Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha covers eastern Nebraska with refugee resettlement, immigration legal services, mental health counseling, food assistance, and emergency financial help. Omaha has resettled refugees from Myanmar, Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, and elsewhere, and the agency manages much of the legal and social support those families need in their first years. This page covers what the agency does, how to donate, and where volunteers fit in.
Omaha is home to one of the larger African immigrant communities in the Midwest, built over decades of refugee arrivals from Sudan, Somalia, and other countries alongside families from Myanmar and Iraq. Catholic Charities handles the unglamorous work that follows resettlement: legal paperwork, benefits navigation, English learning, and the case management that determines whether a family finds stable footing.
Demand extends well beyond the metro. Nebraska's meatpacking industry in cities such as Lexington, Schuyler, and South Sioux City employs large immigrant and refugee populations with limited access to legal services or social support, and the agency's immigration legal program is one of the few options within reach.
Note the geography before you call: this agency covers the Omaha archdiocese in eastern Nebraska. Catholic Charities of Lincoln separately serves the southern part of the state, so residents there should contact the Lincoln agency instead.
Financial gifts through the official donation page fund programs in eastern Nebraska directly. Unrestricted gifts are the most useful because staff can route them to whichever program is stretched thinnest in a given season, whether that is the food pantry, counseling, or legal services.
The agency also runs mental health counseling and emergency financial assistance, two programs donors often overlook in favor of more visible food drives. If you want your money to fill a genuine gap, ask the development staff which programs currently have waiting lists.
Gifts of goods can sometimes help newly arrived families set up a household, but call before dropping anything off. Needs change month to month, and unneeded items cost staff time to sort and store. When in doubt, give money and let the case managers do the shopping.
Two volunteer roles come up consistently: food pantry operations and English tutoring for newly arrived families. Tutoring is a good fit for people who want a recurring, relationship-based commitment rather than a one-off shift; no teaching license is required.
Anyone can request services regardless of religion. Services are available to people of all faiths, and the official site lists intake contacts for each program.
Before you give, look the agency up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov to confirm 501(c)(3) status, and scan its Charity Navigator profile. Hold on to receipts, especially the written acknowledgment required for gifts of $250 or more.
Sources: Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha official site (catholiccharitiesomaha.org); our Nebraska charity guide research. Retrieved July 2026. We are not affiliated with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Omaha and receive no compensation for this listing. Spotted an error? [email protected]
More Nebraska charities and donation guides