Charities Foundation

The Foundation was established in 1997 to assist members of AFICS/NY and other qualified former international civil servants, their dependents and survivors (including current or former spouses or domestic partners, and children) who face critical, unusual or emergency personal hardships of a temporary nature which cannot be met from other available resources; who seek to acquire or upgrade skills for post-retirement activities; and to support humanitarian causes where this is consistent with the United Nations Charter. 

• AFICS/NY Members are requested that they alert the Foundation to any individual who might be in critical need of assistance which cannot be met from other available resources, but may not even know of the Foundation’s existence.  All are reminded that they and other qualified former international civil servants, their dependents and survivors who face critical, unusual or emergency personal hardship of a temporary nature or who seek to acquire or upgrade skills for post-retirement activities are eligible to apply for a grant.
• In 2020, the Foundation received the $25,000 bequest and $70 in donations; $8,300 grants were given to individuals, with $3,000 donated to Organizations.
• In 2019, $1,850 were received in donations, with $6,000 given out as grants to individuals and $1,000 donated to Organizations.
• In 2018, $676 were received in donations, a total of $5,000 were given out as grants and $1,500 was donated to UNHCR.

The Board of Directors of the AFICS/NY’s Charities Foundation held their Annual Meeting on 5 December 2018; a summary of the meeting is posted below.  Some highlights:

• The Foundation, through its Assistance Review Committee, had made two grants during the year, totaling $5000: $3,000 was granted for costly needed medication and $2,000 to help in rental and moving operations.
• As the Foundation is also authorized to make grants to humanitarian causes, for 2018 it was unanimously decided to make a grant of $1,500 to UNHCR (through the funding mechanism USA for UNHCR) earmarking it for Yemen.

.The Charities Foundation has learned of the death, on 5 August 2019, of our former colleague Melvin Silverman. This information was communicated in a letter from Mel’s lawyers.

That letter also informed us that Mel had made a bequest of $25,000 to the Foundation.

In responding to the letter I assured the lawyers that we at AFICS/NY learned with great sadness of Mel’s death. I added that it was, indeed, a most telling indication of Mel’s commitment to the ideals of the international civil service that he honoured us all by this bequest.

Mel Silverman was a prominent and active member of the “Mohicans”, the group of staff members who had joined the UN Secretariat while it was located at Lake Success. Mel was an active life member of AFICS/NY for many years after his retirement. A detailed obituary of Mel will appear in the next issue of the Bulletin.

I am using this newly-redesigned website to focus members’ attention on the Charities Foundation of AFICS/NY.

The Foundation was established in New York in 1997, with donations from among AFICS/NY members. It was supplemented some years later by a donation from the G-4 Family Coalition New York.

For those unfamiliar with the Foundation, its primary purpose is to assist AFICS/NY members and other qualified former international civil servants, their dependents and survivors who face critical, unusual or emergency personal hardships of a temporary nature which cannot be met from other available resources. Qualified former international civil servants are those whose period of service with an international organization would have qualified them to receive a periodic pension benefit from the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF); and “dependents and survivors” include current or former spouses or domestic partners, and dependent children. Further details are provided in Terms Of Reference and By-Laws of Charities Foundation.

Since the Foundation’s inception we have been able to help, through one-time grants, dozens of UN retirees faced with hardships such as unforeseen non-reimbursable medical expenses and legal fees. The grants are generally between $1,000 and $4,000. We work closely with the UNJSPF Emergency Fund and would review any cases referred to us by them. Conversely, we have forwarded some cases to them that required larger amounts.

Although there are limited funds at our disposal, we believe that we need to make a greater effort to contact former international civil servants, who may be in critical need but may not even know of the Foundation’s existence. To that effect, we are reaching out to members with a request that they alert us to any individual who might be in need of assistance. In addition, and particularly for those in the greater New York metropolitan area, help and advice can be provided through the mechanism of the Ageing Smart Committee of AFICS/NY.

Individual applications for grants should be addressed to:

The Association of Former International Civil Servants/NY (AFICS/NY)

ATT: The Charities Foundation

United Nations Rm DC1-580

New York NY 10017, USA

Applications may also be submitted by email, to afics@un.org (Att: The Charities Foundation).  Requests for help from the Ageing Smart Committee, can be addressed similarly to the AFICS/NY office.  Tel +1(212) 963-2943, Fax +1(212) 963-5702

All requests for grants are kept strictly confidential. So as to facilitate and speed up our review of any individual case, applications should include, to the extent possible, the amount requested, its purpose, and detailed supporting documentation.

Best regards,

Anthony Fouracre, President

AFICS/NY Charities Foundation

 5 December 2018