Projects

ASF 50TH ANNIVERSARY PROJECTS

DIASPORA GIFT -- A national and international initiative undertaken by the foundation to present a tapestry to the Scottish to be Parliament on behalf of organizations representing the Scottish Diaspora. The tapestry, to be designed by a well respected Scottish artist of international stature and hung in an accessible space in the new Scottish Parliament Building, will be woven by the internally acclaimed Dovescot Studios in Edinburgh. The principal of such a gift has been accepted by the Scottish Parliament. A particularly positive outcome of the gift will be the accompanying illustrative, interpretive, educational material associated with the project. The material will be developed for a number of audiences, helping to further articulate the message of Scotland's contribution, the historic as well as the contemporary, to the world and to reinforce a sense of pride in succeeding generations of Scots.

ANNIVERSARY APPEAL -- The Foundation launched its 50th Anniversary fundraising campaign with the publication of its "Case for Philanthropic Giving". An extract follows:

"Today for the first time in centuries, a great nation controls its own destiny, with a new awareness of its potential and a growing appreciation of tremendous challenges ahead. For every Scot in Scotland, there are two in America. Pride in the past brings community in the present but what of the future? Young America benefited from an infusion of Scotland; now, awakening Scotland seeks an infusion of America. The American-Scottish Foundation® is the portal through which Scotland can access its future, and a bridge that can deliver new energy to the experience of American Scots.

Founded in 1956, the ASF is the pre-eminent and longest serving U.S.-based non-profit membership organization dedicated to bringing together institutions and individuals of Scotland and the USA through cultural, educational and economic interest, for their mutual benefit. It is unique; other organizations have their worthy but specific agendas. Only the ASF embraces them all with the breadth of its vision: the Great Scottish Nation.

To realize that vision, charitable support is the key. Individuals donors will participate in the joy of shaping a reemerging nation. Corporate and organizational donors will welcome the chance to align their products and causes with Scotland's new energy; castles saved from crumbling, art made accessible, history preserved for future generations, a unique culture embraced and enlivened, business networks, extended, communities made more vibrant. A vision made manifest.

The American-Scottish Foundation® is here, with your help, to span two oceans, bridge the centuries, unite two great peoples."

The appeal is to enable the Foundation to transition from being a volunteer managed and operated organization to one that is professionally managed and run. The demand for its services over the past decade have sadly meant that the organization can no longer effectively function as an all volunteer body.

To accommodate the new realties the Foundation has adopted new by laws that create a new governance structure. The position of President is being retired. New positions of Chairman and Executive Director have been adopted.

Furthermore, to improve the effectiveness of its governance a statement of policies based on the best current practices in the not-for-profit community has been adopted.

For fiscal year 2006, the Foundation's Board commissioned an audit of the Foundation Financial Statements, as the Board correctly anticipated not only that financial contributions resulting from its 50th Anniversary activities would exceed the threshold for which an audit would be required but also recognized that such an audit would be prudent given its plan to alter the structure of the organization; introduce a new management structure and expand the Board of Directors.

ONGOING PROJECTS & EVENTS

• Burns Night
• Fundraising Campaign
• Homecoming Scotland 2009
• John Muir Golf Tournament
• New York Public Library's Centennial Celebrations of Andrew Carnegie's $5,200,000 gift in 1901 to establish 67 branch libraries in the New York City system Adopt-a-Carnegie Branch Library Project
• Scottish Ball
• Scottish Diaspora Gift
• Scottish North American Leadership Conference
• The Scottish Coalition support
• Words & Whisky with.

OTHER PROJECTS

American-Scottish Foundation® Support for Harris Tweed

In 1993, The American-Scottish Foundation® (ASF) held a fundraiser for its sister charity, The Highland Fund of North America, Inc., a Scottish charity. ASF had been incorporated initially as The Highland Fund. The proceeds of ASF's event were used by The Highland Fund to purchase the prototype wide-width loom for the Harris Tweed industry's weavers. The industry had been losing orders since the traditional hand-woven cloth was not sufficiently wide to accommodate the requirements of automated cutting machines that had been introduced into the garment manufacturing process. The wide-width loom has successfully addressed this issue.

In 1995, ASF's President, Alan Bain together with his wife, traveled to the island of Lewis and Harris to determine how the introduction of the new loom was proceeding. In 1996, ASF published a report of findings of that visit in which it offered to assist the Harris Tweed industry promote itself in the U.S. No response was forthcoming.

In light of the industry's continuing decline and apparent unwillingness to aggressively address the causes of its decline, with the Board's consent as an ASF investment was inappropriate, in 2005, Alan Bain and his family, invested in a small Harris Tweed mill located in Carloway, Isle of Lewis, in order to have influence on the industry's future.

In light of ASF's early role in developing the Bain family's relationship with the Harris Tweed industry, ASF's Board and Mr. Bain agreed that ASF would be given, where appropriate, the opportunity to be a joint sponsor, at no cost to itself, of any event, program, or project run by Harris Tweed Textiles (USA), Inc., a company formed by Mr. Bain to be the U.S. marketing company for the Scottish mill. The first such jointly sponsored project is a student competition involving innovative design concept for adult ladies' fashions that is being conducted in cooperation with the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. The competition's award ceremony will be held during 2008 Tartan Week.

Consulting Advisory Service

In addition to the foregoing highlighted activities that took place over the 15-year period 1993-2007, the Foundation has provided a variety of pro bono consulting and advisory services for a broad spectrum of arts, charitable, commercial, cultural, governmental, heritage, private and social groups, primarily in Scotland. Some of the better known are identified below. In addition, the Foundation responds regularly to an equally wide variety of requests for information from individuals on both sides of the Atlantic. Examples of these are indicated in the Foundation Annual Reports.

Foundation Advisory Service Clients

• Aberdeen University
• Art-from-Scotland
• British Council
• British Consulate (New York City)
• Caledonia Magazine
• Clan Sinclair
• Dundee University
• Event of Distribution
• Fettes College
• Get Shirty
• Geoffrey Tailor 21st Century Kilt
• Glasgow High School
• Harris Tweed Authority
• Highland Fund
• Importers/Distributors of Scottish Products
• Innerpeffray Library
• John Muir Trust
• Lowland Band of the Scottish Division
• National Galleries (Playfair Project)
• National Libraries of Scotland
• National Museums of Scotland
• National Trust for Scotland
• Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
• Scotland The Brand
• Scots Fest '97, '98 and '99
• Scottish Community Trust
• Scottish Enterprise
• Scottish Executive
• Scottish Power
• Ship for Scotland
• Smithsonian Museum
• Tennents Lager
• The Scottish Council
• Twenty First Century Kilt
• University of the Highlands & Islands
• VisitScotland
• Wallace Trust
• Waterways Trust (Scotland)