How Nice to Be a Nonprofit
April 8, 2024
Dear Friends,
Just as the daffodils opened in New England, we at AFSO received a precious Ramadan gift: our official status as a nonprofit, charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Why is this more exciting than Easter bunnies, matzoh, or even the solar eclipse? Because Afghan Female Student Outreach can now apply for grant funding, and our generous supporters can now deduct their contributions from their taxes. In our ongoing work to bring hope and a future to Afghan university women, we can now breathe a small sigh of relief.
We look forward to celebrating with you and many other AFSO friends and volunteers at noon EDT on Sunday, April 21, when we'll host "Why AFSO? An Hour with Our Students in Afghanistan." If you have not responded yet, please contact us for a registration link. You'll have a chance to meet and chat with our students as well as hearing from professors and other stakeholders about AFSO's meteoric growth and the challenges ahead.
To help meet those challenges, we continue to explore new partnerships and opportunities for our students. Recently, we connected with TAP-IN, Trauma Assistance Program International, a nonprofit dedicated to providing trauma treatment and training. We can now offer both individual and group sessions to students under stress from the enormous hurdles presented by the situation in Afghanistan. Education never stops with the classroom. Whether we're speaking of student, professor, TA, administrator, or other volunteer, the whole person becomes involved, and we're grateful to have this therapeutic support.
Soon our spring classes will wrap up, and we'll be registering students for summer. Thanks to our Executive Director, Amran Fatih, and our new Student Affairs Coordinator, Katy Masuga, we'll have an actual registration system for the 600+ new applications as well as returning students. More on that in May. Meanwhile, as Rumi would have it, "Come to the orchard in Spring. There is light and wine, and sweethearts in the pomegranate flowers."
Best regards,
Lucy
President of the Board
Afghan Female Student Outreach
