Frequently Asked Questions

Founded by Josephine Attisha, the Community Helping All Inclusively for Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac communities - (better known as CHAI) is a 501(c)(3) membership organization whose mission is to activate positive change by offering specialized consultancy services to nonprofit organizations seeking to build their capacity, increase fundraising through collaborative efforts and grants to amplify their impact.

We accomplish this through what we call the "3 C's" – Capacity Building, Collaborative Membership, and Cultural Preservation.

1.) Capacity Building & Assistance

CHAI's cornerstone program focuses on enhancing the capabilities and skills of individuals and organizations within our communities. Through comprehensive training initiatives, digital infrastructure, workshops, and educational resources, we empower you with the tools you need to contribute effectively to their societies. 

2.) Collaborative Membership & Resource Sharing

CHAI serves as a unifying platform that brings together community organizations as members. Through collaborative networking, organizations can pool resources, share successful fundraising strategies or active fundraisers, and collectively apply for grant funding. This collaborative approach maximizes the impact of community-driven initiatives, avoids overlapping, amplifies fundraising efforts, and increases the likelihood of securing vital resources for projects that benefit the entire community.

3.) Cultural Preservation

CHAI's Cultural Preservation resource is dedicated to safeguarding Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac communities' rich heritage, language, traditions, and history through storytelling. This program actively preserves artifacts and documents, including liturgical and cultural practices, to ensure our communities' enduring legacy and identity are cherished and passed down to future generations.

CHAI-ACS is funded through membership fees, donations from individuals and corporations, and grants. Please visit our website to donate or learn more about how you can support our mission.

CHAI ACS is important because it serves as a dedicated platform (without distractions such as ads) for activating positive change within the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac communities, providing specialized consultancy services to nonprofit organizations. Here's why CHAI ACS is significant:

1. Specialized Consultancy Services: CHAI ACS offers tailored consultancy services specifically designed to support nonprofit organizations within the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac communities. These services aim to enhance fundraising efforts and amplify the impact of community-driven initiatives.
2. Focus on Collaborative Efforts and Grants: CHAI ACS focuses on facilitating collaborative efforts and securing grants for nonprofit organizations. By fostering collaboration and providing access to funding opportunities, CHAI ACS helps organizations maximize their impact and reach within the community.
3. Mission-Driven Approach: As a 501(c)(3) membership organization, CHAI ACS operates with a clear mission to activate positive change within the targeted communities. This mission-driven approach ensures that all activities and services provided by CHAI ACS are aligned with the overarching goal of community advancement and welfare.
4. Cultural Relevance and Sensitivity: CHAI ACS specifically caters to the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac communities, understanding their unique cultural dynamics, challenges, and aspirations. This cultural relevance and sensitivity enable CHAI ACS to provide more effective support and guidance to community organizations.
5. Professional Network and Expertise: By being a part of CHAI ACS, members gain access to a professional network of experts, consultants, and like-minded individuals who are dedicated to driving positive change within the targeted communities. This network facilitates collaboration, knowledge sharing, and collective problem-solving.

Membership fees play a crucial role in sustaining and enhancing the services offered by CHAI ACS. These fees contribute towards maintaining our platform, developing resources, organizing events, subscribing to technology, and providing support services to our members. They are vital for ensuring the quality and availability of the resources and opportunities we provide to our community.

Individuals can become members of CHAI-ACS if they are interested in community advancement. CHAI-ACS has membership options catering to people from different backgrounds who are passionate about improving community welfare. Becoming a member allows you to access various resources, events, and networking opportunities to support your professional development and involvement in community initiatives. CHAI-ACS welcomes you whether you're a student, professional, researcher, or anyone interested in community well-being.

Your nonprofit can join CHAI by obtaining board approval to sign up. Once approved, visit our website and navigate to the Membership section. From there, choose the appropriate membership category based on your organization's revenue and follow the prompts to complete the registration process.

Individuals and students can join CHAI ACS for $50 per year, while nonprofit organizations or businesses with annual revenue under $250K can join for $250 per year. For nonprofit organizations or businesses with budgets exceeding $250K, the annual fee is $425.

Basic Tier Membership includes access to a community network, an invitation to virtual and/or member events, business resources, public forums, podcasts, and newsletters.

Nonprofit organizations or businesses with annual revenue under $250K can join CHAI ACS for $50 per month, while those with budgets exceeding $250K can join for $155 per month.

Advanced Tier Membership includes access to a community network, forums, and newsletters, notifications of grant opportunities emailed according to each category, access to resources and templates, funding opportunities, invitation to private community group chat based on target services, and discounted 1-on-1 consultation coaching ($350 for 90 min vs. $500 for 90 min).

Absolutely. CHAI ACS is built on the foundation of Progressive Grants' expertise, with additional skilled professionals joining to enhance our capacity. Our team's dedication to excellence and community-centered approach remains unwavering.

Quarterly roundtable meetings provide valuable networking and collaboration opportunities for CHAI ACS members who are part of a diasporic nation. These gatherings bring together individuals, organizations, and experts from various fields within the community, business, and advancement sector to discuss pertinent topics, share insights, and exchange best practices. The goal is to prevent overlapping activities and collaborate and share resources to foster community growth in the homeland and the communities we emigrated to. The best part is that we take turns leading the discussion with other community leaders to host the roundtable.

CHAI ACS is strongly dedicated to the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Assyrian, Chaldean, and Syriac people. We will actively participate in storytelling, safeguarding artifacts, and documenting traditions to ensure that our community's legacy thrives for generations to come. We will also collaborate with existing grassroots organizations that share our vision and engage in similar activities. Through fundraising initiatives, we aim to support our efforts and the efforts of our partners in preserving our rich cultural heritage.

"Equity is a core value of CHAI ACS. We are dedicated to customizing our services to meet the varied requirements of our community organizations. We strive to make sure that resources and support are easily accessible to everyone, particularly those who are in most need, irrespective of their geographical location."

The vision of CHAI ACS is to create a future where all communities are not only thriving but also sustainable. Our plan for growth involves expanding our reach nationwide, with a particular focus on regions that have a large concentration of ACS communities. We aim to achieve this by undertaking initiatives that will bring about lasting change and prosperity to our communities.

We encourage you to follow us on @chai.acs on Instagram and Facebook visit our website chai-acs.org for regular updates. Additionally, we will be organizing webinars and community forums to keep you informed and involved in our journey.