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Hovnanian Foundation to fully fund Birthright Armenia
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-12-28-hovnanian-foundation-to-fully-fund-birthright-armenia
Published: Saturday December 28, 2013
Founder Edele Hovnanian catching up with volunteers and alums in the
Yerevan headquarters of Birthright Armenia.
YEREVAN - Transitions come and transitions go. And then some
transitions are large enough to change the entire playing field. It is
the latter for Birthright Armenia. Since sponsoring its very first
volunteer group to Armenia in 2004, the organization's active alumni
base is up to 800+, representing 32 different countries, and its donor
base hit 1,500. Birthright's founder, Edele Hovnanian, who has covered
about 50% of the organization's annual operating budget since its
inception, explains something big is in store for the organization.
"As we are closely approaching our 10th anniversary, I could think of
nothing more fitting or meaningful than announcing to the Birthright
Armenia team that I had secured a commitment from our family
foundation to cover 100% of the annual operating costs of this program
come January 1, 2014, and moving forward," she shared.
Birthright Armenia has been actively fundraising support from the
general public for the last eight years. The organization's
forward-thinking vision and mission attracted the attention and
support of thousands of people on multiple continents who understood
the post-independence reality on the ground in Armenia and the
importance of youth engagement. "We cannot express our thanks enough
to our team of supporters who advocated for our work and contributed
generously of their time and financial resources to help make
Birthright Armenia the success it is. We've enjoyed a
multi-generational level of involvement, and without all of our
supporters, there really would have been no Birthright Armenia,"
explains Linda Yepoyan, executive director in the U.S. "The Hirair and
Anna Hovnanian Family Foundation has supported us since day one, and
we graciously welcome this generous commitment of support they have
made to us going forward, which will now enable us to focus our
resources on marketing and growing our program as well as a meaningful
activities in support of our alumni".
One of the challenges Hovnanian has put before the Birthright Armenia
team, now that there is no need for active fundraising, is to focus on
recruitment without sacrificing quality for quantity. "At community
events, I regularly get approached by people who want to talk about
Birthright's success, or by an alum who has done Birthright, and they
want to share with me stories about the impact it had on their lives.
Inevitably, every conversation ends with `we need thousands of youth
to experience the Homeland annually, not just hundreds, so the ripple
effect of our impact is that much greater'. And I believe we can grow
this program by making it a household name, a rite of passage that all
of our youth should pass through at one point in their young adult
lives," she adds.
"I gave the staff a specific goal of doubling the number of
participants in 2014, our 10th anniversary year, and then tripling our
numbers by the end of 2015, without compromising the high-quality
program for which the Birthright Armenia program is widely known. And
I know they can achieve these goals," she says confidently.
Although any amount contributed to Birthright Armenia is still fully
tax deductible, the organization sent out letters to its entire donor
base stating that they'd like to see whatever was traditionally
donated to it go instead to another Armenian charity in need. Yet
another change to the traditional playing field!
Birthright Armenia offers a full service volunteer program to young
diasporan adults 20-32 years old from all over the globe, who are
interested in volunteering their services in Armenia. In addition to a
rewarding job placement in the sector of their choice, for the length
of their stay volunteers are provided with intensive language
training, weekly excursions, educational forums on current event
topics, and can opt for homestay living accommodations.
In exchange for their service, participants with a stay of over 14
weeks of service successfully completed receive 100% of their
roundtrip airfare back in the form of a travel fellowship. Similarly,
those who complete at least nine weeks up to 14 weeks of service
receive a 50% of their roundtrip airfare travel fellowship. The
organization offers a variety of post program benefits to its alumni
including professional networking, Next-Step grants, quarterly
newsletters and most recently a Pathway to Armenia program for alums
interested in finding employment in Armenia after their volunteer
service is completed.
http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2013-12-28-hovnanian-foundation-to-fully-fund-birthright-armenia
Published: Saturday December 28, 2013
Founder Edele Hovnanian catching up with volunteers and alums in the
Yerevan headquarters of Birthright Armenia.
YEREVAN - Transitions come and transitions go. And then some
transitions are large enough to change the entire playing field. It is
the latter for Birthright Armenia. Since sponsoring its very first
volunteer group to Armenia in 2004, the organization's active alumni
base is up to 800+, representing 32 different countries, and its donor
base hit 1,500. Birthright's founder, Edele Hovnanian, who has covered
about 50% of the organization's annual operating budget since its
inception, explains something big is in store for the organization.
"As we are closely approaching our 10th anniversary, I could think of
nothing more fitting or meaningful than announcing to the Birthright
Armenia team that I had secured a commitment from our family
foundation to cover 100% of the annual operating costs of this program
come January 1, 2014, and moving forward," she shared.
Birthright Armenia has been actively fundraising support from the
general public for the last eight years. The organization's
forward-thinking vision and mission attracted the attention and
support of thousands of people on multiple continents who understood
the post-independence reality on the ground in Armenia and the
importance of youth engagement. "We cannot express our thanks enough
to our team of supporters who advocated for our work and contributed
generously of their time and financial resources to help make
Birthright Armenia the success it is. We've enjoyed a
multi-generational level of involvement, and without all of our
supporters, there really would have been no Birthright Armenia,"
explains Linda Yepoyan, executive director in the U.S. "The Hirair and
Anna Hovnanian Family Foundation has supported us since day one, and
we graciously welcome this generous commitment of support they have
made to us going forward, which will now enable us to focus our
resources on marketing and growing our program as well as a meaningful
activities in support of our alumni".
One of the challenges Hovnanian has put before the Birthright Armenia
team, now that there is no need for active fundraising, is to focus on
recruitment without sacrificing quality for quantity. "At community
events, I regularly get approached by people who want to talk about
Birthright's success, or by an alum who has done Birthright, and they
want to share with me stories about the impact it had on their lives.
Inevitably, every conversation ends with `we need thousands of youth
to experience the Homeland annually, not just hundreds, so the ripple
effect of our impact is that much greater'. And I believe we can grow
this program by making it a household name, a rite of passage that all
of our youth should pass through at one point in their young adult
lives," she adds.
"I gave the staff a specific goal of doubling the number of
participants in 2014, our 10th anniversary year, and then tripling our
numbers by the end of 2015, without compromising the high-quality
program for which the Birthright Armenia program is widely known. And
I know they can achieve these goals," she says confidently.
Although any amount contributed to Birthright Armenia is still fully
tax deductible, the organization sent out letters to its entire donor
base stating that they'd like to see whatever was traditionally
donated to it go instead to another Armenian charity in need. Yet
another change to the traditional playing field!
Birthright Armenia offers a full service volunteer program to young
diasporan adults 20-32 years old from all over the globe, who are
interested in volunteering their services in Armenia. In addition to a
rewarding job placement in the sector of their choice, for the length
of their stay volunteers are provided with intensive language
training, weekly excursions, educational forums on current event
topics, and can opt for homestay living accommodations.
In exchange for their service, participants with a stay of over 14
weeks of service successfully completed receive 100% of their
roundtrip airfare back in the form of a travel fellowship. Similarly,
those who complete at least nine weeks up to 14 weeks of service
receive a 50% of their roundtrip airfare travel fellowship. The
organization offers a variety of post program benefits to its alumni
including professional networking, Next-Step grants, quarterly
newsletters and most recently a Pathway to Armenia program for alums
interested in finding employment in Armenia after their volunteer
service is completed.