If ever there was an Iranian-American version of legendary philanthropist Brooke Astor, it is surely Noosheen Hashemi. Ms.Hashemi has successfully trepanned the Silicon Valley technology jungle to the philanthropic world, a transition that is no easy feat. She started her career at a semiconductor company and eventually became Vice-President of the multibillion dollar technology company Oracle. She then changed her focus to marketing and business development and became the Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for Quote.com, which was later sold to Lycos. As fulfilling as her career had been, Hashemi wanted more. In 1997, she left Quote.com to start a family, and later, her philanthropic career was born.
Ms. Hashemi serves on the boards of the New America Foundation, MIT's Iranian Studies Program, and the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs and Executives and is the chairperson of the Meadowood Social Venture Fund and the PARSA Community Foundation. It is because of her hard work and dedication to the causes near to her heart that make Noosheen Hashemi a prime example of how the entrepreneurial spirit can translate seamlessly and effectively into the often toilsome world of philanthopy. You have been a philanthropist for a long time. When did you start and what motivated you to devote so much of your life to helping others?
I started philanthropy in earnest in 1999, when I was receiving tens of individual grant requests each week. There were 2-3 years of passive check writing, before I began to understand where philanthropy fits in the U.S. social fabric: a) hands-on community building has been vital to civil society development and maintaining a vibrant democracy, b) philanthropy is pervasive with nine out of ten households giving and over three quarters of the $260 billion donated annually coming from individuals versus foundations and corporations, and c) the American Dream is not fully realized until one commits, through significant donation of time and money, to perpetuate it for others.
So I began to read everything I could get my hands on, attend conferences, volunteer my time, join a giving circle and narrow my focus. I zeroed in on impact which made it easier to say no. I also became interested in what philanthropy looked like through a Persian vernacular and the role it could play in helping our community reach some of its goals: keeping our youth connected to our heritage, taking care of our elders, getting recognition and respect from our neighbors an coworkers and so on.
I had left my work in 1997 to dedicate time to raising a family, thinking that I would return as soon as my little one was three. A series of events in 2003 led me to the nonprofit path and the more engaged I got everyday, the less I looked back. Several things motivated me; the business of social change is dramatically more challenging than the business of making money and I’ve always been attracted to the nearly impossible, I was getting enormous enjoyment out of active citizenship and following the path of other immigrants who came before, and I felt a great sense of duty to my Persian ancestors and what I must do for my part.
You serve on the board of the H.A.N.D. Foundation, New America Foundation, and PARSA Community Foundation. Can you tell me a little about each organization, its goals, and what you do for it?
H.A.N.D. is our family’s private foundation and it focuses on prevention of child abuse through education, and development of a global middle class through economics research. Two of our favorite grantees are: Darkness to Light and Chicago School.
The New America Foundation is a centrist think tank bringing the best ideas from right and left to the forefront of our national policy debate. It’s not old and ideological, it’s innovative and entrepreneurial. It’s as Silicon Valley as a think tank can get! Two of my favorite programs are Global Middle Class and Fiscal Policy and my role there is limited to serving on the board.
PARSA Community Foundation is a public charity modeled after Jewish Community Foundation and Asian Pacific Fund. They are ethnically defined, rather than geographically defined, community foundations focused on raising funds mostly from their respective communities to re-grant to a broad spectrum of causes. They offer donor advised funds as well as education and networking opportunities for donors and grant seekers. The goal of PARSA Community Foundation is to encourage the Persian community to give more, to give more strategically and to integrate into American civic life. PARSA CF holds semi-annual national grant competitions with oversight by an independent grant advisory committee. Grant applications, which are sent in for arts and culture, leadership development and civic integration programs, are evaluated for their potential return on investment, scalability and ultimate impact. PARSA CF has awarded $594,850 to 49 grantees since its inception two years ago. My role at PARSA CF has had to be quite hands-on given the magnitude of our undertaking and our short tenure so far but I see the new generation taking on the baton and running with it.
How do you balance your family life with all of your philanthropic and professional responsibilities?
I am sorry to say that I don’t. The past two and a half years seem like a blur when I put everything on hold to get PARSA CF off the ground. Anyone that has worked in a start-up knows that’s what it takes. Fortunately, I have an understanding husband and a very loving family that has always made serving others a priority.
What has been your biggest achievement in your philanthropic endeavors?
Investing in a new generation of Iranian economists has been the most gratifying. In the past two years, the H.A.N.D. Foundation and I have supported four students for post-doc and PhD programs at Oxford, University of Chicago and University of Texas at Austin. One of the scholarships is the product of a collaboration with Unique Zan Foundation which is dedicated to placing women in positions of leadership and influence.
What is the ultimate goal for your good works and do you feel you have achieved it yet?
I believe that majority of the problems in the world are about economics, not about ideology. Everyone on the planet needs a job and a place to live and a large middle class and a vibrant global economy are paramount to world stability – more so now than ever. My solution is to help inject economic analysis into philanthropy which is taking a progressively important role in development around the world. I want to see U.S. policies become more development and diplomacy focused, and envision a Marshall Plan of 21st Century – without a doubt this will be a more efficient use of our tax dollars. One of the ways I hope to contribute is through my thirty-year goal of having 100 world class economists who study Iran.
How can our readers get involved with your organizations?
The easiest way to help is to volunteer for PARSA Community Foundation. We have a diverse set of initiatives in which the folks can participate; three easy ones are growing the global database of Persian nonprofits, organizing donor workshops, and producing content for the new www.parsacf.org website including small and big heroic stories of volunteering, philanthropy and public service in the global Persian community. We are grateful for any and all support.
