This senior capstone is a hypothetical proposal, written from the viewpoint of an NGO, for creating communal programs aimed at creating and promoting long-term transformation in attitudes, interactions and policies, specifically as they relate to Syrian refugees.

1. Creating Community
Founder and CEO: Payton Martinez
Mission Statement:
Creating Community is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) based out of Germany,
working EU-wide, to create and promote long-term transformation in the attitudes, interactions
and policies of our community, specifically as they relate to refugees. We strive daily to
intervene in the perpetuation of harmful cycles, rooted in misinformation, by working with
locals, refugees, and politicians in order to create a community that is more conducive to
diversity.
Issue:
The influx of more than 1 million Syrian Refugees into the European Union (EU) within the last
year has created a situation that is increasingly dividing governments, communities and
individuals as the EU struggles to cope. Despite such polarization, few efforts have been
implemented to promote any substantial change, especially involving refugees who have already
gained official resettlement status in Europe. As such, it is necessary to work towards building
communities that embrace local refugees, in order to create the most prosperous futures possible.
I. Recategorization Programs
Request:
Creating Community is seeking funding to provide educational programs to 1,000 immigrants in
Phase I in Germany. Funding from your foundation will be leveraged with other funding to
support the creation and implementation of new educational programs specifically targeted at
transforming intergroup relationships between Syrian refugees within Europe and European
citizens. This will be done through the implementation of a micro level approach, which can be
duplicated in other communities to ultimately affect macro level framework long-term, through
incremental change.
Project Detail:
These community outreach programs will bring together local community members and the
Syrian refugees residing within those communities.Through these programs, individuals from
each side of the conflict will participate in dialogue that educates the other side on backgrounds,
motivations, and personal experiences. Through these small group processes, communities on
opposite ends of the conflict can develop a deeper, more accurate understanding of others,
recognize common humanity, and diffuse the “us vs. them” dynamics. Though these programs
focus on change on an individual level, such programs will work to change relationships, and
promote de and re-categorization, which will transform the resentment harbored towards
refugees, in order to more productively solve the larger conflict at hand, rather than a symptom
of that conflict. Internal division is contributing to a worsening threat to the open borders of the
Schengen Area. It is necessary to create and promote programs that can counter this internal

2. division. As such, programs like Creating Community are a necessary step in creating an
environment that values sameness rather than fearing difference. In doing so, negative stigma
towards Syrian refugees will be diminished, and the causes of this conflict can be more aptly
addressed, allowing the EU to obtain a sense of unity in the face of adversity. Initially, one of
each of these programs will be established in the European States currently housing the most
refugees, beginning with Germany. In the long term, more programs will be established in each
of the European states housing refugees.
Goal:
Improve the Syrian migration into EU countries through directed programs and services that aid
in the transition of migrants into their host country.
Objectives:
● Objective 1. To promote transitional remigration to 1,000 refugees through assimilated
community programs and service by the end of the first quarter.
● Objective 2. To initially build the capacities of 2 countries and expand and duplicate the
program in 3 additional communities each month through program structuring and
training.
● Objective 3. To enhance and improve the perception of 80’% of community member
participants through the establishment of host country programs and support systems.
● Objective 4. To permanently house and gainfully employ 50% of participating families
by the end of their first year of participation in the program, through networking and
liaising with community support programs.
Source of financing:
The $10.25 million project will be funded with private donor funding, targeted philanthropic and
foundation funding and in-kind contributions through donated building, supplies and volunteer
services. Phase I preliminary funding includes the following:
Source Amount Status
Foundation $1,500,000 Current request
Philanthropic/Foundations $3,000,000 Secured
Donated Building/Operations $4,000,000 10 Year Lease (50,000 Sq. Ft.)
In-Kind Contributions $1,000,000 Annual Commitment and Long Term
Memorandums of Understanding
(MOU)
Volunteer and Donated
Services
$750,000 Signed MOUs
TOTAL $10,250,000
Budget:
Income Amount Description

3. Foundation $1,500,000 Grant Award – Pending
Philanthropic/Foundations $3,000,000 Grant Award
Donated Building/Operations $4,000,000 Donated
In-Kind Contributions $1,000,000 Cash Donations
Volunteer and Donated
services
$750,000 Donated
Total $10,250,000
Expense
Donated Staffing $750,000 Donated
Building and Operations $4,000,000 Donated
Paid Staffing $250,000 Philanthropic/Foundations
Services $5,000,000 Permanent housing, employment
support, case management and job
training.
Community Outreach and
Marketing
$250,000
Total $10,250,000
II.Entrepreneurial Support Programs
Request:
Creating Community is seeking $500,000 from your foundation to aid in providing business
development and business support to immigrant entrepreneurs seeking to establish viable
businesses within their European host country. With the European Union’s population rapidly
aging, and jobs becoming increasingly technologically oriented and thereby lending itself to a
younger workforce, the Eurozone is facing new economic challenges. The influx of more than 1
million Syrian refugees is economically beneficial and has the potential to provide the EU with
the economic boost it needs. The IMF estimates that due to the influx of refugees, by 2020 the
level of EU’s GDP as a whole could gain an additional 0.25%.1
However, this increase is
dependent upon the successful integration of refugees into the labor market. For this reason,
creating programs through which Syrian refugees have increased access to employment
opportunity is a necessary step in positively impacting their integration into communities and the
future of the EU.
Program Detail:
This initiative seeks to provide access to startup funds to immigrant entrepreneurs. Refugees
resettled within the Eurozone are able to work. They originate from a variety of professional
backgrounds, including medical professionals, entrepreneurs, engineers etc. However, as
1
Kollewe, Julia. “IMF Says Refugee Influx Could Provide EU Economic Boost.” The Guardian (January
20, 2016), http://www.theguardian.com

