Nonprofit Assistance Center Programs
NAC’s purpose is to provide culturally-competent, transformative technical assistance to improve the lives and conditions of individuals and families. We fulfill our mission through two overarching strategies - Community Capacity Building and Organizational Capacity Building; five Core Program Areas and an array of Services, Activities and Projects.
Project Aware
Project Aware helps refugee women gain the confidence and skills they need to work within the community to work toward positive solutions to address gender based issues and domestic violence. NAC's approach empowers women and girls to emerge as leaders and advocates in their communities and to increase their civic participation and advocacy.
Project Empower
This project was an organizational capacity-building project designed to strengthen the capacity of 18 community/faith-based groups. The focus was in four core areas of community engagement, leadership, program and organizational development. NAC used its intensive capacity-building cohort model, an outcome-based methodology that works with a limited number of groups over a period of time and uses an array of services to build sustaining capacity. As a result, organizations increased their capacity to serve their constituents.
Refugee Collaborative Program
This project is a collaboration between NAC and Refugee Federation Service Center. This work encompasses leadership development, organizing, public policy, legislative/data analysis and educating policy makers/elected officials on issues facing refugee and immigrant communities. This includes communities of color and others facing oppression and disparities within the Equal Voice framework for movement building.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Through Project Strengthen Opportunities and Access for Refugees (SOAR), a service of our community capacity building area, NAC’S work over the past two years with newly arrived Burmese refugees has created a group of strong leaders and advocates. The organizers have been involved in various civic engagement activities. As a result, the community has raised its visibility to influence policy and system change to build a strong vibrant and engaged community. One of the community organizers is currently serving on the Refugee State Advisory Board.
One of NAC’s current needs is general operating support to respond to the growing demand and needs for capacity building support from grassroots organizations serving vulnerable populations. In times of economic downturns, nonprofits (more than ever) need organizational management and infrastructure support. Communities of color and refugee, immigrant, low income and other marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by poverty and lack of access to resources. These communities have needs that continue to rise. The demands for assistance from NAC have increased as funding for NAC has decreased. Unrestricted general operating funding will provide NAC financial support or cash match to leverage additional funding to support our capacity building work in communities with great need and limited access.