ACP President Addresses the Council on Foundations

American Charities for Palestine (ACP) founder and President, Dr. Ziad Asali, addressed a panel at the Council on Foundations annual summit. The panel “Philanthropy in the Arab World: Progress and Pitfalls Since 9/11” focused on exploring and implementing practices that facilitate charitable giving to humanitarian causes in the Arab world by making it safe and secure for the donors.

Since 9/11, the U.S government has investigated or closed several charities accused of funding terrorist organizations. The result has left many donors apprehensive or unwilling to donate to charities focused on the Arab world.

Dr. Asali discussed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ACP and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an agreement that ensures all recipients of charitable giving channeled through ACP are vetted by the U.S government. The agreement guarantees donors transparency and accountability by ensuring that all donations are channeled to legitimate recipients and that all charitable initiatives undertaken by ACP are in strict accordance with the guidelines and regulations of the U.S government.

The panel also included presentations by Michael Rosen, policy advisor to the Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes in the U.S Department of Treasury, and Ron Bruder, CEO and Founder of Education for Employment Foundation, who discussed new federal policies as well as other innovative charitable giving mechanisms backed by the USAID.