Non-profit

Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)

Website:

www.accesscommunity.org

Location:

DEARBORN, MI

Tax ID:

23-7444497

Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Budget (2020):

Revenue: $31,636,184
Expenses: $26,599,801
Assets: $49,881,465

Formation:

1971

Type:

Immigration Advocacy Group

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ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) is a national Arab-American community nonprofit headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan. ACCESS provides human and culture services as well as advocacy work. 1 On a national level, ACCESS operates three institutions including the Arab American National Museum, the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), and the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP). 2

ACCESS has sponsored or participated in political activities including the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. to protest the inauguration of President Donald Trump and a protest in Detroit over the Trump administration’s revised ban on travel and immigration from a number of Muslim-majority countries.

Ahmad Abuznaid, the director of ACCESS’ advocacy project Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), co-founded the activist group Dream Defenders after the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. 3 In 2015 and 2016, Abuznaid organized trips to the West Bank by members of Dream Defenders and Black Lives Matter to build alliances with Palestinian activists in the Middle East. 4

History

ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) was founded in Dearborn, Michigan in 1971 to provide assistance to Arab immigrants to the United States. 5 The IRS granted ACCESS 501(c)(3) non-profit status in 1975. 6

Overview

As of 2015, ACCESS reported 600 employees and 54 volunteers. Organizational leadership includes a Director and CEO, CFO, COO, and 14 Directors. 7 The organization is governed by a board of trustees that includes seven executive board members, eleven board members, and nine emeritus board members, two of whom are listed posthumously. 8

ACCESS reports having 11 locations with 120 programs across the metropolitan Detroit area. 9 Among the programs listed in tax documents are job training, community health and social services, education. 10

National Programs

ACCESS operates three national programs, each with its own advisory board.

The Arab American National Museum (AANM) opened in Dearborn Michigan in 2005. 11 It is funded through an endowment consisting of six funds which are maintained by the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan and McDonald Partners, LLC. 12 McDonald Partners is a financial firm headquartered in Ohio with offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan. 13 In 2016, the total endowment fund was $2,218,055. 14

The Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) is a grantmaking program started in 2006. 15 In 2016, its endowed fund total was $1,525,131. 16 CAAP funders include individuals as well as corporations and foundations including the Palestine Aid Society, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, C.S. Mott Foundation, and Microsoft Corporation. 17 CAAP grants include donor-advised funds, competitive grantmaking funds and giving circles. 18

The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) is a network of 27 Arab community organizations. In addition to Michigan, NNAAC has member groups in eleven states. 19 Supporters include Open Society Foundations, the Proteus Fund, Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation, State Voices, and NEO Philanthropy’s Four Freedoms Fund. 20

Funding

In the 2015 fiscal year, ACCESS’ total revenue was $26,697,388. Government grants made up 57 percent of total revenue, or $15,222,464. 21

In 1997, government grants were 69.7 percent, or $3,491,195 of ACCESS’s reported $5,011,660 in total revenue. 22

Federal agencies that have given money to ACCESS include the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Office of Refugee Resettlement, United States Department of Agriculture, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Ford Foundation was an early donor to ACCESS, followed by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the George Soros-founded Open Society Institutes. 23

Inside Philanthropy has reported that ACCESS has gotten the biggest foundation money for Arab American nonprofits in recent years “from a who’s who of major progressive foundations” including the Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Mott Foundation, and the Open Society Foundations. Corporate funders of ACCESS include JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and AT&T. 24

ACCESS received $875,000 from Open Society Institutes between 1998 and 2011. 25

ACCESS has also received money from left-of-center pass-through funders NEO Philanthropyv and the Proteus Fund which gave $395,000 to ACCESS from 2010 to 2015. 26

ACCESS’ 2015-2016 annual report lists the following top funders:27

$500,000 – $999,999:

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Ford Foundation

Kresge Foundation

Michigan Department of Community Health

Michigan Department of Human Services

Office of Refugee Resettlement

Wayne County Health Department

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

$100,000 – $499,999:

