Public-Private Alliance Foundation

Ethanol Event - May 7

PPAF Technical Assistance

Senior Fellows Named

UNPPA Meeting

Agroalimentaria Fair

Visit to Hunts Point Market

Volunteers and Interns

Contributions

Newsletter Credits

Vol. 3, No. 1/ April 2009

From the Executive Director

Great News! In January PPAF received its 501(c) 3 public charity designation from the US Internal Revenue Service. That means that donations received are tax deductible to the full extent of the law and may be made directly to PPAF.

We need your help! PPAF can only function with the support of its friends. All donations, large and small, are welcome. We have set up an account with JustGive, and you can just click on the Donate button to provide a gift. JustGive partners with www.Guidestar.org, which makes it easy for individuals to find detailed information about charities that match their interests.

Madagascar is one of the two focus countries of PPAF. We are saddened by the political turmoil that has occurred there since January, as well as the economic impact of this on the people and country. As we write a number of aid agencies are curtailing assistance. We are keeping abreast of the political situation, and will continue work as possible. On a positive note, Project C.U.R.E. has already shipped one 40 foot container of medical equipment and supplies and is planning at least two other similar shipments.

PPAF gives many opportunities to become involved. See the article below about our volunteers and interns. We are also seeking financing, investments and partnerships for specific projects. I would be happy to talk with you about any of these opportunities.

David Stillman
ppafoundation@gmail.com

Ethanol - 3rd Annual PPAF Partners Against Poverty Event, at UN – May 7

PPAF will hold a small high-level meeting on ethanol as its 3rd Annual Partners Against Poverty event at the UN. The event, “Business Model Innovation for Investment Partnerships” will take place on May 7, and is timed to take advantage of the concurrent sessions of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development and the annual meeting of the International Sugar Organization (ISO). The discussion on new business model approaches for the development and production of ethanol will be facilitated by Tom Kadala, of ResearchPAYS.

Ethanol based on sugar, cellulose and algae, waste-to-energy and related bio-fuel, have great potential as alternatives to petroleum. This subject is receiving attention in many quarters and it touches important international issues, including: climate change; renewable energy; policy development; public awareness; collaborative decision making; global standards; best practices; partnership matching; and sustainable consumption and production.

The principal ingredients for what promises to be an animated discussion will come from the various viewpoints at the table, including business agendas, social and environmental issues, research and development breakthroughs, and private equity challenges. We want the participants to express themselves and to find consensus on several key issues with a potential for future collaboration.

PPAF is inviting participants from three countries -

Brazil

USA

, and the Dominican Republic - plus UN experts and others. Leading policymakers, investors, academics, and others will be represented - owners or decision makers in their respective fields.

The Background Note may be viewed here.

PPAF Technical Assistance - Ongoing

PPAF is providing technical assistance in project preparation to GLOCAL, a producers non-profit association based in Santiago,

Dominican Republic

. Preparatory materials have been translated from English to Spanish and Spanish to English, in relation to the USAID rural economic diversification program in the

Dominican Republic

(AgroRed). Also, a technical piece on pre-cooling of agricultural produce has been translated.

PPAF Senior Fellows Named

Left to Right: V. Judith Bowman, John L. German, Tom Kadala, and Dr. Hanifa Mezoui

Executive Director David Stillman has appointed four Senior Fellows to give recognition to colleagues who expand our range of expert support: V. Judith Bowman, John L. German, Tom Kadala and Hanifa Mezoui. All have been assisting PPAF in its work for some time. Judith Bowman is a retired professional with 30 years of managerial, risk management and lending experience at Citibank. John German represents People to People International and other organizations at the UN and is the Director of Non-Profit Computing, which arranges computer donations, procurement, and logistics worldwide. Tom Kadala is president of ResearchPAYS, Inc., a strategic business consulting firm that specializes in market research on multicultural and Hispanic markets. Hanifa Mezoui, former Chief of the NGO Section of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs is currently working with the UN Informal Regional Network (UN-NGO-IRENE), an outreach programme which she initiated. Their bios are available on the PPAF website under “About Us”.

UNPPA Meeting - March 19, 2009

The UN Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination convened a meeting on March 19 with UN Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development (UNPPA) countries. Participants included representatives from the UN delegations of Angola, the Dominican Republic, Ethiopiaand Madagascarand from the UN Division for Sustainable Development, the UN Office for Partnerships, and from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the World Food Program and PPAF.

David Stillman and PPAF Board member Scott Wright represented PPAF while PPAF Board member Ambassador Francis Lorenzo represented the Dominican Republic . Lila Andrianantoandro, Counselor, represented the Madagascar mission. PPAF and the others present are assisting the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs to prepare the Secretary-General’s report to ECOSOC on UNPPA.

