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The Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) congratulates 2010 grantees of the Capacity-Building and Programs for Arts, Culture & Youth grants. Grants totaling $53,000 support 11 Arab American organizations. 

CAAP, a program of ACCESS, provides valuable support to Arab American communities and organizations across the country from California to Chicago to New York.

“The Arab American Heritage Council will be able to conduct a needs assessment study to help our organization identify the new and changing needs of our community,” Mona S. Sahouri, executive director of Arab-American Heritage Council explains. “Flint is one of the hardest hit and financially depressed cities in the United States. These conditions affect Arab Americans and the larger community as a whole. There is an urgent need to identify new emerging and shifting needs in our community. We are very thankful to CAAP for this opportunity”. Aside from providing much needed capacity support to secure staff and cultivate donors, programs funded range from a therapeutic program healing children traumatized by war or migration, supporting young adults with academic mentoring and professional support opportunities and Arab music appreciation.

“CAAP is proud to help further engagement of Arab Americans as they invest in the communities we live in,” says Hussien Shousher, Chair of CAAP’s Professional Advisory Board. “Grantmaking is a most effective tool to generate immediate impact. This process validates our commitment to building healthy communities”.

11 Capacity-Building and Programs for Arts, Culture & Youth grants were made to Arab American organizations across the country:

• Access California Services—Anaheim, CA: $4,500
• Al-Bustan—Philadelphia, PA: $5,000
• American Arab Heritage Council—Flint, MI: $5,000
• Arab American Action Network—Chicago, IL: $4,000
• Arab American Association of New York—Brooklyn, NY: $5,000
• Arab American Family Services—Chicago, IL: $5,000
• Arab Cultural and Community Center—San Francisco, CA: $5,000
• Association of Arab American Engineers and Architects—Chicago, IL: $3,500
• Boston Palestine Film Festival—Boston, MA: $6,000
• Center for Arabic Culture—Boston, MA: $5,000
• Philadelphia Arab American CDC—Philadelphia, PA: $5,000

Funds for the grantmaking were made available through the contributions of the Professional Advisory Board of CAAP, other individual donors and the C.S. Mott Foundation.

The Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) strengthens Arab American giving by establishing charitable legacies through education, grantmaking, and endowment building. CAAP is the only Arab American program in the nation building philanthropic wealth to support community organizations and institutions for years to come.

The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) is a nonprofit agency committed to advocating for and empowering individuals, families and communities. ACCESS provides a wide range of health and human services, employment services, youth programs, educational and cultural programs and civic engagement, advocacy and social entrepreneurship services. Visit ACCESS at