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Center for Working Families

NEO Philanthropy

New Economy Initiative

Open Society Foundations

Saudi Aramco

Social Innovation Fund

United States Department of Agriculture

US Citizenship and Immigration Services

Open Society Foundations

The Open Society Institute (now Open Society Foundations) founded by liberal finance billionaire George Soros has been a major supporter of ACCESS Michigan. In 2007, OSI funds were used for NNAAC to hire a full-time Advocacy Coordinator. 28

In January 2008, the Open Society Institute (OSI) and Atlantic Philanthropies launched the National Security and Human Rights (NSHR) campaign to promote progressive national security policies in the final year of the George W. Bush presidency. ACCESS was one of three organizations to get direct support from OSI for this campaign, specifically to support its Network for Arab American Communities’ (NNAAC) capacity building and civil liberties advocacy. 29 NNAAC coordinates advocacy and civic engagement for ACCESS and also through 23 partner organizations. 30

NNAAC runs voter registration campaigns and creates and disseminates voting materials in English and Arabic across the country. 31

2011 NSHR grant documentation cites NNAAC as part of a cohort of six progressive AMEMSA grantees funded by the NSHR Campaign, each of which is committed to restoring respect for civil rights and civil liberties in the post-9/11 world. 32

Advocacy

In 2003 ACCESS started an initiative to end alleged racial profiling at the Detroit border with Canada. The initiative included town hall meetings, information campaigns and a border profiling hotline created with ACLU-Michigan in 2009. 33

ACCESS’ advocacy arm, the Network for Arab American Communities’ (NNAAC) helped then-U.S. Representative John Dingell (D-MI) draft a statement to present at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on March 10, 2011, “The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and That Community’s Response” chaired by Representative Peter King (R-NY). 34

NNAAC met with Obama administration Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano in May 2011 regarding alleged Arab American profiling. In December 2010, NNAAC took part in a Department of Justice Rights Working Group meeting to revise DOJ racial profiling guidelines. 35

From 2009 to 2015, NNAAC hosted an annual Advocacy Week in Washington, D.C. which arranges advocacy meetings and policy briefings with Administration officials, members of Congress, Hill staff and the White House. 36 In 2016, the event changed to Arab American Leadership Days and added the Arab American Institute, the Network of Arab-American Professionals and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to the sponsorship. 37

ACCESS was a sponsor of the Women’s March against President Donald Trump in January 2017. 38

People

Ahmad Abuznaid is the director of ACCESS’ Network for Arab American Communities’ (NNAAC). Abuznaid was born in disputed East Jerusalem. He co-founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Florida-based Dream Defenders after the death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. 39 Abuznaid organized two trips in 2015 and 2016 with Dream Defenders and Black Lives Matter to the West Bank to build alliances with Palestinians who perform the activist work in the Middle East. 40

