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The Near East Foundation (NEF), founded in 1915 as the American Committee on Armenian Atrocities, later the American Committee for Relief in the Near East (ACRNE), and after that Near East Relief, is a
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
-based American international social and economic development organization, originally dedicated to the aid of Greek, Armenian and Assyrian victims of the Ottoman Empire. The NEF is the United States' oldest nonsectarian international development organization and the second American humanitarian organization to be chartered by an act of Congress. Near East Relief organized the world's first large-scale, modern humanitarian project in response to the unfolding
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and
Assyrian genocide The Sayfo or the Seyfo (; see below), also known as the Assyrian genocide, was the mass slaughter and deportation of Assyrian / Syriac Christians in southeastern Anatolia and Persia's Azerbaijan province by Ottoman forces and some Kurdish t ...
s. Known as the Near East Foundation since 1930, NEF pioneered many of the strategies employed by the world's leading development organizations. In the past 100 years NEF has worked with partner communities in more than 40 countries. The foundation had organised the world's first great humanitarian project of the United States, in the beginning of the 20th century.Historian of the Present - Thomas De Waal on Armenian Genocide
Ellison Centre, Washington


Focus

NEF is an operational non-governmental organization with projects in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
,
Mali Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Mali ...
,
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, the
West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, and
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. In these countries, it works with disadvantaged social groups including people coping with conflict, displacement, exclusion, and climate change. The organization focuses on three program areas that are aimed at addressing development challenges in the long-term: peacebuilding, sustainable agriculture and natural resource management, and microenterprise development. It is structured to work with local partners to deliver services. NEF's partners include local and international non-governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, financial institutions, and government ministries.


History

The Near East Foundation was founded in 1915 in response to Ambassador Henry Morgenthau Sr.'s reports of governmental atrocities against Ottoman Armenians. Morgenthau referenced the deportations of intellectuals and requested urgent and immediate assistance. Former missionary and educator
James Levi Barton James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...
and philanthropist
Cleveland Hoadley Dodge Cleveland Hoadley Dodge (January 26, 1860June 24, 1926) was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. He was active in New York City politics and was president of Phelps Dodge mining and served as "adviser and financier" to Woodrow ...
led a group of prominent New Yorkers in forming the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief. The committee raised $60,000 for direct relief at its first meeting on September 16, 1915. The money was wired to Ambassador Morgenthau for distribution. Cleveland H. Dodge personally financed the committee's operating expenses in order to ensure that all funds went to direct relief. The committee then embarked upon an unprecedented grassroots campaign to raise money and awareness across the United States. The campaign combined striking imagery, passionate celebrity spokespeople, and captivating stories from the field to inspire Americans from all economic backgrounds to become citizen philanthropists. The organization also briefly used the name American Committee for Relief in the Near East in 1918–1919; that name appears on many of the committee's most iconic posters. In August 1919, the committee received a congressional charter (the second humanitarian organization to receive this recognition, after the
American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...
) and was renamed Near East Relief. From 1915 to 1930, Near East Relief saved the lives of over a million refugees, including 132,000 orphans who were cared for and educated in Near East Relief orphanages. Near East Relief also mobilized the American people to raise over $116 million for direct relief. Nearly 1,000 U.S. citizens volunteered to travel overseas. Near East Relief workers built hundreds of orphanages, vocational schools, and food distributions centers. Overseas relief workers were responsible for the direct care of orphans and refugees, including the organization of vast feeding and educational programs. Thousands of Americans volunteered throughout the U.S. by donating money or supplies and hosting special events to benefit Near East Relief's work. The organization created the International Near East Association, which then dedicated Sunday, December 2, 1923, as an International Sunday of the Golden Rule. The " Golden Rule Sunday" as it became known, encouraged people to eat something simple—namely staple menus typically served in orphanages—and offer the money they saved as a donation to the orphans of the Armenian Genocide. The
Sunday of the Golden Rule Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...
was celebrated in many parts of Europe, Australia, and America. President
Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer ...
urged the American people to express a spirit of sacrifice and generosity on December 2, 1923, as part of the larger philanthropic effort. In 1930, Near East Relief was renamed the Near East Foundation (NEF) to reflect the organization's shift in focus from emergency relief to long-term social and economic development. NEF expanded its geographic focus to include North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and the area now known as the Middle East. NEF launched the
Near East Relief Historical Society NEAR or Near may refer to: People * Thomas J. Near, US evolutionary ichthyologist * Near, a developer who created the higan emulator Science, mathematics, technology, biology, and medicine * National Emergency Alarm Repeater (NEAR), a forme ...
A Facebook page for the Historical Society is available, but no website with the Near East Relief Historical Society name. See the Near East Relief Digital Museum site. https://neareastmuseum.com/ accessed 06/30/2022 in 2014 in an effort to preserve and share the organization's history.


Impact

The relief effort that launched the organization in 1915 was the first broad national appeal of its kind to solicit funds from the American public, and it was unique in its use of media outlets and support from celebrity spokespeople and citizen volunteers alike. This effort grew and gave birth to what is now known as "citizen philanthropy"—appealing directly to the public to support humanitarian work overseas. This model of philanthropy is used today by a majority of non-profit organizations around the world. When NEF established the practice of working in tandem with foreign governments and local organizations to improve the lives of citizens, it was nearly unprecedented. NEF has since provided the model for many of today's well-known development organizations, including the
U.S. Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 ...
and the
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...
. It has also left a legacy of enduring development institutions it had helped create that continue as centers of innovation and service, including the American University of Beirut's Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science, American University in Cairo's Desert Development Center, Agricultural College of Rezaiye and Ahwaz Agricultural College in Iran, Center for Development Services in Egypt, and dozens of others. As an example of its legacy, one of the oldest basketball teams in Greece,
Near East B.C. A.O. Near East B.C. is one of the oldest professional basketball clubs in Greece. The basketball club was founded in 1927. The team is located in Kaisariani, which is a suburb of the city of Athens. Near East's home arena, Near East Indoor Arena, ...
took its name in order to honour the foundation, since it helped Greeks refugees after the
Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations The Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations, also known as the Lausanne Convention, was an agreement between the Greece, Greek and Turkey, Turkish governments signed by their representatives in Lausanne on 30 January 19 ...
.


Partnership with Syracuse University

In 2010, the Near East Foundation moved its headquarters to
Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
in Syracuse, New York. At Syracuse University, NEF engages faculty and students in its international development work through strategic partnerships with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, and the Whitman School of Management. NEF works frequently with experts in the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration.


Affiliates

*Near East Foundation - Armenia *Near East Foundation - Jordan *Near East Foundation - Lebanon *Near East Foundation - Mali *Near East Foundation - Morocco *Near East Foundation - Palestine *Near East Foundation - Sudan *Near East Foundation - United Kingdom *Near East Relief Historical Society *World Service Commission


See also

*NEF is a
Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
and a Private voluntary organization.


References

{{Armenian Genocide 1915 establishments in New York (state) Development charities based in the United States International charities Persecution of Christians in the Ottoman Empire Refugee aid organizations in the United States Volunteer efforts in Syracuse, New York