Karen Organization of San Diego

“Form 990 is reviewed by the Executive Director and the Board of Directors before it is submitted to the IRS.”

“The written conflict of interest policy is reviewed each year by the Board of Directors.”

“Compensation is determined by the Board of Directors. The Board considers contemporaneous salary data from similar nonprofits but also factors in the availability of funds in their salary determination.”

“Records are kept for public disclosure upon request and are also available at guidestar.org”

“Program Service Expenses 282,403, Grants and allocations 0, Revenue 0 Family Engagement Program to navigate the families and youth throughout the U.S. school system and to offer emotional and social support and educational opportunities for all ages including youth, parents, and seniors.”

“The Karen Organization of San Diego KOSD has been commited to the educational and social enahancement for various ethnic minority groups from Burma who reside in San Diego, California. KOSD seeks to enhance the quality of life for all refugees from Burma by rebuilding their lives in San Diego. Working with other social service providers, KOSD aims to be a bridge between refugees and the local community. Since 2009, KOSD has been operated as an independent non-profit organization. Most refugees resettled in San Diego from Burma have spent long years, sometimes decades or even entire generations, in the isolation of refugee camps. Camps lack strong educational infrastructure, employment and/or skill development or opportunities for home ownership.”

“Continued - As such, refugee families often arrive in the U.S. with little more than the clothes on their backs, no formal education, and traumatic memories of human rights violations back in their home country. They are among the most vulnerable and underserved in San Diego as most service providers lack the language capacity and cultural competence to work with this population. Therefore, KOSDs objectives are to 1 Develop a system for community self-help for refugees from Burma resettled in San Diego 2 Preserve the Karen and other minority groups culture and share it with the San Diego community 3 Help clients find employement as a key to self-sufficiency and 4 Provide tailored case management services.”

“Continued - As the only community based organization in San Diego specifically serving refugees from Burma, KOSD has provided all levels of support upon their arrival in San Diego. KOSD programs included, but are not limited to, helping refugees to navigate the welfare, health-care, education, and public safety systems in the U.S., as well as providing leadership opportunities for youth and adults, community empowerment programs, tutoring and English language training. At the same time, KOSD is a community and cultural hub where refugees from Burma can explore San Diego together through a strong community support system, while remembering and maintaining their cultural heritage.”