References

  1. “Arab American National Museum.” Arab American Community Resources. Accessed January 04, 2018. http://www.arabamericanmuseum.org/Arab American Resources.id.95.htm.
  2. “Our Roots.” Our Roots | ACCESS. Accessed January 04, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about.
  3. Isaacs, Anna. “How The Black Lives Matter and Palestinian Movements Converged.” Moment Magazine – The Next 5,000 Years of Conversation Begin Here, 9 May 2017, www.momentmag.com/22800-2/.
  4. Jackson, Imani J. “How Palestinian protesters helped Black Lives Matter.” Arab America, 7 July 2016, www.arabamerica.com/how-palestinian-protesters-helped-black-lives-matter/.
  5. “Our Roots.” Our Roots | ACCESS. Accessed January 04, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about.
  6. Open Endowment | the foundation for everyone. Accessed January 04, 2018. http://www.openendowment.org/organization/view?id=23-7444497.
  7. “Executive Team.” Executive Team | ACCESS. Accessed January 06, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/executive-team.
  8. “Board of Directors.” Board of Directors | ACCESS. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/board-directors.
  9. “Our Roots.” Our Roots | ACCESS. Accessed January 04, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about.
  10. Guidestar. Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services IRS 990 form for 2015. Accessed January 5, 2018. https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/237/444/2009-237444497-05fe3fce-9.pdf.
  11. “Arab American National Museum.” Arab American National Museum | ACCESS. Accessed January 06, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/national-programs/arab-american-national-museum.
  12. “ACCESS Annual Reports.” ACCESS Annual Reports | ACCESS. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/annual-reports/access.
  13. “McDonald Partners Boutique Investment and Wealth Management.” McDonald Partners. Accessed January 06, 2018. http://www.mcdonald-partners.com/our-team/.
  14. “ACCESS Annual Reports.” ACCESS Annual Reports | ACCESS. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/annual-reports/access.
  15. “ACCESS Annual Reports.” ACCESS Annual Reports | ACCESS. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/annual-reports/access.
  16. Center for Arab American Philanthropy 2015 Annual Report. PDF. Dearborn, Michigan: Center for Arab American Philanthropy, a program of ACCESS. http://169xnc2w66hg1me3a26sbjmt.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/CAAP_annual_report_2015_final.pdf.
  17. “Types of Funds.” Center for Arab American Philanthropy. Accessed January 06, 2018. http://www.centeraap.org/funds/types-of-funds/.
  18. “ACCESS Annual Reports.” ACCESS Annual Reports | ACCESS. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/annual-reports/access.
  19. “Supporters.” NNAAC. Accessed January 16, 2018. http://www.nnaac.org/supporters.
  20. Guidestar. Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services IRS 990 form for 2015. Accessed January 5, 2018. https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/237/444/2009-237444497-05fe3fce-9.pdf.
  21. Guidestar. Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services IRS 990 form for 1998. Accessed January 5, 2018. https://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/1998/237/444/1998-237444497-1-9.pdf.
  22. Brown, Heath. “Immigrant-Serving Nonprofits and Philanthropic Foundations.” Nonprofit Policy Forum. February 01, 2017. Accessed January 08, 2018. https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/npf.2014.5.issue-1/npf-2013-0002/npf-2013-0002.xml.
  23. Docksai, Rick. “A Foundation Of, By, and For Arab Americans.” Inside Philanthropy. Inside Philanthropy, April 21, 2015. https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/children-youth/2015/4/21/a-foundation-of-by-and-for-arab-americans.html.
  24. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 1 of 2011. Investigative Project. April 25, 2011. Accessed January 12, 2018.  https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/907-nshr-2011-docket-i-approved.pdf.
  25. “PROTEUS FUND INC.” CitizenAudit.org – Millions of Nonprofit Tax Documents. Accessed January 06, 2018. https://www.citizenaudit.org/organization/043243004/.
  26. “ACCESS Annual Reports.” ACCESS Annual Reports | ACCESS. Accessed January 05, 2018. https://www.accesscommunity.org/about/annual-reports/access.
  27. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 2 of 2009. Investigative Project. June 19, 2009. Accessed January 12, 2018. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/895.pdf.
  28. Beeson, Ann, Nancy Chang, Sophia Conroy, and Hyon Seo Kwon. Open Letter from the National Security and Human Rights Campaign Staff of the Open Society Institute’s U.S. Programs. PDF. New York, NY: Open Society Institute, December 15, 2008. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/sites/default/files/letter_20081215.pdf
  29. Brown, Heath. “Immigrant-Serving Nonprofits and Philanthropic Foundations.” Nonprofit Policy Forum. February 01, 2017. Accessed January 08, 2018. https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/npf.2014.5.issue-1/npf-2013-0002/npf-2013-0002.xml.
  30. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 2 of 2009. Investigative Project. June 19, 2009. Accessed January 12, 2018. https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/misc/895.pdf.
  31. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 1 of 2011. Investigative Project. April 25, 2011. Accessed January 12, 2018.  https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/907-nshr-2011-docket-i-approved.pdf.
  32. Christinazolapeck. “Reclaiming Our Rights: Reflections on Racial Profiling in a post-9/11 America.” Issuu. Accessed January 06, 2018. https://issuu.com/christinazolapeck/docs/rwg-reclaiming-our-rights-2011.
  33. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 1 of 2011. Investigative Project. April 25, 2011. Accessed January 12, 2018.  https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/907-nshr-2011-docket-i-approved.pdf.
  34. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 1 of 2011. Investigative Project. April 25, 2011. Accessed January 12, 2018.  https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/907-nshr-2011-docket-i-approved.pdf.
  35. “Open Society Memorandum. National Security & Human Rights Campaign Docket 1 of 2011. Investigative Project. April 25, 2011. Accessed January 12, 2018.  https://www.investigativeproject.org/documents/907-nshr-2011-docket-i-approved.pdf
  36. “Advocacy Week.” NNAAC. Accessed January 16, 2018. http://www.nnaac.org/advocacy_week.
  37. “Partners & Sponsors.” Women’s March. Accessed January 16, 2018. https://www.womensmarch.com/partners/.
  38. Isaacs, Anna. “How The Black Lives Matter and Palestinian Movements Converged.” Moment Magazine – The Next 5,000 Years of Conversation Begin Here, 9 May 2017, www.momentmag.com/22800-2/.
  39. Jackson, Imani J. “How Palestinian protesters helped Black Lives Matter.” Arab America, 7 July 2016, www.arabamerica.com/how-palestinian-protesters-helped-black-lives-matter/.
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Nonprofit Information

