Friends Of Mongolia
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Friends of Mongolia (FOM) is a US-registered,
501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
tax-exempt Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
registered in Mongolia and the United States. Friends of Mongolia is organized and operated exclusively for charitable, educational, and developmental purposes. Friends of Mongolia exists to develop partnerships with the people of Mongolia in furtherance of cultural exchange and human development. It is affiliated with the
National Peace Corps Association National Peace Corps Association is an American nonprofit organization for future, current, and returned Peace Corps Volunteers, former Peace Corps staff, host country counterparts, and family and friends of the Peace Corps. It works to support ...
, but membership is open to anyone with an interest in Mongolia.


History

Friends of Mongolia was established in 1999 by returned
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. ...
volunteers who had served in Mongolia.


Governance

Friends of Mongolia's operations are overseen by a board of directors who are elected for three-year terms and managed by officers (two Co-coordinators, Treasurer, Communications Coordinator, and Membership Coordinator) who are elected annually. A Mongolia Country Representative and Deputy Country Representative are appointed by the board to oversee activities in Mongolia.


Programs


FOM Scholarship Program

The FOM Scholarship was established in 2006, with the aim of assisting young male students from rural communities with high academic potential and financial need to attend post-secondary institutions across Mongolia. The program specifically stipulated that all applicants be male and living outside of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital city. The reason for this unique requirement was what is referred to as "Mongolia's reverse gender gap." Often rural males are left behind in education because of social and economic demands in the countryside. In fact, according to the National Statistics on Gender in Mongolia, in 2005 only 39% of students enrolled in institutions of higher education were male.National Statistics on Gender in Mongolia,2005 Successful applicants were awarded one-year full-tuition scholarships.


Matthew Girvin Scholarship Fund

In 2006 FOM began working with Inland Northwest Community Foundation,
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
and the Mongolian Youth Development Foundation (MYDF) to help facilitate the distribution of the Matthew Girvin Scholarship Fund. This fund 'was created in memory of Matthew Girvin, a UNICEF program officer stationed in Mongolia who was killed in a helicopter crash in January 2001, to support highly qualified secondary school graduates from low-income families in the rural areas of Mongolia to study at some of the best state institutions of higher learning within Mongolia.


FOM Grant Program

The Friends of Mongolia Community Development Grant program is inspired by the Small Project Assistance (SPA) grant familiar to all PCVs, and provides financing for small community-based projects in Mongolia and the United States that further education, cultural exchange, and community development between both countries. Community projects generally do not attract the kind of funding on offer from large multi-lateral or bi-lateral donors, and modest community-based programs struggle to find appropriate funding to support their program goals. The FOM Community Development Grant program is intended to address these issues. FOM Community Development Grants can be as little as a few hundred dollars and do not generally exceed $2,500. FOM Community Development Grants are community initiated and implemented. Each proposal should demonstrate community-based support for a project through a minimum 25% local in-kind contribution of labor and materials in the overall budget of the project. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis, and each proposal is reviewed by a committee made up of FOM Members using a standard scoring method. Final funding approval for proposals is made based on review committee recommendations and the availability of funds.


Current Management

Friends of Mongolia (FOM) is proud to announce its new team to take forward the vision and of supporting education scholarships, promoting cultural exchange, and preparing youth for meaningful employment. William G. Federer, Director, Strategy and Public Engagement (USA) Undram Nyamaa, Finance Manager, Treasurer (USA) Oyungerel, Administration Officer, (Mongolia) Alice Chang, Communication Officer (USA) Davakhu Baasandorj, Communication Officer (Mongolia) Byambabat Munkhtogoo, Public Engagement Officer (Mongolia) Namuun Otgonbat, Public Engagement Officer (USA) Enkhjin Delgertsetseg, Public Engagement Officer (USA)


Logo

The Friends of Mongolia logo depicts a Mongolian ''ger'' or
yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia. ...
accompanied by traditional Mongolian script which spells 'Friend'.


References


External links


Friends of MongoliaWorldwide Peace Corps Blog Directory
Collection of 2,000+ online journals and blogs from Volunteers around the world
Third Goal
Peace Corps Stories and Photos
Peace Corps Writers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Friends Of Mongolia Foreign relations of Mongolia Peace Corps United States friendship associations Scholarships in the United States Mongolia–United States relations