This year was our most financially challenging year since our organization began nearly 13 years ago. As you may recall, about a year ago our fiscal sponsor IHC collapsed losing all our funds, and the funds of about 200 other organizations. Click here to read about it.

While we have found a wonderful new sponsor, SEE, we have raised only a tiny fraction of the funding we normally receive from donors like you this year. Tragically, the main sponsor of RAWA’s flagship project, Danish School, has also been unable to provide the funding we need. In fact, the money we have raised this year are barely enough to fund two months of Danish School operations.

The loss of our funds, and the global economic recession have created a perfect storm that now threatens closure of all of RAWA’s life-saving work.

Click here to make a donation.

In RAWA’s own words, here is an assessment of how dire the situation is:

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has always relied on its supporters all over the world for financial assistance, and especially its supporters in the US, and never turned to any other source. We understand the many difficulties you face, which makes us even more proud when you work hard to help us as well. Please don’t forget RAWA, the only anti-fundamentalist and independence-seeking female organization of Afghanistan, in these hard days, and enable us to implement all our projects in the coming year so that your donation is spent in ways that truly help Afghanistan and its suffering people.

Crisis of IHC has caused a lot of problems for us, we had to limit our programs in Afghanistan due to acute shortage of fund. If we could not raise enough fund, RAWA may have to close down a school that we run inside Afghanistan for Afghan girls.

Click here to make a donation.

As you know, the situation in Afghanistan remains grim, particularly for women. This week Najia Sediqi, the head of the women’s affairs department for eastern Laghman province was shot and killed. And, a new United Nations Report released on December 11, 2012, finds that three years after a law protecting women was enacted, “Afghan women are frequent victims of abuse,” and “the overall use of the law remained low, indicating there is still a long way to go before women and girls in Afghanistan are fully protected from violence through the law.” Click here to read a news article about the UN report.

RAWA continues their hard work of creating a better Afghanistan through education, literacy projects, and more. But they cannot do it without your financial solidarity. We know that there are many worthy causes vying for your hard earned dollars this holiday season. Please consider making a donation to preserve RAWA’s projects before the end of this year. Your donation is tax-deductible in the United States to the extent of the law, and may be tax-deductible in other countries as well.

Click here to make a donation.

Browse through a large selection of affordable, sweat-shop free arts and crafts made by artisans internationally and locally, including embroidered pillow-covers, wallets and purses from Afghanistan, locally made jewelry, blankets, scarves and tote-bags, candles, soaps, oils, fair trade coffee & honey, conscious books, CDs, and including the famous soup beans by the Women’s Bean Project…plus much more!

Afghan Women’s Mission will be a proud vendor at the 7th Annual Holiday Bazaar! We will have purses, jewelry, trinket boxes, and more, handmade from Afghanistan. All sales will benefit AWM’s important projects!

Click here to download a flyer for the event.

FREE ENTRANCE & complementary refreshments while you shop

All proceeds will directly benefit the artists and workers who made the items.

More information at www.9to5california.org. This event is organized by 9to5 Los Angeles and co-sponsored by Afghan Women’s Mission. KPFK is the media sponsor.

The panelists were asked the following question:

Violence against women spiked to its highest level since the Taliban’s fall. Will a U.S. troop withdrawal contribute to an increase in the region’s assault on women?

Watch the video below:

Malala Yousafzai remains in hospital after being shot in the head by members of a faction of the Taliban in Pakistan. Only 14, Yousafzai received international notoriety soon after her “Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl” was published by the BBC in 2009.

Malalai Joya, now 34, has survived numerous assassination attempts and in 2007 was suspended from the Afghan Parliament because of her criticisms of warlords, fundamentalists and the NATO occupation of Afghanistan. Joya sent rabble.ca the following statement on the shooting of Yousafzai.

On the attack against 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai

Once again we see a crime against women by dark-minded and brutal fundamentalists. Malala Yousafzai was shot by Pakistani Taliban because she did not remain silent about the ongoing crimes and brutalities against women; because, despite her young age, she had the consciousness to stand for her rights and say ‘no’ to the terrorism and misogyny of the creatures of the Stone Age.

I strongly condemn this disgraceful act of targeting an innocent 14-year-old girl. This is the real nature of Afghan and Pakistani fundamentalist Taliban. These dirty rascals pose as ‘manly’ but this heinous crime shows how unmanly and disgusting they are to kill a defenseless young girl.

Malala was targeted because, in her limited capacity, she wanted to inform the world about the brutalities going on against women by extremists. She wanted to wake up the women of the rural areas of Pakistan to stand up and defend their due rights.

