Community Impact Grant

The Community Impact Grant, administered by the Center for Arab American Philanthropy (CAAP) in partnership with the National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC), is an annual funding opportunity dedicated to supporting nonprofit organizations across the United States. CAAP operates as a national institution of ACCESS and works in collaboration with NNAAC to provide capacity-building and civic engagement resources to Arab American community-based organizations. Since 2010, CAAP’s Community Impact Grant Program has distributed over $1.2 million to a wide range of nonprofits, with the goal of empowering local organizations working in areas such as human services, community development, arts and culture, afterschool programming, and social justice. This grant offers unrestricted funds that can be used flexibly based on an organization’s needs, including program development, strategic planning, and general operations. The emphasis on flexibility reflects CAAP and NNAAC’s trust-based philanthropy model, empowering grantees to apply funds where they will have the most impact. Grant awards typically range between $1,000 and $10,000, and are scaled based on the applicant’s organizational size and operating budget. Notably, grant requests may not exceed 15% of an organization’s budget, with a cap at $10,000. Eligibility for the Community Impact Grant is limited to organizations that are U.S.-based and either hold 501(c)(3) status or are fiscally sponsored by an eligible fiduciary. Applicants must reflect or center Arab American experiences and align with one of the following focus areas: Arts, Culture & Media or Human Services, Education & Advocacy. Ineligible applicants include individuals, religious or political organizations, school groups or university programs, and international entities. Additionally, past grantees who have failed to submit required reports for prior funding cycles are disqualified from applying. The application opened in spring 2026 and is due by March 13, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. All components of the application, including responses to narrative questions and a copy of the organization’s most recent operating budget, must be submitted by this deadline. Each application response is limited to 1,000 characters to minimize applicant burden and facilitate the review process. The narrative prompts request applicants to share a realistic view of their organization’s identity, current projects, and challenges. The grant does not require a pre-application step such as a Letter of Intent or concept paper. Awards are made annually, and the program is recurring each spring. Applicants are encouraged to align their funding requests to their size and operational capacity. For inquiries regarding the application process, Brittany Shaheen, Program Officer, can be contacted via email at [email protected]. The program also welcomes external support, and those interested in contributing to the fund are encouraged to reach out to Katy Asuncion, Deputy Director, at [email protected].

Keep your funding request under 15% of your operating budget and under $10,000. Be honest about your organizational strengths and challenges.