PARSA CF Organization: U.S. Foundations Advance Iranian-American Causes and Nonprofits through Grantmaking
In recent years, a number of prominent foundations such as the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Carnegie Corporation, the Christensen Fund and the Smith Richardson Foundation have been at the forefront of supporting Iran-centric projects such as people-to-people and academic exchanges among Iranians and Americans, political and cultural analysis of Iran and Persian classical dance in the United States.Founded in 1940, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) helps to build a more just, sustainable and peaceful world through grants with a national and global reach. Many of their grants have been made to improve mutual understanding between the United States and Iran. From 2003-2008, RBF made $288,000 in grants to the United Nations Association of the United States of America towards continuing support of the association’s US-Iran Dialogue programs.
In 2008, a PARSA CF grantee, the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) was also the recipient of a $35,000 RBF grant. This grant was made to support NIAC’s U.S.-Iran Policy Program, which seeks to help educate lawmakers and Capitol Hill staffers on Iran-U.S. policy. Also in 2008, RBF made a $50,000 grant to the American Iranian Council for its Shuttling Diplomacy project, an informal dialogue among high-level officials in the United States and Iran.
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is another foundation that has become a U.S. household name as a result of its philanthropic support towards international peace and education. Much of their Iran-centric grantmaking has focused on international peace and security. In 2006, Carnegie made a $25,000 grant to the Search for Common Ground to fund a poll of Iranians and Americans to better understand their attitudes toward public policy.
In addition to supporting foreign policy-based initiatives, Carnegie has been a major proponent of educational and cultural programs aimed at promoting dialogue. In 2007-2008, Carnegie made a total of $801,400 in grants towards programs such as developing a high school curriculum to encourage classroom discussion about Iran; facilitating an oral history project on U.S.-Iranian relations and academic engagement to expand dialogue between Iranian and American scientists, engineers and doctors.
While many American foundations supporting Iran-based projects tend to focus on public policy, others, such as the Christensen Fund, support the efforts of organizations that work towards supporting global arts and culture. In 2003, the fund made a $96,900 grant to PARSA CF grantee Ballet Afsaneh Art and Culture Society to support the translation of contemporary Persian diaspora poetry, music and dance in the Bay Area. The fund continued their support of Ballet Afsaneh in 2004, via a $40,000 grant to develop and market a DVD of contemporary Iranian poetry. In the same year, the fund awarded a $25,000 grant to the California College of the Arts to support young Iranian-American artists in an exhibit promoting intergenerational and intercultural dialogue among the Iranian diaspora and the greater Bay Area.
For Iranian-American nonprofits seeking funding for their causes, the foundations featured here highlight only sampling of American foundations supporting Iranian themes. From globally-recognized powerhouses in the world of philanthropy to local, niche-based foundations, funding opportunities abound for innovative and strategic Iranian-American nonprofit organizations.