Here are answers to some questions we’ve received lately.

Have you supported any pro-democracy groups in Iraq? Yes. We have supported several pro-democracy groups in Iraq:

• Friends of Democracy (and they have in turn supported various pro-democracy individuals and groups in Iraq)
• Civil Pillar (an Iraqi NGO)
• The Iraq Ministry of Women’s Affairs

Details on this and results on our support of Friends of Democracy, and democracy in Iraq in general, are here: FRIENDS OF DEMOCRACY UPDATE

What are your motivations? Jim Hake started Spirit of America in the wake of 9/11. Like the rest of us, he wanted some way to contribute. 9/11 made us see that there was a link between freedom around the world and our own security and well being. 9/11 also made us see that we need to strengthen relations between Americans and people in countries that are not yet free.

The main motivation behind what we do is to see that freedom prevails in the world. We think that advancing the most noble ideals for which America stands (for example: liberty, generosity, the ability to make a positive difference) is important and deserves our best effort. This is the common thread between helping a Marine in Iraq do something for local people, helping a pro-democracy demonstrator in a not-free country like Lebanon and providing an Arabic blogging tool to enable free expression in the Middle East.

We also seek to establish and strengthen relations between Americans and people in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. Providing a way for Americans as individuals to reach out, help people abroad and make a personal impact is a key part of what we do.

Individually and collectively we are motivated by the idea that a small group of people like us can make an important difference in places that have a profound impact on global freedom and peace.

How big is Spirit of America? In terms of people: we have 5 full-time paid staff members – a controller/financial director, an administrative assistant, a head of communications and two project directors. We have a part-time logistics specialist (paid hourly) and 3 part-time consultant/contractors focused primarily on SoA technology. And we have 5 to 15 volunteers, who help out in many different ways, mostly on specific projects. We also have a small Iraqi staff managing the School Partners program inside Iraq

In terms of finances, we publish our finances here: http://www.spiritofamerica.net/site/financials

How do you decide who to help and who you don’t? We do two things:

1. We accept requests from American military and civilian personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2. On a very selective basis we support initiatives that have broad potential impact - examples are Friends of Democracy, the Arabic Blogging tool and the America-Iraq School Partners program.

Because we have limited resources (people and money) we must focus and we must honor our donors’ intent. For our discretionary projects (category #2 above), we focus on projects that are more along the lines of providing tools, i.e., providing fishing poles and fishing lessons instead of fish.

In addition our mission and charter, there would be practical problems in trying to meet every request for help that might come from a country with 25 million people, like Iraq.

Do you have government ties? No. We do not seek or receive any funding from any government entity. We would not accept it if it were offered. Our organization is based on the voluntary support of the American people. Spirit of America is genuine “people power” at work. We are not a political, lobbying or policy organization.

Do you have a political agenda? No. We are a non-political, non-partisan organization. We don't take positions on political or public policy issues.

We receive enthusiastic support from people all over the political spectrum - support from Republicans, Democrats, Independents and Libertarians. Our supporters voted for Bush, Kerry, and Howard Dean. I know this because some of our donors have told me.

To read the views of two who opposed the US policy in Iraq see Dan Gillmor and Mitch Ratcliffe.

Our work is nonpartisan. Anyone who wants to help the people of Iraq and Afghanistan or those who call to the American people to achieve freedom, democracy and peace should feel comfortable supporting our projects. Our goal is to provide a rare common ground for those who believe in our mission and share our objectives. Dan Henninger of the Wall Street Journal talked about this on PBS in April 2004. It is far more important than partisan politics.

What has happened to the television station project in Al Anbar province? In April 2004 we were asked by the U.S. 1st Marine Division if we could provide equipment needed by local Iraqi TV stations in Al Anbar province, Iraq. The project is described here. The Marines asked if we could help the stations and provide them with equipment that would allow the stations to produce local news stories. Everything we have done on this project is, and will continue to be, based on requests from the Marines. In 21 days we raised the needed funds, purchased the equipment and shipped it to Iraq. During the late spring and summer of 2004 the Marines delivered the equipment to the stations. Read here for an update we published in July ’04.

We raised more money for this project than we needed. So, in a very unusual step for a nonprofit, in June/July ’04 we offered to refund money to our donors. You can read about that here. 99.6% of the donors decided to reallocate their donations to other uses/projects. Some donors said that in years and years of giving it was the first time they had been offered a refund from a charity. You can read some of their comments here.

The equipment was used by some of the stations in the summer and fall of 04. One example of achieving the original project goal was that two of the stations used the gear to produce news stories of progress in the region and covered the opening of women’s sewing centers where Spirit of America had donated sewing machines. You can read about that and watch the video here.

Unfortunately, Al Anbar province has been the seen of some of the worst fighting and terrorism in Iraq. It is home to Fallujah and Ramadi. And television station employees are often the target of intimidation and worse. It is the most challenging environment in Iraq. As a result, the project has not fulfilled the goals/hopes of the Marines or Spirit of America but we both believe it was useful and positive.

In October 2004, at the request of the Marines, Spirit of America personnel met with personnel from some of the stations to assess their training needs. We have not yet provided any additional assistance or equipment to the stations and we are waiting on direction from the Marines. They are on the ground, are able to assess the personnel and the situation and determine whether further investment is warranted. Because of the instability in Al Anbar the Marines’ review has not been at the top of their list – very understandably in our view. We are now working with the third rotation of Marines since this project began and they are especially focused on seeing if we should provide assistance to the TV station in Fallujah.

Who runs the TV station in Ramadi? We provided equipment to the TV station in Ramadi at the request of the Marines. That produced some local programming using our gear. We have one story they did on the opening of a sewing center (a center where we donated sewing machines). You can watch it here: http://www.spiritofamerica.net/site/blog/388. We are told they also broadcast ads encouraging Iraqis to vote in the January 30th election.

At the request of the Marines, we met with one representative from the Ramadi station in October 2004 to assess training needs. We have not yet provided any training or further assistance. We have not had contact with the Ramadi station employee since that time and we don’t know who is currently running the station.

Many Iraqis were members of the Baath party under Saddam, sometimes as a matter of survival. Others, "hard core Baathists" are those actively working/fighting against Iraq’s elected government and seeking a return to the power they had under Saddam. We don’t know the backgrounds of the Ramadi station employees. A new deployment of Marines is currently (May 2005) assessing the TV stations in Al Anbar (including this Ramadi station) and is evaluating the viability of providing assistance to them. If the Marines ask us to help (e.g., provide equipment or training) the Ramadi station, we will.

What is Spirit of America’s relationship with Ahmad Al Rikaby of Radio Dijla? Ahmad Al Rikaby, the head of Radio Dijla (Iraq’s first talk radio station), was the host/moderator of the Iraq Election coverage newscast organized by Spirit of America. You can watch it here and read more about it here.

Spirit of America has not provided funding to Mr. Al Rikaby or Radio Dijla. Using funds provided by Spirit of America, Friends of Democracy bought some advertisements on Radio Dijla and several other Iraqi radio stations. Spirit of America has no ongoing relationship with Mr. Al Rikaby although Jim Hake communicates with him periodically.

What is Spirit of America’s relationship with Gassan Al Attyia? Ghassan Attiyah, the head of the Foundation for Development and Democracy was one of 5 panelist/participants in the Iraq Election coverage newscast organized by Spirit of America. You can watch it here and read more about it here.

Spirit of America has not provided funding to Dr. Attiyah or the Foundation for Development and Democracy. Spirit of America has had no ongoing relationship or further contact with Dr. Attiyah.