African Services Committee

What African Services Committee does

African Services Committee (ASC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1981 and headquartered at 429 West 127th Street in Harlem, New York City. Founded by Asfaha Hadera, an Ethiopian refugee, ASC serves African diaspora immigrants, refugees, and asylees through six core programs: Health, Housing, Legal, Social Welfare, Education, and a Food Pantry. The organization also previously operated five clinics in Ethiopia, signaling an international footprint that has since consolidated to its New York base. Its staff is drawn from 15 countries and collectively speaks more than 20 languages, which underpins its capacity to deliver culturally and linguistically competent services to a diverse client base.

The organization's service model is fundamentally high-touch and human-delivered rather than technology-mediated. Programmatic scale includes 1,200+ direct clients annually, 10,000 outreach contacts, 1,300+ legal intakes, rental assistance to 175 clients, and food pantry distribution reaching 5,000+ individuals and families. ASC holds UN ECOSOC consultative status (since 1998) and a UNAIDS Coordinating Board North American representative seat (since 2003), providing it with international policy engagement uncommon for community-based nonprofits of its size. It has also extended its reach through a podcast and blog, and partnered with Ryan Health to integrate clinical services.

Revenue mechanics are those of a grant-funded nonprofit: income is generated through individual donations, foundation and corporate grants, government grants (federal, state, and city), and a recently introduced event space rental at its Harlem headquarters. Services are provided free of charge to clients. Underlying technology is standard nonprofit IT — case management, donor, and communications tools — with no proprietary platform or AI capabilities disclosed. ASC's competitive defensibility rests on long-tenured community trust, multilingual staff, and integrated service delivery rather than on technology or scale economies.

Name

African Services Committee

Legal name

African Services Committee

Website

https://africanservices.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

African Services Committee is a Harlem-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1981 that delivers health, housing, legal, social welfare, education, and food pantry services to African diaspora immigrants, refugees, and asylees in New York City, supported by a multilingual staff from 15 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Community Food Services (624210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health & Health Equity Organizations (BPAGACAL), Human Rights & Anti-Discrimination Organizations (BPAGAFAB), Racial & Ethnic Justice Organizations (BPAGAFAC), Community Center Education Programs (EDAAAFAB)

Keywords

• Social services
• Community health
• Housing assistance
• Legal aid
• Immigrant support

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individuals, processed online via Network for Good. Monthly, quarterly, or semiannual recurring giving options are available.
2. Foundation & Corporate Grants: Funding from private foundations (MAC AIDS Fund, Viiv Healthcare Foundation, Van Ameringen Foundation, Charles B. Wang Community Health Center, Mother Cabrini Health Foundation) and corporations supporting HIV care, immigrant services, and food assistance programs.
3. Government Grants & Contracts: Government funding from NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (ActionNYC, MOIA Legal Support Center), NYC Human Resources Administration (IOI, HOPWA, SNAP, Emergency Food Assistance Program), NYC Department of Health (Immigrant Health Initiative, Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program), NYC Department of Youth & Community Development, NY State Department of Health (AIDS Institute, Hunger Prevention), NY State IOLA Fund, HRSA (COVID-19 vaccine access program), CDC, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, United Way EFSP, NY State Excluded Workers Fund, NYC Council (WelcomeNYC, Welcoming New York via NYIC).
4. Event Space Rental: Affordable rental income from a two-floor renovated loft space at 429 West 127th St, Harlem. The space includes a kitchen, dining area, conference room with AV, breakout rooms, and a computer lab. Rental proceeds support ASC operations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

African Services Committee provides free health, housing, legal, social welfare, education, and pantry services to members of the African diaspora community in New York City. It operates as a nonprofit community-based service provider that integrates multiple social service disciplines into a single direct-service offering for individuals and families.

Product overview

African Services Committee is a multi-service nonprofit organization offering a coordinated suite of social services organized into six core programs: Health Services (testing, prevention, mental health), Housing Services (rental assistance, placement), Legal Services (immigration assistance), Social Welfare Services (case management), Education Services (ESOL classes), and Pantry Services (food distribution). Additional programs include an LGBTQ Support Program and Event Space Rental. The organization serves over 1,200 direct clients and 10,000 outreach contacts annually, operating from a single Harlem, NYC location.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health Services Free health services for African diaspora community members in New York City, delivered as part of the organization's integrated social services.
• Housing Assistance Free housing-related support services for members of the African diaspora community in New York City facing housing instability.
• Legal Services Free legal services for members of the African diaspora community in New York City, including support related to immigration and other legal matters.
• Social Welfare Services Free social welfare support for African diaspora community members in New York City, including case management and connection to broader social support resources.
• Education Services Free education services for African diaspora community members in New York City.
• Food Pantry Free food pantry services for African diaspora community members in New York City facing food insecurity.

