The Near East Foundation (NEF), formerly the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief (ACASR),[1] is a Syracuse, NY-based American development agency founded in 1915.
NEF's mission is to help people in the Middle East and Africa build the better lives they envision for themselves and their communities through a variety of practical programs and grassroots development projects.
The Near East Foundation is America’s first nation-wide international philanthropic effort. Nearly a century ago, the NEF pioneered the approach to international development that enables people to acquire the tools they need to help themselves. NEF successes became the model for the United States government’s international aid program and for nearly all current development organizations. NEF works one-on-one with the often-forgotten people at the grass-roots level as equal partners in making our shared world better.
The organization began in 1915 when Cleveland H. Dodge led a group of New York leaders in forming American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief, a response to Ambassador to Constantinople Henry Morgenthau's urgent plea for assistance to save victims of the Armenian Genocide and Assyrian Genocide and deportations of 1915. In 1930, ACASR was renamed the Near East Foundation.[2]
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NEF programs focus on promoting sustainable development in partnership with nationals, sponsoring a variety of innovative self-help initiatives that equip individuals and communities with information, training, skills, and technologies.
Current programs include: environment and natural resource management; agriculture and rural development; urban development and rehabilitation; micro-finance, community-based and bank-guaranteed lending; micro-enterprise promotion and income generation; employment and job creation; population, health, and family planning; human resource development and civil society building; leadership and institutional development; girls and women's development and education, basic education and literacy.
NEF programs help people improve their lives, increase incomes, assist others, and more confidently participate in their societies. Partners include local and international non-governmental organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations, financial institutions, project teams and government ministries.
In 2006, NEF operated in 16 countries in Africa and the Middle East.
In 2010, NEF moved its headquarters to Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY.