Another year of blessings

THE YEAR 2005 was indeed another fruitful year for the Ayala Foundation USA. Despite the political and economic difficulties the Philippines encountered, many Filipinos abroad, particularly in the US, have not lost the heart to help their kababayans gain better quality of life. In fact, these trying times provided an opportunity for Filipinos to further share their blessings, not only in financial terms, but also terms of their active involvement in programs.

We at the Ayala Foundation USA (AF USA) are extremely grateful to all our donors whose benevolence continues to keep the Filipino spirit alive across the miles; and to our partner organizations in the Philippines for their dedication and commitment in helping the nation and its people.

With the help of our generous donors, we were able to achieve the following:

In terms of donations, we have received more than $580,000 (approximately P31,320,000) cash donations from 350 donors. Of these, 287 are individuals while 63 are corporations or non-profit organizations.

Our partners in the Philippines likewise increased to 113 organizations. These non-profit organizations implement development initiatives that cater to the basic needs of underprivileged Filipinos such as access to quality education, better healthcare services and alternative livelihood, among others. With support from our increasing number of donors, these non-profits are able to create greater impact on more communities across the country.

It was also a year for forging long-term partnerships. In the United States and in the Philippines, AF USA responded to the need of Filipino-American associations and Philippine-based non-profits to build up their capacities to mobilize funds and enhance support for their projects.

· In June 2005, 10 Fil-Am associations underwent Training on Resource Mobilization in San Jose, California. They came from Hawaii, Florida, New Jersey, Seattle, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. This program was funded by Ford Foundation. In the Philippines, the Peace and Equity Foundation gave a P1M grant to fund the capacity-building training of about 50 non-profits to be conducted early 2006.

· AF USA also signed an agreement with the University of the Philippine Medical Alumni Society in America (UPMASA) to lend assistance in undertaking their charitable activities for the UP College of Medicine and other Philippine-based organizations.

· A US-based Filipina, Dr. Josefina Jayme-Card, with AF USA, initiated a scholarship program to benefit young students in the Philippines who cannot afford a college education. The JCAP (Jayme-Card-Ayala-Pathways) Scholarship Program offers scholarships through the Pathways for Higher Education, an educational program of the Ateneo de Manila University. Dr. Card encourages both US-based and local Filipinos to support the program.

The spirit of volunteerism

Four Filipino-Americans took time off from their work and journeyed to the Philippines where, in addition to visiting friends and relatives, AF USA helped match them with groups to give them the opportunity share their knowledge and expertise with students, teachers and non-profits. This "Brain Gain" Program, encourages Filipinos experts abroad to transfer their expertise and experience with Filipinos back home. This is a more personal way of sharing in addition to monetary donations.

AF USA is tying up with the Brain Gain Network of Paco Sandejas to create a database of such experts willing to go home regularly to improve the quality of the industry or sector that they have expertise in. This way, the so-called "Brain Drain" is reversed and the country is able to tap the vast human resource that our eight million Filipinos overseas represent.

Fil-Am youth program

In our 2nd Filipino-American Youth Leaders Fellowship Program, 10 young, driven Fil-Ams immersed themselves with Philippines-based non-profits for eight weeks. The 10 fellows were given the opportunity to rediscover their roots, strengthen their ties with the homeland, and learn enough about some social issues to become advocates for the Philippines and their fellow Filipinos when they go back to the US.

ICT for youth education

Early 2005, GILAS or Gearing-Up Internet Literacy Access for Students was launched in Cebu at the 3rd Global Filipino Networking Convention. GILAS is a private sector consortium working with the Department of Education to bring Internet connectivity to all 5,443 public secondary schools in the Philippines in 5 years. As of end November 2005, 686 high schools have been connected to the Internet, reaching about 350,000 Filipino youths.

It is one of the most successful private-public partnerships in the country, and the first truly nationwide program to address a specific social need. It offers our high school students access to the world of information and knowledge on the Internet, vastly improving the learning resources available to them, even though they don't have libraries. For more information on whether your hometown high school is already connected, please visit www.gilas.org.

This achievement was made possible by a strong fund raising campaign which raised a total of P22.4 million ($407,272.72) in cash, with US-based donors accounting for $ 114,503. An additional P 49.6 million ($ 901,818.18) was mobilized in kind by the partner corporations supporting GILAS.

A unique fund-raiser was the effort of eight Filipinos who joined the New York marathon in November. They raised awareness of the program and raised funds while having fun. They vow to do it again next year and we welcome additions to the marathoners.

Organizational development

We likewise welcomed our new executive director Sherry Lynn Peralta and a part-time program officer Sharita Javier. Lynn Peralta brings with her long years of experience in community work and non-profit management. Under her leadership, the Foundation hopes to intensify its mission of providing US-based Filipinos assistance in making their charity create a more strategic impact on the problems of poverty in the Philippines.

Maraming salamat!

AF USA could not have done all these without the unstinting generosity of our donors, the trust and confidence of our partners, and the dedication and commitment of our staff both in the US and in the Philippines. We look forward to more blessings as we enter 2006 filled with hope and aspiration for a better Philippines.

(Note: figures as of end December 2005. Ayala Foundation USA is a tax-exempt organization under 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. You may contact us at +650 598-3126, e-mail info@af-usa.org or visit www.af-usa.org)