  • Accounting Period: September - August
  • Tax Exemption Received: March 1, 1975

  • Available Filings

    Period Form Type Total revenue Total functional expenses Total assets (EOY) Total liabilities (EOY) Unrelated business income? Total contributions Program service revenue Investment income Comp. of current officers, directors, etc. Form 990
    2020 Sep Form 990 $31,636,184 $26,599,801 $49,881,465 $2,142,457 N $27,461,419 $3,482,441 $440,540 $0
    2019 Sep Form 990 $27,388,939 $26,787,052 $44,372,665 $1,670,040 N $23,917,689 $2,964,788 $250,019 $559,923 PDF
    2018 Sep Form 990 $29,270,895 $25,041,807 $43,547,022 $1,446,284 N $26,356,081 $2,412,019 $276,473 $501,747 PDF
    2017 Sep Form 990 $27,488,567 $25,462,613 $39,212,744 $1,341,094 N $24,525,384 $2,189,391 $364,353 $459,661 PDF
    2016 Sep Form 990 $26,697,388 $23,607,806 $37,188,582 $1,342,886 N $24,426,461 $1,507,925 $310,846 $436,177
    2015 Sep Form 990 $21,890,334 $22,697,852 $33,762,720 $1,006,606 N $3,377,769 $18,480,882 $-220,368 $410,820 PDF
    2014 Sep Form 990 $20,045,634 $18,741,642 $35,023,462 $1,459,830 N $18,004,638 $1,534,326 $84,641 $373,184 PDF
    2013 Sep Form 990 $18,991,224 $18,650,930 $33,242,606 $982,966 N $17,423,386 $926,123 $142,772 $321,468 PDF
    2012 Sep Form 990 $19,298,563 $18,618,469 $33,578,288 $1,658,942 N $17,468,146 $1,078,917 $150,247 $295,515 PDF
    2011 Sep Form 990 $19,123,810 $17,724,555 $33,374,259 $2,135,007 N $17,621,086 $924,362 $-45,775 $296,209 PDF

    Additional Filings (PDFs)

    Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS)

    2651 SAULINO CT
    DEARBORN, MI 48120-1556