Our Story
Every Friday at 3:30, four very different individuals would walk into a coffee shop in Fargo, ND. The topic of conversation was always centered on how to build bridges through two congregations that shared a building: one a predominantly white-haired community, and the other a community of refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Among topics shared were stories, reputable employers, banking practices, and how welcome can go very right, and also very wrong.
In these conversations, the instigator, Dan Hodgson, would come to learn that many still have family members back in Rwanda or Burundi who were stuck between layers of paperwork and process. Immigration is expensive, confusing, and at the mercy of political changes.
Fast food chains are paying $1,000 starting bonuses.
"Immigration is expensive, confusing, and at the mercy of political changes."
Meanwhile, in Fargo, small businesses close because they didn't have the hands to keep them open. Restaurants have limited seating not due to tables but to staff, and fast food chains are paying $1,000 starting bonuses. Nearly every industry is short on workforce.
Serial entrepreneur that he is, Dan approached two highly respected immigration law firms with the question:
Can immigration solve this workforce problem?
Can immigration solve this problem at scale?
Since January of 2023, the Workforce Hope team has been on a mission to do just that: pair together people in need of safety and opportunity with awesome employers that will provide community and meaningful employment.
See the values that drive our behaviors
When human lives are being impacted at this level, we need to be working at the highest degree of ethics and heart. See what values drive our behaviors:
Integrity
Integrity is absolute uprightness in all that we do: ethical and legal, with prudence, honesty accuracy, and trustworthiness.
Courage
Courage is the bravery to do hard things. In the face of ambiguity, newness, or cultural differences we will bravely and creatively take the first steps, learn, and pivot or persevere.
Dignity
Dignity is what drives us: that all humans are deserving of dignity. We treat our candidates, partners, customers, teammates, and ourselves with dignity and respect.
Compassion
Compassion is how we do our work: with warmth, welcome, inclusion, empathy, thoughtfulness, love, and joy.
Servanthood
Servanthood is about our posture toward others: helpful, supportive, flexible, and humble.