Dear Members of Iranian-American Community,

The purpose of this announcement is to clarify the mission of IAB and its social, educational, and cultural activities. We also would like to draw your attention to the existing rules and regulations of IAB to alleviate any misinterpretation.

Status of IAB
IAB is a nonprofit organization registered in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with a tax exempt status 501C (3) granted by Internal Revenue Service. IAB is a non-political, non-religious, non-ideological organization with By-laws that strictly prohibit involvement in promotion of political ideology for or against any government and its associated political figures. IAB was established in 1989 to promote and advance Persian culture and heritage through events and programs in line with its charter, and to facilitate communication and cooperation among the Iranian-American community members.

News Media
IAB informs the community of its own events as well as events of other organizations within the community through two types of media.

A. IAB News
We announce IAB programs through IAB News via our email distribution list (iabnews). These programs are sponsored by IAB and are organized under the umbrella of IAB rules and regulations. Therefore, IAB is responsible for the events and their contents. These programs are also announced by local radio and our newsletter (Nashriyeh).

B. City News
The events of other organizations not sponsored by IAB are also announced for the purpose of informing the community through City News via our email distribution list (citynews) with a disclaimer. IAB does not take any responsibilities for the contents of these programs and topics presented at any of these events are not endorsed or sponsored by IAB, its members or its board of directors. IAB must receive the request for announcement well in advance, at least one week before the distribution date of City news on the 1st or 15th of the month. IAB Council and the President carefully examine every request on a case by case basis and decide about its announcement. It is important to point out that the disclaimer attached to these announcements alone does not solve all of the underlying issues that we are facing. IAB will not distribute announcements related to political or religious events. Despite our non-political position, we occasionally receive citynews email requests that are not in line with IAB rules and, when not announced, are followed by false indictment against the organization. Defamatory comments are subject to serious consequences and we do not appreciate receiving them. We encourage our community to review the rules and regulations dictated in our website www.iaboston.org before making any request.

Perspective
Since its inception, IAB strove to promote Persian culture and to enhance its activities. Creation of a Khaneh Iran as a Cultural Center exemplified a sense of belonging and unity among different age groups of our community. The diversity of our programs and events indicates advancement and expansion of this organization. It is our fiduciary duty to support this trend for our future generation. Among our goals is the unification of our community to fend off negativity and unjustified criticism. We encourage the community to advocate support, and to be more proactive by participation and involvement to preserve this unity and advancement of this organization. A healthy dialogue among ideologies and beliefs is an effective answer that can unite our small community and will help stimulate democracy in our society. What really makes it difficult for this unification to be realized is the same obstacles inherently present in diverse organizations and individuals with hidden agendas. Hopefully, as minorities, we could put aside our differences and look for the better goals to improve the future of this and other organizations, as well as to set a good example for the generations to come. We hope that our community respect our position, follows our rules and regulations in order to minimize the misunderstanding among our community members. The President and Board Members of IAB remain fully committed to accomplish the mission of IAB and to preserve its 501C (3) status. We appreciate all the support and good will we have received from the Iranian-American community in the Boston area.

Respectfully,

IAB Council and the President