This was a warning for those who only understand the language of the gun. This cowardly attack on her proves that these medieval-minded groups are aware of the potential power of awakened women and are afraid that she may become a role model for many more women. So they tried to stop her in the very beginning. But it was a failed attempt because, across Pakistan and around the whole world, people are on Malala’s side and they are condemning her enemies.

The world should know that the West, and in particular the U.S. government, have nurtured, supported and armed these dirty inhuman bands for the past three decades. They should know that still in our unfortunate Afghanistan, the U.S. and NATO rely on brothers-in-creed of the Taliban — the Northern Alliance warlords such as Qanooni, Fahim, Ismael Khan, Atta Mohammad, Abdullah, Sayyaf, Mohaqiq, Khalili and others — who have made life a torture for Afghan women. They should know that Karzai’s puppet regime is calling the murderer Taliban “brothers” and trying to share power with this anti-humanity band of killers.

I send my salutations to Malala Yousafzai and am sure that her great sacrifice will not be in vain. She marks the shining pages of history while her enemies will soon go into the dustbin of history.

© 2012 Malalai Joya

As may know, in December 2011, IHC, our former fiscal sponsor, lost more than $400,000 worth of donations ear-marked for RAWA’s amazing projects (for the full story, click here). Although we have found a new and wonderful fiscal sponsor, SEE, we are still reeling from this devastating blow. We are trying to rebuild, move forward, and continue our support for RAWA’s work.

Help us rebuild this Women’s History Month!

For every online donation of $100 made in March 2012, we will mail a copy of the remarkable book by Malalai Joya, A Woman Among Warlords, as our “thank you gift” to you.

This book, by one of Afghanistan’s most famous women, chronicles the history of Afghanistan, and its current precarious position, through the eyes of one courageous woman. Every $100 donation will be used toward RAWA’s life saving projects that benefit Afghan women.

Click here to donate.

Although RAWA sponsors many projects in diverse realms, from emergency refugee relief to healthcare, one of its most important projects is Danish School for Girls, located in Afghanistan’s Farah province. Danish school is a remarkable and safe space for young Afghan girls to learn and grow into brave, educated, and caring young women. Despite threats by the Taliban, families opt to send their daughters to Danish school and are part of Afghanistan’s best hope, made possible with the support of donors like you.

Join us this Women’s History Month and help us fund RAWA’s projects like Danish School. Everyone who makes a donation of $100 donation or more through our website, will receive a copy of Malalai Joya’s highly acclaimed book, A Woman Among Warlords.

Click here to donate.

What people are saying about A Woman Among Warlords by Malalai Joya:

“Joya’s life has been singular and heroic.” — New York Times

“[A]n explosive book that takes a scalpel to many of the illusions surrounding the US invasion of Afghanistan.” — Global Research

“Rest assured, you will be hearing more from Joya. She is a woman determined to have her voice heard at all costs – even her own death.” — Globe and Mail

“The courage of Malalai Joya serves not only as a commentary on the current Afghan situation, but is also a reminder that in an atmosphere of deceit, duplicity and relentless violence, there are still some like her who dare to speak the truth and have the courage to face dire consequences.” — The Statesman

“If you want to understand Afghanistan, what is being done there in our names, this is a highly readable, accessible way to find out. And if I could see a way forward for Afghanistan, it would have Joya in a prominent position.” — BlogCritics.org

“Anyone who wants to better understand Afghanistan and to better explain why the U.S. has no business there should read this indispensable and beautifully written book.” — ISR

Click the play button to watch the news story below:

February 14, 2012

More than 200 nonprofit groups, from animals rights organizations to political activists, said most of their donated funds appear to have vanished after the organization that watched over the money suddenly ceased operations last month.

The International Humanities Center closed its offices, took down its Web page and informed its clients by email that it has ceased operation. The center served as an umbrella organization for small nonprofit groups, handling their donations and performing administrative duties.

Directors from two of the groups said the executive director of the center told them only $10,000 was left in the accounts his organization held when there should have been $1 million.

A tally of potential losses compiled by directors of 40 of the groups comes to $877,000.

Several of the groups said they can no longer pay their staffs or bills. Some have explained the situation to donors on their websites.

The California attorney general’s office is investigating, and directors of several groups said they had been interviewed by the office or had been asked for information.

“The more time goes on, the more I lose hope we’ll ever see any of that money again,” said Dylan Rose Schneider of Peaceful Uprising, a collective that fights global warming.

The groups were mostly small nonprofits that said they turned to the Humanities Center, as what is known as a fiscal sponsor, because they don’t have the staffing to handle donations and related paperwork. For a small fee, the center’s website had said, it handled such tasks for its clients.

Steve Sugarman, the center’s executive director, said in an email to some of the groups that he was filled with “deep regret” over going out of business and hoped it caused no lasting harm. He assured them in the email that all funds had been properly spent, though it is not clear what he was referring to because a fiscal sponsor is not supposed to spend its clients’ money on its own operations.