Quantifiable outcome

• 175 clients maintain stable housing through the Rental Program; Ryan White-eligible clients receive additional housing support
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• ActionNYC (NYC Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFunded by NYC MOIA, ActionNYC is the main vehicle through which ASC assists clients with affirmative immigration applications including naturalization, green cards, family petitions, work authorization, DACA, and TPS. ASC has accepted 79 naturalization cases since the program's January 2021 inception.
• Ryan Health (Adair and Frederick Douglass locations)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRyan Health partners with ASC to host monthly vaccination clinics at ASC's Harlem office. Clinicians from Ryan Health provide vaccines on-site. Partnership expanded to include health screenings for hypertension and diabetes under the Expanded Access to Care Grant. Ryan Health | Adair and Ryan Health | Frederick Douglass locations are involved.
• Charles B. Wang Community Health CentersecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealth center partner providing additional primary care referral pathways and health services coordination for ASC clients.
• New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerASC participates in NYIC's Welcoming New York program, a collaborative immigration services initiative funded by NY State.
• MOIA Legal Support Center (Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFunded by NYC MOIA, this program enables ASC's free immigration legal services, including legal consultations, representation, and Know Your Rights workshops.
• Mass General Brigham / Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic medical center partnership potentially supporting research collaboration on community health interventions for African diaspora populations.
• BGI (Amhara Region, Ethiopia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBGI is the employer partner in a public-private partnership at ASC's second Ethiopian clinic in the Amhara Region, serving BGI employees and the greater community. The clinic opened in March 2005.
• UNAIDS Coordinating BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASC serves as North American representative to the UNAIDS Coordinating Board (since January 2003), influencing global HIV/AIDS policy and advocacy.
• Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and MalariacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerASC joined the NGO communities' delegation to the Global Fund board in 2002, participating in governance of one of the world's largest health financing mechanisms.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CAMBA: Large Brooklyn-based nonprofit providing housing, legal, health, and youth services to low-income New Yorkers including immigrants. Comparable wraparound service model but much broader geography and population.
• Catholic Charities of New York: Large immigrant-services nonprofit operating refugee resettlement, legal, housing, and food programs across NYC. Comparable service breadth and immigrant focus; substantially larger scale and broader population base.

Direct peers

• Housing Works: NYC nonprofit providing housing, health, and advocacy services to people living with HIV/AIDS. Comparable HIV-care focus, Ryan White-funded housing model, and advocacy posture — operates at meaningfully larger scale.
• Make the Road New York: NYC-based immigrant services and advocacy nonprofit offering legal, housing, education, and health programming. Comparable in mission to serve immigrant communities through wraparound services, though focused on Latin American rather than African diaspora populations.
• Callen-Lorde Community Health Center: NYC LGBTQ+ focused community health center offering primary care, mental health, and HIV services. Comparable LGBTQ+ African diaspora client base and integrated HIV care model.
• African Communities Together: Direct peer serving African immigrant communities in NYC and beyond with immigration legal services, advocacy, and civic engagement. Highly comparable target population and service mix, though smaller and primarily advocacy-focused.
• GMHC (Gay Men's Health Crisis): Long-standing NYC HIV/AIDS service and advocacy organization. Comparable HIV testing, mental health, and case management programs; LGBTQ+ programming overlap; longer history and larger donor base.
• New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC): Umbrella immigrant rights coalition of which ASC is a member; comparable in policy advocacy, immigrant legal services coordination, and NYC government grant administration for member orgs. Broader in scope than ASC.
• Harlem United: Harlem-based community health and social services organization serving low-income and HIV-affected residents. Closely comparable geography, HIV-care focus, and wraparound service model.

Emerging players

• The Door: NYC youth-focused nonprofit offering health, legal, education, and career services to young people including immigrants. Comparable multi-service integrated model but focused on adolescents and young adults.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AfricanServices
• Facebookfacebook.com/AfricanServices
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-services-committee
• Instagraminstagram.com/africanservices

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about African Services Committee