Philanthropist Francis Najafi Gives $1M to PARSA Community Foundation
REDWOOD CITY, CALIFORNIA (September 23, 2008) - PARSA Community Foundation announced today that Francis Najafi of Phoenix, Arizona has joined its Meadowood Social Venture Fund with a one million dollar donation. This Fund was established in 2006 with an endowment whose proceeds support Persian arts and culture, leadership development, and civic integration. The other Partners in the Fund include Anousheh Ansari, Salar Kamangar, Omid Kordestani, Hamid Moghadam and Dr. Camran Nezhat.
Francis Najafi commented: "I believe that the Iranian-American community has a deep desire and a commendable record of giving back to this country. PARSA Community Foundation provides a platform to engage more and more members of the community to give of their time and financial resources and to become more engaged American citizens. I am happy to invest in our future and hope that other donors join me in giving everything they can. It's not about equal donations, it's all about equal sacrifice."
The proceeds from the Fund, donations to PARSA CF’s annual fund and Donor Advised Funds have underwritten 71 grants for a total of $709,000 in the past two years. Grantees have included University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute, Smithsonian Museum, Iranian Alliances Across Borders, Promises Films, Institute of International Education, Iranian Studies Group at MIT and Afsaneh Arts & Culture Society. "Francis Najafi is a progressive philanthropist whose understanding of civil society development and institution building cannot be overappreciated. His enthusiasm for moving the needle on Persian philanthropy is a big boost of intellectual and financial capital for achieving PARSA CF's mission," said Noosheen Hashemi, PARSA Community Foundation's founder and chairman.
About PARSA Community Foundation:
PARSA Community Foundation is the first Persian community foundation in the United States and the leading Persian philanthropic institution practicing strategic philanthropy and promoting social entrepreneurship worldwide. Managing the largest independent endowment fund dedicated to Persian philanthropy, the California-based PARSA CF provides tax-advantaged vehicles to donors and grants to nonprofit organizations. Grants are awarded through semi-annual competitive grant cycles and are reviewed by an independent grant advisory committee. PARSA CF provides a platform to enable collaborative giving, philanthropic education and purposeful networking. The organization is a nonpartisan, nonreligious, and nonprofit 501(c) (3) entity. PARSA CF does not make grants in Iran. For more information, please visit www.parsacf.org.
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Media contact: Mariam Hosseini, PARSA Community Foundation, (650)367-9105 or Mariam@parsacf.org.