Welcome to our community

Pathways to economic self-sufficiency for immigrants to thrive.

Kadiwaku Foundation USA is a community-based nonprofit creating pathways to economic self-sufficiency for immigrants, refugees, and justice-impacted communities across Connecticut — through reentry education and employment, workforce development and financial capability, and immigrants’ rights fellowship and civic engagement.

Learn Our Story
500+
immigrants served
3
core programs
10+
local partners
Kadiwaku Foundation community member at a Housatonic Community College event in Bridgeport
Community first

Partnerships

They trusted us

Partners and funders investing in immigrant talent across Connecticut.

View all partners →
Girls of Color Leadership Academy
City of Bridgeport
Small Business Development Center
Echoing Green
William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
Fairfield County Community Foundation
Aspen Institute
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
The Council
TCFMIC — The Community Foundation Mission Investments Company
Girls of Color Leadership Academy
City of Bridgeport
Small Business Development Center
Echoing Green
William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund
Fairfield County Community Foundation
Aspen Institute
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
The Council
TCFMIC — The Community Foundation Mission Investments Company
Kadiwaku Foundation community members working together in a Bridgeport coworking and training space

Bridgeport, CT

Rooted in community

Our Mission

No one should have to build a new life alone.

Immigrants, refugees, and justice-impacted neighbors face real barriers — legal records, credentials, finances, and unfamiliar systems. Kadiwaku Foundation USA exists to clear those barriers here in Connecticut, building real pathways to economic self-sufficiency — one person, one family, one neighborhood at a time.

  • Reentry & Justice

    Record expungement assistance, “crimmigration” legal counseling, literacy instruction, and workforce readiness — paired with emergency subsidies that clear the immediate obstacles justice-impacted adults and youth face on the way back to work.

  • Workforce & Financial Capability

    Job-readiness training, digital literacy, resume development, and mentorship connected to inclusive employers — alongside coaching on budgeting, debt, credit, and banking so families secure living-wage work and protect the wealth they build.

  • Rights & Civic Leadership

    Fellowship cohorts that train emerging immigrant leaders in legal rights advocacy, public speaking, community organizing, and policy navigation — empowering them to lead know-your-rights clinics and shape the policies that affect their lives.

What We Do

Three programs building pathways to economic self-sufficiency and belonging.

Our programs meet people where they are — clearing legal and financial barriers, building in-demand skills, and empowering immigrant and justice-impacted communities to lead, work, and advocate for themselves.

01

Improving Reentry Education & Employment

A holistic initiative that dismantles the structural barriers facing justice-impacted adults and youth as they transition back into the community. We pair record expungement assistance and "crimmigration" legal counseling with baseline literacy instruction, workforce readiness training, and direct emergency subsidies — covering work uniforms, transportation stipends, and state ID fees — so returning citizens can overcome immediate obstacles and build long-term stability.

02

Workforce Development & Financial Capability

We empower low-income individuals, immigrants, and underemployed workers with the practical skills and financial tools to achieve economic mobility. Our career track delivers job-readiness instruction, digital literacy, resume development, and mentorship connected to inclusive employer networks — while our financial capability track offers coaching on budgeting, debt, credit, and banking, so families can secure living-wage work and protect the wealth they build.

03

Immigrants' Rights Fellowship & Civic Engagement

A program that builds grassroots leadership, defends human rights, and expands civic participation among immigrant, refugee, and diaspora communities. Through intensive fellowship cohorts, emerging leaders train in legal rights advocacy, public speaking, community organizing, and policy navigation — then lead know-your-rights clinics, connect families to legal resources, and bridge immigrant voices with local governance so foreign-born residents can shape policy and lead community transformation.

Our Impact

Bring your foreign experience. Meet U.S. employer demand.

500+

Immigrants & refugees served across Connecticut

3

Core pathways to economic self-sufficiency

10+

Partner employers & funders

100+

Volunteers & community advocates

“I came with experience but no way to use it. Kadiwaku helped me clear my record, build my skills and credit, and learn my rights as a worker and a neighbor. Today I have a living-wage job — and I help others find their footing too.”
A program graduate — Bridgeport, CT

Our Community

The faces behind the work.

From classrooms to community celebrations — our students, volunteers, and partners are the heart of Kadiwaku Foundation USA.

Kadiwaku Foundation leaders and partners at a U.S. Small Business Administration event
Partnering with the SBA
Kadiwaku Foundation team members meeting around a conference table
Team planning session
Community leaders gathered for a workforce development funding announcement
Workforce development advocacy
Kadiwaku Foundation community members and colleagues gathered in an office lounge
Our extended community family
One-on-one conversation and mentoring during a Kadiwaku Foundation meeting
Mentorship and guidance

Get Involved

Invest in immigrant talent. Strengthen Connecticut.

Employers, funders, and community partners can help immigrant families turn experience into opportunity by investing in skills, jobs, businesses, and dignity.

Volunteer

Lend your time in classrooms, at community events, and behind the scenes — tutoring, mentoring, translation, and logistics.

Volunteer with us

Partner With Us

Employers, schools, faith communities, and local businesses help us reach more families. Let’s build a stronger Connecticut together.

Start a partnership

Give

Every gift helps an immigrant family learn English, find work, and build financial security. Give what you can — it stays local.

Make a donation