, and harvesting our first crop in 2024. Madder requires a minimum of 2 years growth for the dyeable roots to mature enough to produce a beautiful red. Texas Organic Cotton Fiber Farmers in the TX panhandle Impactful Purchase Supports & impacts the sustainable cycle Cotton Milling & Weaving in South Carolina Farm to Fiber supporting a circular fiber economy Cut & Sew Manufacturing sewing studio in Austin, TX Regenerative Agriculture Natural Dye Garden in Elgin, TX Refugee Artisans Natural dyeing & shibori in Elgin, TX 280 Hours Collaborating Together Collaborating with the refugee farm team, the studio team members cared for the natural dye garden from February through October. Seeding, planting, weeding, nourshing the growing plants throughout the summer with compost, covering, and harvesting in the Fall. Visiting the farm every few weeks connected both social enterprises together through our Farm to Fiber initivaties, fostering belonging between our teams in the garden. “I love the farm, it’s peaceful. I care for the plants and am happy. It reminds me of farming with my father. What we do is special, we are creating beautiful color.” -Haifaa Syrian Refugee Artisan & Seamstress 2024 Impact Report | 9 W R A P A R O U N D S U P P O R T 104 Hours of Paid ELI Individual Case Management We welcomed our case manager to our team, who provided one on one individual support for our Studio & Farm Refugee team members and their families with health care, citizenship, and long-tern goals . 104 Hours of Paid ELI English Language Instruction MONTH 2021 We supported 2 hours of paid English Language Instruction ech week for our team members at the farm and the studio. 12 Hours of Paid Yoga Yoga Bi weekly mindfulness and meditation from a certified yoga instructor 16,004 Miles Driven Transportation Supporting our farm team with transportation to work 440 Vegetable Shares Weekly Organic Produce for Team Members Vegetable shares given to refugee staff to promote nutirtion and heatlh. 2024 Impact Report | 9 2024 Impact Report | 10 F I N A N C I A L S Total Revenue: $1,102,357 Through our progressive financial model, social enterprise revenue makes up over half of our annual income. Total Revenue Social Enterprises 21.3% Individuals/ Businesses 9.3% Restricted Donations & Grants 62.0% Unrestricted Grants & Misc. Income 0.8% Events 6.6% Total Expenses - $1,097,568 Program Expenses Studio - 23.7% Program Expenses Farm - 62.9% General /Admin 7.9% Fund- raising 5.5% Farm to Table Fundraiser In the Fall, we hosted our first-ever Farm to Table Fundraiser, a beautiful gathering rooted in community, collaboration, and the land we nuture. With fresh organic produce harvested from our own fields and the culinary support of Lenoir & Abby Jane Bakeshop, guests shared a thoughtfully curated family style meal. The evening included meaningful conversation, a guided farm tour, and a natural dyeing demonstration in the heart of our fields. Bringing together our diverse and blended community in celebration of belonging, connection, and sustainability. Photo credits: Grace Chuang / Steve Moakley 2024 Impact Report | 11