A consultant for the center told some of the groups in a letter that their donations were used to pay legal fees and other bills, including $12,000 a month for offices in Pacific Palisades, as well as back taxes and penalties to the IRS.

“Many of us realized that this was a dangerous way to run a business but were repeatedly assured by Steve (in writing) that all misappropriated funds would soon be replaced,” consultant David DelGrosso told directors.

Sugarman did not return emails and his phone was not accepting calls.

Directors for many of the nonprofits, which included such diverse groups as the Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid, Saving Wild Tigers, Champions Against Bullying, the Malibu Realtors Fund, the Southern California Bluebird Club and Shanti House L.A., said they believe their money has vanished.

The Pasadena-based Afghan Women’s Mission, which supports schools, clinics and other programs in the war-battered country, said it had $400,000 banked with the Humanities Center. It has told donors on its Web page that its money is probably gone.

“What we’re seeing is much larger than dumb management and bad mistakes,” said Sharon Simone, who runs Headwater Productions, which she said has had a number of projects with the Humanities Center, including a scholarship fund in her late brother’s name.

Before it was pulled down, the center’s website described its operation as a one-stop organization for groups that had neither the time nor expertise to handle accounting, bills and other administrative tasks. By doing business with the Humanities Center, groups were able to designate donors’ gifts as tax-deductible. In exchange, the center, which started in 2003, took a 5% cut of donations in its first years of operation and more recently raised the fee to 10%.

In most cases, if someone wanted to donate money to one of the groups online with a credit card or through PayPal, the transaction was done through the Humanities Center. The groups also submitted their bills to the center for payment; and when they needed money, they would send in forms explaining what it was for.

Jane Levikow, chairwoman of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors, said a group like the Humanities Center would never dip into the funds of its clients for its own purposes.

The center’s website had stated that Sugarman has a master’s degree in research psychology, served as executive director of another fiscal sponsor, was involved in well-known environmental causes such as the Bolsa Chica wetlands restoration and was the author of a book called “The Blueprint for Planetary Evolution.”

In a 2009 interview with OpEdNews.com, one of the groups that used the center to handle its money, Sugarman said it had 300 groups under its auspices, with total revenue of more than $6 million.

Marcia Hanscom, who heads three groups that banked money with the Humanities Center, said she has known Sugarman since the early 1990s, when he was fighting to protect the Dana Point Headlands. “He was really committed to doing good work for people and the planet,” she said.

Her groups had $2,000 in donations at the center, which she assumes is gone.

Directors for several of the groups said they grew worried when Sugarman told directors in an email about an IRS audit. The email didn’t mention that the IRS had filed a $69,570 tax lien against the center.

By mid-2011, some of the groups said, the center was not paying their bills and was not responding to their phone calls and emails. Financial statements, they said, arrived sporadically if at all.

In September, the state Franchise Tax Board suspended the center’s corporate status because it had failed to file the nonprofit equivalent of a tax return, according to state records.

Late last year, Sugarman sent an email to some groups’ directors explaining that the center was running “a considerable deficit.”

“The specific causes of this deficit are many, complex, interrelated, and have been escalating over time. Cumulatively they have resulted in a perfect fiscal storm for IHCenter,” he wrote.

He ended the email: “First and foremost, the bleeding has to stop so the patient can heal. I know that this will cause many hardships, and for that I express deep regret for any harm that results; deeper than you can imagine; deeper than words can convey.”

Six days later, Sharon Simone and Deena Metzger, whose groups were under the Humanities Center umbrella, met with Sugarman. They said he blamed the problems on the economic downturn and an anticipated $15.2-million grant that never materialized.

Shortly thereafter, DelGrosso, the center’s consultant, sent his letter blaming Sugarman for the problems. He also said a former Humanities Center official “made a huge mistake by wasting project funds on a deceptive email scam” but had since left the country.

In an interview with The Times, DelGrosso said the Internet scam cost the center more than $200,000. He said he was interviewed by a deputy attorney general last week.

Sugarman sent out a final email Jan. 16 announcing that the center was shutting down.

“Be assured that all funds were used solely to benefit the [clients'] projects and their support, and to maintain IHCenter and its tax exempt status,” he wrote. “All projects were part of this organization and our responsibility has been to the organization as a whole.”

Rob Kall, the editor of OpEdNews, said he wonders whether the Humanities Center got carried away when the donations for the various groups started coming in.

“I think they became grandiose,” he said. “I feel like I was robbed.”

Read the article on the LA Times’ website here.

We are deeply saddened to inform you of a devastating incident that has affected our operations.

