PARSA Community Foundation Announces $25,000 Grant to Persian Cultural Club

Foundation Announces Grant to California Nonprofit Promoting Persian Arts and Culture

Grant Totaling $25,000 to Support Quality Persian Language and Culture Classes in San Francisco Bay Area

REDWOOD CITY (July 17, 2009) – A San Francisco Bay Area organization devoted to providing Persian language and culture training to its local community has won a prestigious grant from a leading national Persian community foundation. PARSA Community Foundation announced a $25,000 grant to the Persian Cultural Club (PCC) of Campbell, California, winner of PARSA CF’s annual Norooz Grant, named for the ancient Persian New Year.

PARSA CF, which has delivered nearly $1 million in grants to 110 organizations across the country since its inception in 2006, actively supports Persian language and culture studies. The Norooz grant was made possible by the generosity of Iranian-American philanthropist and PARSA CF co-founder Bita Daryabari.

PCC’s mission is to promote Iranian culture, language, literature and arts in the San Francisco Bay Area community through providing classes and activities for children and adults. With this grant, PCC will:

  • Continue and expand their Persian language and culture program in Walnut Creek, California, via the Dehkhoda Institute of Persian Language.
  • Expand the number of participants and formalize the model of their existing Summer Day Camp Leadership program for teenagers.
  • Establish a four-week summer day camp for teens specifically aged 13-15 that emphasizes leadership development. The program aims to become a replicable model for other day camps in the U.S.
"Persian Cultural Center and tens of other local nonprofits like it around the United States serve the important purpose of keeping Iranian-American youth connected to their heritage.  The language, dance and music classes they offer are fun for the the kids and a source of joy and pride for the parents.  At PARSA CF, we want to encourage and fortify these vitally important nonprofits so that their programs and reach may ultimately expand to serve the larger community" said Ms. Daryabari.

PARSA CF awards semiannual grants to enterprising nonprofits in the United States focused on the preservation and advancement of arts and culture, leadership development and civic integration. This award to PCC is PARSA CF’s 45th grant made as part of its competitive grant cycle.

“Our objective is to strengthen the Iranian-American community through the strategic support of innovative nonprofits so that they can become replicable models for growth and sustainability,” noted PARSA CF Executive Director, Showleh Tolbert.  “PARSA CF is committed to building on the strength of these nonprofits so that they can succeed not only for this generation, but also for the next.”

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.  Based in California, 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. 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.