Dear ATAA Members and Friends:

On behalf of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), we are writing to express our sincere gratitude to all our members and friends for responding to the ATAA 2017 Building and Endowments Fund Drive. Thanks to their generosity, we were able to raise sufficient funds to replenish our Endowment Fund and cover the cost of repairing and furnishing ATAA’s new Turkish House in Alexandria, VA.

Next year we are preparing to celebrate 40th anniversary of our organization. In 1979, ATAA was established in a political climate where well-financed Armenian or Greek lobbyists were running adverse propaganda and defamation campaigns against Turkey and Turkish Americans. For the past 40 years, we have succeeded in stopping all legislation harmful to Turkey and Turkish American community at the state and federal levels. ATAA has fought this battle with help from members like you.

Today, Turkish American community faces different challenges in the US. There are groups with various political and cultural views and agendas operating as Turkish-American organizations in the US. They continuously promote their own views of Turkey with financial backings from dubious sources. They do not represent the core and real Turkish-American community who shares Atatürk’s ideals of secular democracy, human rights, and a free press. In this climate, we the ATAA Board believe that it is our mission to strengthen and promote better coordination between our members, promote these core values and define the identity of our community around these values.

We would like to fulfill our mission with your help. Please donate to ATAA between now and December 31st. ATAA’s sole financial resource is donations and membership. ATAA does not receive financial support from any government or NGO.

Your support enables us to continue building a stronger, more influential Turkish-American community that can advocate its interests and be a major contributor to a strong and confident U.S. – Turkey partnership.

Again, we thank you for your generous support and commitment, and wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous holiday season.

With much gratitude,

Gokhan Ozalp, ATAA President of Board of Directors
Dr. Bulent Basol, ATAA Chairman of Board of Trustees
Dr. Ulku Ulgur, ATAA Founder and First President