We were informed in mid-December 2011 that International Humanities Center (IHC), the non-profit group that we had hired to manage our funds since 2003, has lost all of our donations. All of the nearly 200 organizations that had accounts with IHC are the victims of this theft. Altogether, about $400,000 donated to Afghan Women’s Mission to fund RAWA’s projects were lost.

Nothing prepared us for this. We were, and still are, in shock.

Non-Profit Quarterly has an extensive report on the story here (Part 1) and here (Part 2). According to the report’s author:

“[t]he news of the IHC’s collapse struck most, if not all, of the IHC-affiliated projects as a complete shock. Staff or board members at the IHC projects we contacted were unanimously stunned, “blindsided,” and “bewildered.”

STEPS WE HAVE TAKEN
As soon as we found out that IHC had misappropriated our donations, we took the following steps:

1. We removed all electronic donation forms from our website (which linked to IHC’s server)
2. We held all checks received at our mailing address without forwarding them to IHC. These will now be deposited with our new fiscal sponsor SEE (see below).
3. We began searching for a new fiscal sponsor to carry on our primary mission, funding the lifesaving work of RAWA.
4. We have begun working with a coalition of many of the other organizations affiliated with IHC to uncover exactly what happened.
5. We have been participating in an investigation of the California Attorney General’s office, sharing all our documents and information with them, to get to the bottom of this.
6. We formed an advisory board to help oversee future operations and share expertise in our continued support of RAWA.

In addition we have been in contact with lawyers, and have consulted with other non-profit leaders to guide our actions over the past month.

However, the reality is that we may never recover the stolen funds.

RAWA NEEDS YOUR HELP – Click here to donate

RAWA, whose life-saving projects AWM has funded for nearly 12 years, is struggling to cope with this abrupt cut in funding.

Danish school for girls in Farah province, RAWA’s flag ship project, has not been funded for the past 4 months. Teachers have gone without salaries and bills unpaid.

Additionally, a crucial emergency relief operation that RAWA carried out in December 2011, costing them $30,000, has not been reimbursed.

AWM and RAWA are in dire straits. We have become the victim of what appears to be serious deception at best, outright theft at worst. We need your help to cover the costs of RAWA’s projects as soon as possible.

Click here to help AWM and RAWA rebuild.

OUR NEW FISCAL SPONSOR

We are pleased to announce that beginning on February 8, 2012, Afghan Women’s Mission became a Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE). Established in 1994, SEE has a long track record of providing reliable and stable non-profit financial services. Currently they serve about 100 projects in total.

SEE is a “fiscal sponsor,” a nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charity that confers nonprofit status on small organizations like AWM. In exchange for a small percentage of all donations (6.5% in the case of SEE), a fiscal sponsor manages its projects’ funds, processes and deposits donations, files taxes, sends out tax receipts, etc. These are extremely useful services for organizations like Afghan Women’s Mission that are run entirely by volunteers.

SEE’s operations are consistent with the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors’ Guidelines for Comprehensive Fiscal Sponsorship. In particular, they receive an external audit every year to ensure that project donations are spent where donors intend and are never ever spent on SEE’s own operational costs.

View SEE’s 990 tax forms for the years:
2007
2008
2009
2010

NOTE: SEE’s 2010 Audited Financial Statement is also available upon request.

QUESTIONS?

Many of our donors will understandably be very upset about this devastating incident. Please contact us with any questions you may have and we will do our best to answer them all.

Don’t spend your hard earned dollars at the mall, buying overpriced gifts made in countries with no labor or environmental protections!

Shop with a clear conscience at our 6th Annual Fair Trade and Conscious Gifts Holiday Bazaar.

Browse through a wide selection of hand-made goods made either internationally with fair-trade standards, or locally by LA-based artists.

There will be jewelry, purses, pillow covers, and more from Afghanistan, as well as books, T-shirts, candles, soaps, oils, handicrafts, and much much more!

Confirmed vendors include Afghan Women’s Mission, Ten Thousand Villages, Theo Chocolate, Vida Verde, BeadforLife, Zatoun Palestinian Olive Oil, Los Switcheros del Norte, Southern California Library, Garment Workers Center, Skool Boiz, Radka Falk, Brian Biery, Sunshine, and many more!

Check out our new inventory of hand-made gifts from Afghanistan, made in RAWA’s income generation projects BELOW!

Download the flyer here.

Entrance is Free. There will be complementary hot coffee and tea plus delectable cookies and pastries!

Watch a video of an interview by AWM Co-Director Sonali Kolhatkar with Fair Trade LA Coordinator Joan Harper about Fair Trade goods and the Holiday Bazaar:

Some of the new hand-made items from Afghanistan that you will find at this year’s Holiday Bazaar:

For those who missed our live webcast with Reena of RAWA, here it is: