Our Mission

Colorado African Organization (CAO) is a locally-run nonprofit, founded by Africans for Africans, with the mission to “foster unity, advocate for all Africans in Colorado and provide services.” Some of our goals include:

To foster unity amongst the diverse African communities in Colorado
To promote economic, cultural, and intellectual cooperation and growth within African communities and for Africans in Colorado
To support the cultural heritage of Africans and advance their socioeconomic development
To provide underserved Africans in Colorado with material, social, and psychosocial support and linkages to mainstream providers and community resources in a culturally-fluent manner
To promote cooperation between CAO, African communities, mainstream organizations and receiving communities in Colorado

Organization and Leadership

CAO is an all-African 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that exists to support African refugees and immigrants in their resettlement efforts through health, education, social and advocacy programs, primarily in the Denver area.

It was formed in 2003 by a group of more than 40 African community and business leaders who realized that although Africans form a significant part of the Denver ethnic community, they were poorly served and inadequately represented in the local community. Based on that insight, they decided it was necessary to form an umbrella organization to represent and advocate on behalf of all Africans in Colorado.