4. refugees, they often lack employment opportunities that adequately reflect this diverse
specialization. This mismanagement of the increased human capital is detrimental to both the EU
and refugees. As such, our organization hopes to eliminate this trend, providing refugees with the
funds necessary to create startups that more effectively reflect their professional training and
helps refugees assimilate to European society, while simultaneously improving the future of the
Eurozone’s economy. Once again, this program will be piloted in Germany with eventual
expansion elsewhere. Among many things, Germany needs doctors. According to the
international research consultancy Roland Berger, one in seven physicians plans to retire within
the next five years and by 2030 German hospitals will lack 111,000 of the doctors needed to
serve the country’s population, which consists of 20% of the population 65 or older and therefore
requiring increased medical care.2
As Germany serving as a proof of concept, this program can
expand into other European states in the long term. This program will allow refugees with
various backgrounds to apply for access to startup funds. Applications will be reviewed by our
team, and several applicants will then be awarded the funding, at which point our organization
will continue to provide business support and mentoring while also monitoring the progress of
the startup.
Goal:
Creating Community will leverage various funding to facilitate and support migrant business
development, employment and jobs creation.
Objectives:
● Objective 1: To establish startup capital funding and business support towards the
creation of 15 businesses over 12 months.
● Objective 2: To generate jobs from the aforementioned businesses within the first 36
months and assist in the integration and placement of 200 professionally skilled Syrian
refugees.
● Objective 3: To build the capacities of Germany to create business and employment
targeted towards Syrian refugees.
Budget:
Budget:
Income Amount Description
Foundation $500,000 Grant Award – Pending
Government Capacity Grant $3,000,000 Grant Award
EU Business Development
Grant
$4,000,000 Grant Awarded
Total $7,500,000
2
Kollewe, Julia, “IMF Says Refugee Influx Could Provide EU Economic Boost.” 2016.

5. Expense
Training Programs $750,000 Business plans, financial modeling,
insurance plans, legal support and
working capital estimates.
Business Capacity Grants $4,000,000 Business start up rents. Insurance,
lease, supplies, equipment, computers
and software.
Start-up Loans $2,500,000 Philanthropic/Foundations
Staffing $250,000 Permanent housing, employment
support, case management and job
training.
Total $7,500,000
III. Campaign for Preserving Schengen Area Open Borders:
Request:
Creating Community is seeking $1,000,000 in funding to aid in the creation of a targeted media
campaign to inform the public of the benefits of preserving the Schengen Area and the potential
hazards of allowing the open-borders policy to lapse. Funding will be leveraged to produce both
qualitative and quantitative data that will then be applied to nation-wide media campaigns in
order to promote a common goal and understanding of what is a stake, thereby informing the
public on the importance and providing them with the knowledge necessary to advocate for
policy that reflects this understanding.
Project Detail:
This campaign will operate by providing a comprehensive analysis of the effect of open borders
and the potential costs to removing these open borders. Open borders are fundamentally
important to the EU for various reasons. It is common for companies to structure their businesses
across borders, more than 1 million individuals commute across borders for work daily, and any
disruption to open borders would have an immediate and negative impact. The institute,
Bertelsmann Stiftung, forecasted that, if implemented, increased border controls would cost
Germany about 77 billion euros ($86.3 billion) by 2025.3
Retaining open borders is imperative to
the preservation of the EU and this campaign seeks to demonstrate that. Creating Community
will hire accredited economists to analyze the direct and indirect costs associated with closing a
border (quantitative approach) in addition to disseminating surveys to European citizens and
refugees in order to understand the social impact of such change (qualitative approach). The
3
Wang, Christine. “Can Europe Keep Its Open Borders?” CNBC (March 22, 2016), http://www.cnbc.com

6. results from both initiatives will then be combined into a multi-faceted media campaign that will
target a variety of media forms including news, social media, and print.
Goal:
Increase an awareness about the Schengen Area and its benefits. In doing so, we hope to equip
citizens with the knowledge necessary to speak to their local policy makers, thereby influencing
future decision making and preserving the open borders, even in the face of adversity.
Objectives:
● Objective 1: To provide quantitative and qualitative analyses within 12 months and a
marketing campaign developed with 18 months.
● Objective 2: On social media platforms, have one share/retweet/etc. per every 5 people.
● Objective 3: To generate strategic and directed marketing information for use in
informed and engaged discussion surrounding this issue.
● Objective 4: Increase dialogue with governmental leadership to affect awareness and
changes in policy to improve refugee assimilation.
Budget:
Costs: economic research and data, polling company to investigate qualitative aspects and hire a
marketing firm to disseminate these results through different forms of media coverage
Income Amount Description
Foundation $1,000,000 Grant Award – Pending
German Public Ministry
Grant
$3,000,000 Grant Award
EU Business Development
Grant
$2,000,000 Grant Awarded
Total $6,000,000
Expense
Market Research and
Analysis
$2,200,000 Research modeling, data collection,
data analysis, and reporting
Staffing $800,000 Analyst, researchers, lobbyist,
general counsel and support staff.
Marketing Material $3,000,000 Media packets, marketing brochures,
newspaper advertising, radio
commercials and TV commercials.
Total $6,000,000

7. IV. Conclusion
Combined, these initiatives have substantial ability to transform the Syrian refugee crisis in
Europe in important ways. Though they may not directly address the larger conflict at hand, they
do successfully aid in preserving and fostering the sanctity of our community, which now
includes Syrian citizens. We must not look back, but handle the situation we are faced with, with
dignity, which includes building bridges and transforming our community to be inclusive of its
new members.