National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) Hosts Nonprofit Leadership Conference in Dearborn

posted on: Nov 7, 2013

The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) will present its annual nonprofit leadership conference Quwa: Strengthening Nonprofit Leadership at the DoubleTree Hotel in Dearborn on Nov. 15-16, 2013.

Quwa means strength or empowerment in Arabic. The conference will provide workshops on professional development, community networking, and renewal for leaders of Arab American organizations, such as “Culturally Relevant Fundraising in the Arab American Community” led by Maha Freij, deputy executive director and chief financial officer for ACCESS. Her workshop focuses on fundraising, an ongoing challenge for all nonprofit organizations.

ACCESS, located in Dearborn, Mich., has been developing effective approaches to fundraising for more than 40 years with a key potential source of support being the Arab American community. The Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP), a project of ACCESS which Freij founded, has been studying and promoting Arab American charitable giving. Freij will share what the organization has learned, as well as the experiences of other nonprofit groups.

Nonprofit leaders will also have the opportunity to learn innovative ways to cope with environmental changes. Robin Lynn Grinnell, vice president for donor and community relations for the Capital Region Community Foundation, will help participants explore the notion of “adaptive leadership” in her workshop, “The Only Thing Constant is Change.” Grinnell will offer tips on coping with funding, staffing, volunteer leadership and other changes through real world problem-solving activities.

Other session topics include: Arab Americans in the census, youth programming, membership management, impact reporting and more.

“This leadership conference is always well-organized and has excellent networking opportunities. All of the presenters have a positive spirit and are very informative,” said Angela Khoury, interim executive director, Alif Institute in Atlanta.

Executive directors, board members, community leaders and students can visit www.nnaac.org and click on “events” for a complete schedule and registration information. Quwa: Strengthening Nonprofit Leadership is sponsored by the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), a project of ACCESS.

For more information, contact Mike Corbin at 313-842-5121, or email mcorbin@accesscommunity.org.