2025-03-23T18:57:56-05:00 2024-12-31 132550103 D'Arcangelo & Co LLP 200 East Garden St Rome NY 13440 990 2024-01-01 161523586 Brackett Foundation BRAC 3158243435 PO Box 8 Hamilton NY 13346 Paulo Flor Treasurer 3158243435 2025-03-22 1 0 Leonard P Carissimo CPA P00164281 3153369220 2025-03-22 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Brackett Refugee Education Fund Paulo Flor 2629 Johnnycake Hill Rd Hamilton NY 13346 677654 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 453998 666586 0 0 486 11068 0 0 454484 677654 490311 587106 0 0 0 0 0 0 6062 11644 23195 501955 610301 -47471 67353 1259141 1613529 0 0 1259141 1613529 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 50413 48960 Programs in Thailand - Scholarships: BREF distributed a total of 95 scholarships in 2024 to students from Myanmar studying in Thailand. 41 scholarships were at the university level, 44 scholarships were awarded for high school students in the Mae Sot region and 10 scholarships were awarded for study at the Phayao Technical College. 16 university students graduated in 2024. In 2024, BREF conducted more outreach with the assistance of an in-country coordinator for the scholarship program in Thailand. BREF has also identified vocational schools with our target population and will be conducting a pilot program in 2025. In addition, BREF has revitalized the BREF Facebook page with updates on our activities and student accomplishments with the intent of increasing awareness of our program. 70364 70364 Programs in Thailand Projects: As the influx of refugees has increased in response to renewed war in Myanmar, BREF has adapted and expanded our support for effective projects that support refugee students. Successfully passing the American GED exam allows students who did not go to high school in Thailand qualify for university admission. In 2024 BREF expanded our support of funding the costs of GED exams for a total of 20 students in two locations; the BEAM Education Foundation in Chiang Mai as well as the Child Development Center at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot. In 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. Evidence of the benefits of BREF long term involvement with refugees in Thailand was seen in the revival of support for Mae Khee High School on the border of Karen state in Myanmar and Thailand. BREF supported the school from 2003-2018 but as life became more stable in Karen state, the school closed in 2018. An increase in the refugee population after the 2019 military coup in Myanmar prompted the reopening of the school and renewed support from BREF in 2024. Currently the high school has 87 students.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. 434793 426000 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, the Dohazari Enclaves, and Basan Char Island. COTE has had significant recent success developing a written script for Rohingya students in their native tongue. Educators are quickly creating lessons, learning materials, conducting pilot programs, with the aim to scale up and fully deploy by the end of 2025. This generation will be the first Rohingya who will write in their native language. 42644 41782 Programs in IndiaBREF distributed a total of 717 scholarships to support education for Chin refugees from Myanmar for the 2024/25 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. 441 scholarships were given to children from grades K to 7 whose parentsmany of whom have recently migrated from Myanmar and live in border areas or in Aizawlappreciate relief from the costs of textbooks, uniforms and exam fees. 160 scholarships were directed towards high school students (Grades 8 to 10), and 47 of these students are completing Grade 10 in 2025, becoming high school graduates. There were 81 university preparatory-level (Grades 11 and 12) scholarships distributed. 38 of these students are graduating from Grade 12 in 2025 and will be able to apply to university programs anywhere in India. BREF financially supported 35 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. 20 of these university students are graduating in the 2024/25 academic year. 42644 41782 598214 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 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 666586 666586 11068 11068 677654 11068 0 0 587106 587106 10300 10300 275 275 5750 5750 2805 664 2141 4065 144 3921 610301 598214 6025 6062 69825 44431 43641 131010 1145675 1438088 1259141 1613529 0 0 X 1259141 1613529 1259141 1613529 1259141 1613529 X 67353 287352 -317 X X 1 X 0 1 0 X 377411 492534 480344 453998 666586 2470873 377411 492534 480344 453998 666586 2470873 2470873 199281 9203 10020 11283 11040 240827 2711700 0.91120 0.89650 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 1054916 35567 276535 40000 1327018 766765 288151 1054916 1039855 5000 -278090 766765 871034 5000 214821 51000 1039855 719237 8455 193689 50347 871034 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. Part XI, Line 2d - Other Adjustments: Currency exchange (loss) 1 East Asia and the Pacific Educational grants and school aid 135324 South Asia Educational grants and school aid 376782 Sub-Saharan Africa - Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, educational grants and school aid 75000 0 0 0 0 0 0 587106 0 587106 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 20126 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 10889 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 12290 EFT 0 South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, school aid 335000 EFT 0 South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, school award 16324 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 6502 EFT 0 Sub Saharan Africa school aid 75000 EFT 0 East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 16000 EFT 0 east Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, school aid 5637 EFT 0 Tuition and school expenses South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, 276 25458 EFT Tuition and school expenses East Asia and the Pacific - Australia, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, 95 46691 EFT 0 0 0 0 0 0 Part I, Line 2: In 2024 BREF's in-country representative introduced our programs to various schools and organizations that work with our target population. As a result, we received many suitable applications for the scholarship program and were able to increase the number of recipients to normal levels after the decrease resulting from Covid-19. In addition, BREF volunteers worked with the Board to expand on the long-standing effort with the agricultural and technical college in Phayao to include vocational schools. A pilot program focusing on one regional vocational school will be implemented in 2025 and expanded to other schools that enroll a significant number of refugee students. We anticipate that this effort will continue along with the high school and university programs. Volunteers from the BREF visited Thailand in April 2024 and December 2024 in support of this work, and in order to conduct site visits to community and refugee camp schools and other learning centers. Additionally, the BREF continues to support GED and other community efforts to increase educational attainment for migrants from Myanmar. Form 990, Part VI 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 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 2024. 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. Form 990, Part XI, line 9: Currency exchange gain(loss) -317. Review Oversight The Foundation's board of trustees review the draft financial statements prior to issuance.