The American Ireland Fund Makes a Difference : December 2009

Interview With Riz Khan of Al Jazeera TV >

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cites The American Ireland Fund as a model for effective,
far-reaching philanthropy.

Remarks at the American Pakistan Foundation's Inaugural Gala Benefit
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Cipriani 42nd Street, New York, NY
December 11, 2009

" Another community I know well, the Irish American community, has had great success with this approach. When President Kennedy and Irish President Eamon de Valera launched the American Irish Foundation in 1963, they hoped to foster closer connections between Irish Americans and their ancestral home. But the foundation’s membership and mission expanded over the years, and today, after merging with the Ireland Fund, it is the nation’s – and the world’s – largest private organization supporting economic and social development in Ireland.

And during the 30 years of the troubled and the horrible consequences of the killings and the disruption that ensued, this foundation funded by and motivated by Irish Americans who believed there could be a better day was often the only organization that could speak to both communities, that could go into a Catholic neighborhood or a Protestant neighborhood and meet people and listen to people. And it created a foundation for the peace that eventually occurred.

In time, I hope that this foundation will also serve as a model for effective, far-reaching philanthropy that complements and improves the work of government. Because, you know so well, peace and prosperity cannot be pursued only in the marble halls of Washington or Islamabad, but in boardrooms and classrooms, mosques and churches and synagogues, public squares and private homes – and on evenings like these."

• Full artcle >

Interview With Riz Khan of Al Jazeera TV
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State, Washington, DC
December 10, 2009

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton cites The American Ireland Fund as a model for other diasporas in an interview yesterday with Al Jazeera

From the interview...
QUESTION: Interestingly, you’re reaching out, especially more recently, to the American Pakistani community and also the Pakistani diaspora around. In trying to improve their situation in Pakistan, or at least the people back home in Pakistan, what specifically do you expect them to do? What sort of role would you expect them to play?

SECRETARY CLINTON: "Well, I have been so impressed by my many Pakistani American friends who are so successful. They’re professionals of all kinds, they’re very successful in business. They’re academics. It’s an extraordinarily impressive community. And I know that many of them, from my personal acquaintance, still have deep ties in Pakistan. They often go back to see their relatives, to visit their family home. They send money to support people back in Pakistan.
And in talking with many of them, I suggested that it might be appropriate for them to think hard about forming a Pakistan American foundation that would represent the diaspora here in our country, similarly to what the Irish have done. The American Ireland Fund has been a nongovernmental effort which has, over the years, really made a difference in focusing on projects and providing scholarships to young people."

• Full interview >