Moving into our 90th year, the Near East Foundation is showing--as it always has--our ability to be flexible, adapt to changing circumstances, and still stay true to our core mission. In 1915, a group of New Yorkers saw a tragedy unfolding in the Middle East, which they determined to ameliorate. In a week they raised the first $100,000 of what would become a hugely successful undertaking: the feeding, clothing and educating of more than one million Armenians.

Today, another tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East: wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with the growing feeling here that the Muslim world “hates us.” If we at the Near East Foundation believed this, we would be unable to do the work we do. On the contrary, everywhere we go, everywhere we work, we find people eager to partner with us to improve their lives, and those of their families and fellow citizens.

We concentrate on people—not technology or bureaucracy or systems. Our 90 years of experience in the region gives us the cultural knowledge to succeed; and we make a difference not only in the lives of individuals, but over the region as a whole. Our reputation with governments, other agencies, and our collaborating partners at the grassroots is unsurpassed.

Join us as we begin to celebrate 90 years of accomplishment in the most interesting and rewarding work that I have ever experienced. In my decades of association with the Near East Foundation as a member of the staff, board of directors, and now as chair of the board, it is my honor to invite you to read this year’s annual report.

Best regards,

Linda Jacobs
Board Chair

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