(WASHINGTON, August 12, 2008) -- Independent Sector will honor the Center for Community Change with the 2008 American Express Building Leadership Award for its achievements in strengthening, connecting, and mobilizing grassroots organizations that help low-income people improve their communities and in developing the next generation of grassroots nonprofit leaders. The Center will receive its award, which includes a plaque and a gift of $10,000, at the Independent Sector Annual Conference in Philadelphia from November 9 through 11, 2008.

Founded in 1968 with one of the first grants from the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Fund, the Center builds leadership by providing grassroots organizations with the tools and expertise they need to improve lives in low-income communities and communities of color. Its work includes training those organizations so they can take action on public policy issues such as housing, education, and healthcare.

One of the Center’s key strategies for making social justice part of policy debates is to build a unified agenda among its four core constituencies -- African Americans, Native Americans, new immigrants, and low-wage whites -- as part of its Campaign for Community Values. Recognizing that immigrant communities are at the front lines of these policy debates today, the Center founded and coordinates the Fair Immigration Reform Movement, a national network of 300 organizations that trains members of immigrant communities to fight for immigrant rights at the local, state, and federal levels. FIRM is a leader in the fight for humane and just immigration reform and was integral to the coordination of the massive immigrant rights marches in 2006. That same year, FIRM member groups conducted 12 “Democracy Schools” in Arizona, California, Idaho, Michigan, and Tennessee to assist immigrants with the citizenship process while identifying and training new immigrant community leaders.

Through its Generation Change project, the Center recruits, trains, and supports emerging community organizers, particularly among immigrant, African-American, Native American, and low-income communities, who will help achieve social and economic progress in the 21st century. This ambitious five-year initiative places interns and fellows with grassroots organizations that conduct effective non-partisan voter registration efforts and educational and advocacy programs focused on healthcare, low-wage work, housing, and education reform. Since its founding in 2006, the Generation Change program has received over 1,500 applications for 80 full time organizing positions in community-based organizations across the country. The Center also established Youth Changing a Nation, which teaches immigrants up to age 25 how to build sustainable, well-managed nonprofit organizations committed to important social change issues. YouthCAN has brought together young people from across the country to build strategy for winning critical legislation such as the DREAM Act.

“Independent Sector is proud to present the Center for Community Change with this award for investing in leaders who will increase social and economic justice among low-income communities,” said Diana Aviv, president and CEO of Independent Sector. “Its dedication to promoting an inclusive and diverse society, as well as its commitment to building a new generation of talented young leaders, embodies the ideals this award celebrates.”

The Center also recognizes the importance of increasing the leadership skills of its staff. It routinely incorporates development and learning sessions into retreats and team meetings, and its seasoned staff members systematically mentor younger employees. In 2007, the Center launched a year-long pilot program to provide intensive leadership development training to staff and to facilitate the study of key issues, such as structural racism, the history of social movements, and philanthropy. Following its success, the Center will continue the program each year to strengthen staff’s ability to lead in the national arena.

“The Center for Community Change is honored to be recognized with the 2008 American Express Building Leadership Award for our work in nurturing the next generation of grassroots leaders to prepare them for leadership,” said Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change. “Through our grassroots organizing and technical assistance programs we help build strong community organizations to combine grassroots power to win structural policy change.”

The American Express Building Leadership Award, formally known as the Leadership IS Award, is sponsored by American Express. The award, which was established in 1999, recognizes the importance of investing in leaders of the nonprofit community by celebrating an organization that embodies this principle in spirit and practice.

Learn more about the American Express Building Leadership Award.

Learn more about the Independent Sector Annual Conference.

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Independent Sector is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of approximately 550 charities, foundations, and corporate giving programs, collectively representing tens of thousands of charitable groups in every state across the nation. Its mission is to advance the common good by leading, strengthening, and mobilizing the nonprofit and philanthropic community.

American Express: Developing New Leaders for Tomorrow
One of American Express' three platforms for its philanthropy is Developing New Leaders for Tomorrow. Under this giving initiative, which recognizes the significance of strong leadership in the nonprofit sector, American Express is making grants focused on training high potential emerging leaders to tackle important issues in the 21st century.