2024-05-13T08:15:35-05:00 2023-12-31 132550103 D'Arcangelo & Co LLP 200 East Garden St Rome NY 13440 990 2023-01-01 161523586 Brackett Foundation BRAC 3158243435 PO Box 8 Hamilton NY 13346 Paulo Flor Treasurer 3158243435 2024-05-13 1 Paulo Flor 999009999 1 Leonard P Carissimo CPA P00164281 3153369220 2024-04-25 3 AAL1 IAL1 2023 2023-04-26 12:10:37Z Brackett Refugee Education Fund Paulo Flor 2629 Johnnycake Hill Rd Hamilton NY 13346 524673 0 X brackettfund.org X 1997 NY Helping refugees from Myanmar access education in Bangladesh,Uganda, Thailand and NE India. 8 6 0 0 0 0 480344 453998 0 0 12267 486 0 0 492611 454484 505207 490311 0 0 0 0 0 0 4327 12841 11644 518048 501955 -25437 -47471 1000543 1259141 875 0 999668 1259141 X Believing that the best hope for peace and happiness for mankind lies in education, we are dedicated to assisting refugees or displaced persons of any race,nationality, or creed to acquire an education. The focus is on refugees from Burma in Thailand, India,and Bangladesh. 0 0 64319 64080 Programs in Thailand - scholarships: BREF distributed a total of 104 scholarships in 2023 to students from Myanmar studying in Thailand. 38 scholarships were at the university level, 47 scholarships were awarded for high school students in the Mae Sot region and 19 scholarships were awarded for study at the Phayao Technical College. 14 university students graduated in 2023. BREF is in the process of reassessing our scholarship program to ensure that our scholarship recipients meet our target of helping refugee students gain the skills and expertise necessary to give back to the refugee community. 59996 59996 Programs in Thailand - Projects: BREF supports students in refugee camps overcome obstacles to further their education in a variety of ways. We increased our grant to BEAM Education Foundation directing funds to the cost of GED exams. Successfully passing the American GED exam allows students who did not go to high school in Thailand qualify for university admission. At the Mae La Refugee camp we support a program linking English language students virtually with volunteer ESL teachers from all over the world for practice in conversational English as well as supporting computer programs. We continued our support of the Ban Nai Soy Community Learning Center in Mae Hong Son which helps students in a wide variety of ways including Thai language instruction and completion of high school requirements. We continued to support the migrant school at the Mae Tao Clinic. In addition, BREF continues to support a program in Bangkok that provides English and Thai instruction and basic computer skills to migrant Burmese workers.In cross border aid into Myanmar, political unrest continues to challenge education for internally displaced students. Local communities have worked hard to keep their schools open and continue to work to overcome interruptions in their children's educations. We supported 9 elementary and middle schools serving over 700 children in IDP areas where there is no support for education from the government. In the months since the coup, some of these schools temporarily closed or relocated due to government shelling. One of these is a unique animist school where Karen traditions are taught by elders from the community. We continue to support Children On The Edge (COTE) who provides early childhood education in 15 camps in Kachin State, Myanmar for over 500 children. BREF supports a small scale agricultural project for internally displaced students at the Child Development Training Center on the Thai/Myanmar border. Funding was provided for planting gardens that will provide more food security for the Center as well as sustainable agricultural practice training for students. 329448 328145 Programs in Bangladesh: BREF supports educational assistance to over 7000 Rohingya children provided by Children On The Edge (COTE) in Kutupalaong refugee camp, the slums of Cox's Bazar and Dohazari Enclaves in Bangladesh as well as Basan Char Island. COTE has addressed a fundamental challenge for Rohinga students faced with educational material in a language they don't know. COTE has had significant success with video lessons in the Rohinga language. An exciting initiative underway includes the development of a written script that will enable Rohinga students much wider opportunities. BREF is proud to support COTE's groundbreaking work in Bangladesh. 38240 38090 Programs in India: : BREF distributed a total of 651 scholarships to support education for Chin refugees from Myanmar for the 2023/24 academic year. Most of the students live in the Indian state of Mizoram. Students' eligibility was based on the ability to show significant financial need, as well as academic ability and drive. Special focus was given during selection to students who have recently been displaced by the conflict in Myanmar. 378 scholarships were given to children from grades K to 7 whose parents-many of whom have recently migrated from Myanmar and live in border areas or in Aizawl-appreciate relief from the costs of textbooks, uniforms and exam fees. Funding for Elementary programs in three villages was increased this year in response to rising need, accommodating an additional 45 students over last year. 152 scholarships were directed towards high school students (Grades 8 to 10), and 55 of these students are completing Grade 10 in 2024, becoming high school graduates. There were 80 university preparatory-level (Grades 11 and 12) scholarships distributed. 40 of these students are graduating from Grade 12 in 2024 and will be able to apply to university programs anywhere in India. BREF financially supported 41 students in their university studies. Students who were awarded these post-secondary scholarships would have been unable to--or would have found it highly difficult to--obtain the funds necessary to study at a university level. 21 of these university students are graduating in the 2023/24 academic year.Ukrainian Family Project: this project was initiated during 2022 as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Many individuals were displaced and fled the country. Organization worked with local team that was leading an effort to sponsor a displaced family. Funds collected were aimed at supporting the refugee family's expenses including support to education. 