Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP)

Target demographics: We are a coalition that advocates for 80 peace building NGOs that promote people-to-people initiatives between Arabs and Jews, Palestinians and Israelis

Programs: Policy analysis, education, and advocacy - allmep is the only analyst and advocate for sound people-to-people (p2p) federal policy, using education and advocacy to secure, enhance, and defend a dedicated usaid grant program and to promote significantly enhanced resources for p2p efforts. The coexistence and reconciliation activities of the ngos supported by this program lay the groundwork for peace between israelis and palestinians, arabs and jews. They both solve problems of everyday life and build the grassroots foundation for any sustainable peace. Selected achievements:congressional appropriations: since 2004, based on allmep's strong analysis, education, and advocacy efforts, congress has provided funding for global reconciliation programs. Since fy 2008, congress has provided separate funding, through a competitive grants program run by the office of conflict management and mitigation of the u. S. Agency for international development (usaid), focused on the israeli-palestinian conflict, thus ensuring support for middle east projects vital to stabilizing the region and to the national security interests of the united states. Allmep has been integral to continued and enhanced funding of this critical grants program, with more than $60 million flowing to the region to date, and an annual appropriation of $10 million since u. S. Fy 2010. Allmep's policy analysis has led to significant improvements and expansion of the usaid program by the agency; its connection of ngo leaders to policymakers has highlighted the impacts and opportunities of middle east p2p projects; and its strategic advocacy worked to maintain the fy 2013 appropriations for dedicated p2p middle east grants at the prior level - an enormous accomplishment heralded not only by allmep members but by us officials themselves. Allmep member organizations have received 67% of these funds (fy 2004-2012). International fund for israeli-palestinian peace: building on the enormous success of the annual congressional appropriation and a similar international fund for ireland that provided billions to people-to-people peacebuilding efforts in that region, allmep is seeking to establish an international fund to support similar activities in the middle east, providing an anticipated $200 million annually to dramatically scale up grassroots p2p activities. A bipartisan authorizing bill will be introduced in fy 2014. Governmental liaison: on behalf of its members, allmep works closely with usaid, improving and streamlining the grants competition, monitoring, and feedback processes. Additionally, allmep's voice is heard, on behalf of p2p activities, at the u. S. State department, the u. S. Embassy, the u. S. Consulate, and the highest levels of the israeli government and the palestinian authority, integrating the role of civil society into current peace negotiations.

public education and visibility - the organizations in allmep's coalition are on the front lines of the middle east conflict. They model what politicians have failed to achieve: tangible, concrete examples of peace on the ground. Allmep's members turn the challenges of daily life into opportunities for coexistence, engaging thousands of people to work in cooperative projects across religious and political lines, break down barriers and stereotypes, change attitudes, pursue social justice and equity, change public policy, and promote both security and personal dignity. Equally important, in addition to their practical implications, these projects give voice to the often-silent 2/3 majorities on both sides of the conflict, those often disempowered and silenced. This "second tier" diplomacy drives social change when governmental efforts fail. Allmep works to tell these stories, to make the public aware of these successes, thus providing a foil to the media emphasis on terrorism andthe public perception of failed diplomacy. Allmep accomplishes this objective via social media and by hosting annual educational and outreach events in the u. S. And the middle east for policymakers, diplomats, religious communities, the media, and ngo members and leaders. Additionally, allmep's executive director speaks regularly at sister organization conferences, and allmep increasingly sponsors and organizes large public speaking events for visiting allmep member leaders. Selected achievements:in fy 2013, during our tenth annual conference, allmep coordinated more than 50 substantive meetings between our members and the executive office of the president, the office of the special envoy, senior officials of the usaid and u. S. State department, and senior representatives from the european union, select embassys, the plo, and capitol hill leadership. Since fy 2004, allmep has coordinated at least 500 such meetings, with congress, the white house, israeli and palistinian leaders, prime ministers, foreign ministers, the state department, ambassadors, european and arab governments, and the media to promote and grow p2p work. The executive director travelled to the region, meeting with more than 50 member entities, usaid officials, the u. S. Ambassador, the consul general and top-level israeli and palestinian government leaders, and hosting education and training and shared-vision meetings responsive to member needs.

meeting member needs - through allmep, a number of our member ngos develop deep, mutually-beneficial relationships, collaborating on programming, strategy, operational efficiencies, and simply and personally, on the challenges of working in a complex - and sometimes lonely - environment. Allmep's staff spends considerable time both 1:1 and bringing member groups together. Selected achievements:allmep directly assists members competing for and implementing usaid grants through more than 100 person-hours of training annually, updates on grant opportunities, meetings with usaid officials, and 1:1 consulting. Ongoing efforts with usaid on our members' behalf continued to produce improvements to and streamlining of the grant process, including feedback on proposals and an ongoing information stream from the agency to ngos. Similarly, allmep resolved several potention grant problems directly with congress, and provided unprecedented entree for visiting members of high level u. S. Governmental officials.