Local Club History
Ann Arbor Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. was chartered in June 1976. Phyllis Hill, club organizer and active member to date, became interested when she read an article about the 1975 national convention held in Detroit, which featured her former schoolmate, Frankie Jacobs Gillette.
After receiving the necessary information to form the club, Hill hosted a meeting attended by seven potential members. They applied for a charter and announced the organization to the public on July 11, 1976. There were 14 charter members of which five remain active members. The adult club was incorporated as a non-profit organization on April 25, 1978, and currently has 30 members, eight of whom are life members. The youth club was charter in 2008.
The Ann Arbor Club is a 501(c)3 Charitable Organization
National History
In July of 1935, Mrs. Ollie Chinn Porter, President of the New York Club, extended an invitation to local clubs organized as Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, to join and form a national organization. The Founders were Emma Odessa Young, Ollie Chinn Porter, and Effie Diton of New York City; Bertha Perry Rhodes, Josephine B. Keene, and Adelaide Hardy Flemming of Philadelphia; and Goldeana Pearle Flipping of Atlantic City.
After a year of meetings, the first convention was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey on July 9-11, 1936, at the Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church on Artic Avenue. Mrs. Ollie Chinn Porter was elected as the first national president. The aim of this newly formed national organization was then, as it is today, to attract women of high caliber to organize similar clubs within their communities. Facing the realities of the times, their daring and inspiring goals were to share their experiences and exchange information; to protect their interest and to encourage and develop opportunities for black women in businesses and professions.
The Founders were owners, managers, college graduates, and other professionally licensed women, who had managed to realize some measure of personal success. Over the years, NANBPWC, Inc. has conducted many needed community service activities that go far beyond the original purpose. In a move to re-focus on the original purpose, in 2007, the National Association instituted the LET Institutes (Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Technology) to assist women in obtaining and maintaining skills and expertise in these areas.
The National Association is a 501(c)3 Charitable Organization. Some of our affiliations include being a United Nations Non-Government Organization [NGO] Member, an approved charity of the National Black United Federation of Charities #10458; and a strong affiliation of The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc. [BWA]
