New Grants Promote Understanding of Iranian Culture and Encourage Civic Engagement

New Grants Promote Understanding of Iranian Culture and Encourage Civic Engagement


PARSA CF Awards $105,000 to Norooz Grant Recipients

REDWOOD CITY (May 9, 2008) – PARSA Community Foundation has announced that it will award $105,000 in gifts to 9 U.S. and U.K.-based nonprofit organizations focused on arts and culture, leadership and civic integration, 7 of which are first-time PARSA CF grantees. The nonprofit groups will be the recipients of PARSA CF’s 2008 Norooz Grant, named for the widely-celebrated Persian holiday that marks the first day of spring and the Iranian new year. The Norooz Grant is also one of two annual grants in the foundation’s giving cycle. The awardees range from a feature-length documentary that compares the realities of raising families in Iran and in the U.S. and the similarities these two groups share, to a project dedicated to the preservation of thousands of ancient tablets from the Persian Empire at its zenith.

PARSA CF’s Norooz grantees include: Promises Films and Javane, Young Iranian American Theater Company, both based in Berkeley, Calif., The Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago in Chicago; The Smithsonian Institution of Washington, D.C.; Khayam Persian School Foundation in Irvine, Calif; The Center for Iranian Jewish Oral History based in New York City; Bay Area Iranian-American Voter Association in Burlingame, Calif.; The Department of Social Anthropology at the University of St. Andrews at St. Andrews, Scotland; and The School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London in London. All the organizations are receiving PARSA CF funding for the first time, with the exception of Promises Films and the Oriental Institute, which are second-time recipients.

A common denominator of these grantees is their commitment to the promotion of dialogue and participation in civic life, as illustrated by:

  • Promises Films’ feature-length documentary Global Moms: Iran, which will provide a rarely seen and human side of Iranian society to the American public;
  • Khayam Persian School Foundation’s Persian Summer Seminar, a unique educational collaboration between the organization, the Irvine Unified School District, and California State University, Fullerton; and
  • Bay Area Iranian-American Voter Association’s efforts towards voter education and outreach in this pivotal election year.

“PARSA CF is dedicated to promoting nationally scalable arts and culture programs to promote cultural appreciation and understanding so that Iranian-Americans can be proud of and share their culture with others,” said PARSA CF Executive Director Abdi Soltani. “It is our hope that these grants will provide the tools necessary to teachers, museums, artists and organizations so the public can learn about Persian history and culture.”

PARSA CF is the first Persian community foundation in the world, and is building the largest endowment fund dedicated to Persian philanthropy.  PARSA CF’s mission is to increase philanthropic activity within the Persian diaspora.  Combining Persian traditions of charity with cutting edge philanthropic practices, PARSA CF encourages strategic giving and active civic participation through education, tax-efficient vehicles, and recognition of community service.  PARSA CF awards semi-annual grants to enterprising non-profits in the United States focused on preservation and advancement of arts and culture, leadership development, and civic integration.

“PARSA CF is committed to helping sustainable nonprofit organizations dedicated to the Iranian-American community in strengthening their scale and leverage so that our community can become more civically engaged,” noted PARSA CF founder and chairperson Noosheen Hashemi. “Our grant cycle leverages an independent Grant Advisory Committee, composed of a diverse group of respected community leaders. They spend innumerable hours and lend their expertise in order to select the nonprofits most worthy of support and most beneficial to our community.”

About PARSA Community Foundation:

PARSA CF provides tax-advantaged vehicles to donors and makes grants to nonprofit organizations.  PARSA CF provides a platform to enable collaborative giving, philanthropic education and purposeful networking.  The organization is a nonpartisan, nonreligious, and nonprofit, registered as a 501(c) (3) entity in the United States.  PARSA Community Foundation does not make grants in Iran. More information about PARSA CF is available at www.parsacf.org.

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