Parev,
With Christmas around the corner, and the Armenian Genocide Centennial year coming to a close, we wanted to thank you for being such a valued partner in the ANCA’s work throughout 2015.
I know very well that our progress these past 12 months was due to your continued support. Here are just a few highlights of what you made possible.
— Unprecedented global awareness of the Armenian Genocide, with calls for truth from the Pope and the European Parliament to CNN and the NY Times.
— Large-scale worldwide remembrances such as the 166,000 person march in LA and the biggest ever Times Square rally and Capitol Hill observance.
— Sustained bipartisan Congressional pressure (via the Royce-Engel peace proposals) demanding that Azerbaijan be held accountable for its aggression. (We are particularly encouraged by the broad international support for the deployment of gunfire locator systems, a high-tech, life-saving solution that only Baku opposes.)
— A new U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, to create jobs, foster Armenia’s economic growth, and slow out-migration – and the largest ever U.S. investment in Armenia’s economy (the Vorotan hydro-electric plant). (We’ve also succeeded in getting a new Tax Treaty on the U.S.-Armenia bilateral agenda.)
— The opening of the new ANCA Martha Aramian Armenian Cultural Center in downtown Washington to house youth in our Leo Sarkisian internship and Hovig Apo Saghdejian Capital Gateway job placement programs.
You can take pride in each of these achievements. Especially when you think of Turkey and Azerbaijan’s well-funded – and increasingly fierce – opposition.
But you know as well as anyone that we can’t afford to look back and congratulate ourselves. Our enemies are as fierce as they are relentless. And our progress can be reversed next year unless we continue working together.
Here’s how you can help right now:
1) Provide your Feedback: As a grassroots group, you’re our best source of ideas and inspiration. Your answers to our ANCA Strategic Survey 2015 will help shape our strategies and tactics for the battles ahead.
If you would like to offer even more detailed feedback, please also complete our longer online Strategic Survey: www.anca.org/survey
And any time you have a suggestion, don’t hesitate to write to us at ideas@anca.org. (That’s my favorite inbox to check each morning.)
2) Send a Christmas gift for the Armenian Cause: Your online year-end Christmas gift today will help us get 2016 off to the strongest start possible.
Your financial support will advance either the vital educational work of the ANCA Endowment Fund (tax-deductible) or the political advocacy work of the ANCA (not tax-deductible). The choice is yours.
And if you are considering planned giving options, just note that on your reply form, or write us a note at plannedgiving@anca.org.
3) Get Involved: Our success depends on each of us, from students to seniors, getting more involved. I know from experience that everyone, from long-time advocates to first-time activists, can bring about change. If you’d like to volunteer, simply drop us a note at volunteer@anca.org.
We need to do all this and more, as soon as we can, because you can be sure that Azerbaijan and Turkey aren’t waiting for the New Year.
Our enemies are already at work, spending millions of dollars, buying influence and bribing away in Washington. Aliyev and Erdogan make no secret of their desire to destroy our Armenian homeland, demean our Armenian heritage, derail the Armenian Cause, and, their personal priority, demolish the “Armenian Lobby.”
They know the stakes, and so do we:
The survival and long-term viability
of a free, powerful and independent
Armenian homeland.
The bottom line: We are doing everything we must for Armenia to succeed. They are doing everything that they can to ensure that she fails.
It’s as simple as that.
As serious as that.
We don’t need their millions, but we do need your continued help.
And we can’t afford to wait.
That’s why I am asking you to fill out our survey and make a secure, online, end-of-year Christmas gift right away.
The sooner you act, the quicker we can put your donation to work.
Your gift will empower our fight for a truthful, just resolution of the Armenian Genocide, our advocacy for a strong, prosperous and democratic Armenia, our defense of the independent Nagorno Karabakh Republic, and our efforts to ensure the delivery of international aid to our at-risk Middle East communities.
Thank you for fighting alongside us on all these challenges this year.
All of us are humbled by your faith in our work and inspired by your devotion to our common cause. We consider ourselves blessed to work alongside friends like you, and look forward to advancing your views, your values, and your vision during the coming year.
So, please take a moment to renew your support today with an online donation of any amount. Every dollar truly does makes a difference.
Happy New Year and Merry Christmas,
Aram Hamparian
Executive Director
Armenian National Committee of America
anca@anca.org