38240 38090 492003 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 IN TH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 8 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 NY X Paulo Flor 3158243435 2629 Johnnycake Hill Hamilton NY 13346 X Russell Brackett Executive Director/Chair 5.00 X X 0 0 0 Brian Brackett Trustee 6.00 X 0 0 0 John Littleton Trustee 4.00 X 0 0 0 Melinda Jackson Trustee 15.00 X 0 0 0 Jenny Jones Trustee 6.00 X 0 0 0 Paulo Flor Treasurer 8.00 X X 0 0 0 Penelope Brackett Secretary 4.00 X X 0 0 0 Kathy Sabino Trustee 6.00 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 453998 453998 11305 11305 59370 70189 -10819 -10819 -10819 454484 486 0 0 2900 2900 487411 487411 125 125 5500 5500 2880 950 1930 3139 742 2397 501955 492003 5625 4327 52757 69825 47694 43641 900092 1145675 1000543 1259141 875 875 0 X 999668 1259141 999668 1259141 1000543 1259141 X -47471 306997 -53 X X 1 X 0 1 0 X 401840 377411 492534 480344 453998 2206127 401840 377411 492534 480344 453998 2206127 2206127 24852 199281 9203 10020 11283 254639 2460766 0.89650 0.87760 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 766765 288151 1054916 1039855 5000 -278090 766765 871034 5000 214821 51000 1039855 719237 8455 193689 50347 871034 595903 164984 41650 719237 0 0 0 Part V, Line 4: The Organization maintains an endowment investment portfolio consisting of board designated funds. The endowment fund serves to provide a base from which to earn additional income for future operations, and to provide a buffer for years with adverse exchange rates in the countries of operations, or when investment income or donations are lower than unusal, or when grant funding is flat, to adjust more smoothly to new conditions, all important when granting University scholarships that span multiple years. 1 East Asia and the Pacific Educational grants and school aid 140076 South Asia Educational grants and school aid 272335 Sub-Saharan Africa - Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, educational grants and school aid 75000 0 0 0 0 0 0 487411 0 487411 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 18240 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 11712 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 12952 EFT 0 South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, school aid 237145 EFT 0 South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, school award 10406 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 5172 EFT 0 Sub Saharan Africa school aid 75000 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 16000 EFT 0 Tuition and school expenses South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, 273 24784 EFT Tuition and school expenses East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, 104 65741 EFT 0 0 0 0 0 0 Part I, Line 2: In the first few months of the 2023 year, Josh , a volunteer and Jenny Jones, Board of Trustees member updated the online application program and included a requirement for the submission of a video responding to a set of questions. In past years, they've found it difficult to rely solely on online interviews to get a sense of the students. The video requirement was designed to help provide a better sense of the students, who could prepare them in their own environment, in their own time and at their own pace. The videos of the finalists were shared with the Board to involve them more in the process and to help them understand the difficulties of selecting candidates when a representative cannot be in Thailand to interview. Josh, Jenny and John Littleton, Board of Trustee member drafted a job description for the in-country representative position and shared it with the Board for comment. Once finalized in November, we posted the notice on BREF's Facebook page and shared the posting with various contacts and organizations in Thailand. In December 2023, Josh and John interviewed the finalist and recommended Brackett hire Iris (Phyu ThaZin Oo). Iris is a former BREF recipient and had experience working with other scholarship programs based in Thailand. John introduced Josh to David Williams, who formerly headed a scholarship program based in Chiang Mai. The three of them discussed how Brackett could develop a program that better targets the ideal students, as well as reaching out to recruit vocational students. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 2 One of the trustees is the nephew of another trustee. In addition, a sister in law and brother in law serve on the Board. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, line 8b Board meetings are documented; there are no committees besides the governing board that make decisions for this Organization. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11b The Board Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer assist in the preparation of the Form 990 and when required, they receive additional input from other board members or volunteers. The Form 990 is reviewed in detail with the preparer and the Treasurer signs the return when the return is complete. The return is provided to members of the board for review before submission. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c In 2014 the Board adopted a conflict of interest policy whereby the trustees disclose if they have any conflicts related to their work or the commitments made by the Organization. The signed off forms are collected and reviewed by the Board annually at the time of the financial review. No changes were noted in 2023. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 Governing documents are available as follows: the Foundation has the latest annual report with financial results posted on its website. This is also mailed to all current and past donors in a newsletter in June of each year. The Form 990 filing may be obtained by contacting the Organization. The financial review report is provided with all grant applications. It is available on request from the Foundation's office. Officer, director, etc mailing address All of the Trustee's mailing addresses are available by contacting the Foundation's office and may be reached through the Foundation's mailing address. Form 990, Part XI, line 9: Currency exchange gain -53. Review Oversight The foundation's board of trustees review the draft financial statements prior to issuance.