Global Albanians Foundation

Description

The idea for the Global Albanians Foundation (GAF) was born in Tirana Airport in the summer of 2015 when our Founder Mark Kosmo realized it was extremely difficult to donate money to help in Albania. For three years after that, the GAF was a joint activity of Germin, the Massachusetts Albanian American Society (MAASBESA), and the Albanian American Women’s Organization – Motrat Qiriazi (AAWO). After a Diaspora Flet Conference held by Germiin in the spring of 2018 in Prishtina, it was clear that something more formal and sophisticated was needed. The GAF was then legally established in June of 2018 as a separate organization in the USA, and it received its 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in February of 2019. We launched our web-site about 12 hours before the Albanian Earthquake in November 2019, and were able to collect over $200,000 in donations in the month following the earthquake since people trusted our integrity, management, and implementation skills. On average, we have raised about $200,000 per year to help Albanian not-for-profit organizations in Albania, Kosova, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, and Presheva. We have helped with earthquake and covid relief, youth, education, and health care.