Agroalimentaria Fair, Santo Domingo, D.R. - March 4 to 7, 2009

Agroalimentaria Fair, Santo Domingo, D.R. - March 4 to 7, 2009

Agroalimentaria 2009 brought together potential buyers, both national and international, and many of the best producers of agricultural products in the

Dominican Republic

. Organized by the Center for Export and Investment of the

Dominican Republic (CEI-RD)

, and the Junta Agroempresial Dominicana, Inc. (JAD), it was held at the Dominican Fiesta Hotel and Convention Center in Santo Domingo. Produce stands featured fruits, vegetables, coffee, cocao, beverages and cigars. The Fair showcased local products, provided an environment for businesspeople to meet and negotiate deals, and hosted workshops on technical topics of tropical production, processes, and markets.

PPAF is assisting local producers associations to develop proposals for funding of capacity-building training and technical assistance in a broad range of supply chain management and marketing. David Stillman met with buyers and distributors from New Yorkand Toronto, and is working with these in follow-up. The aim is to increase local employment through improved sales and profits. Stillman and potential buyers from Canadaand the U.S.also visited a mango farm in Bani, capital of Peravia Province.

Other meetings were held with Maximo Nicolas, president of the Asociacion Dominicana de Acuacultores (ADOA) (Fish Farmers), and with the US Agency for International Development. Nicolas outlined the many steps ADOA has taken since the conference PPAF helped organize in December 2007, and the Association’s plans for the future.

Photos are available on the PPAF website www.ppafoundation.org Click on Flickr at the bottom left of the home page.

Hunts Point Market - December 30, 2008

PPAF is assisting Dominican vegetable and fruit producers to improve quality, quantitiy and the supply chain so as to market their goods for export to New York and elsewhere. Following meetings in the Dominican Republic in early December with the producers’ non-profit association GLOCAL and with supermarket association executives and distributors New York, PPAF’s Executive Director David Stillman met at Hunts Point Produce Market with key staff of a wholesale distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables Stillman also inspected a first shipment of avocados, limes and melons that arrived from the D.R. The supermarket association and the distributor’s company, both largely owned by Dominicans, are eager to help promote expanded sales of Dominican products. Photos are available on the PPAF website www.ppafoundation.org Click on Flickr at the bottom left of the home page.

Hunts Point Produce Market

Officially called the New York City Terminal Produce Co-Operative Market, Hunts Point caters to the largest ethnically diverse region in the world with an estimated population that exceeds 22 million people within a 50 mile radius.

Wholesale vendors at New York’s Hunts Point Market in The Bronx start in mid-evening to prepare for display and sales of produce. They unload trucks of goods from within the

USA

and from many other countries. Supermarkets, restaurants and mom-and-pop stores from throughout the New Yorkmetropolitan area arrive at dawn to select and buy produce and ship it throughout the area. In addition to the produce vendors, Hunts Point includes fish and meat markets.

The market receives produce deliveries daily by rail, tractor trailer and air cargo from
every part of the globe. One of the largest selections of fresh fruits and vegetables in the world is available from merchants at the market http://www.terminalmarkets.com/huntspoint.htm.

Volunteers and Interns

Welcome and thanks to Marta and David!

Marta Castresana served as an intern from January to March. She analyzed documentation from a Dominican non-governmental organization for use in a grant proposal and translated from Spanish to English extensive guidelines and background documentation for small-scale agri-business project proposals to the US Agency for International Development office in the

Dominican Republic

. She also translated a technical document from English to Spanish on commercial storage and handling of fruits and vegetables for the export market, for use by producer groups. Marta trained as a lawyer at the University of Barcelona, Spain. She was an intern from EF International Language School, Tarrytown, NY and is currently working on a master’s degree in communications at the University of Barcelona School of Administration.

David Forbes-Watkins, an experienced public administrator and finance director, is updating PPAF’s financial accounting and reporting system. He recently retired as Director of Finance at My Sister’s Place, whose budget was approximately $3.5 million annually. He previously held financial and administrative positions at Planned Parenthood of Westchester/Rockland, the International Centerfor Integrative Studies, the American Council for Nationalities Service. Forbes-Watkins has a Masters of Public Administration from the Harvard University Graduate School of Public Administration and a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University .

Contributions

Please consider a gift to help PPAF develop its work to build pro-poor business opportunities. If your company will match your gift, please let us know.

Donations in any amount are welcome and will be tax-exempt to the extent of the law. You may make your gift using the Donate button, or send a check payable to Public-Private Alliance Foundation to:

PPAF

166 Edgars Lane

Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10017

We would be happy to talk with you about your contribution to the work of PPAF and also give details on electronic deposits. Please call 914-924-0108 or e-mail ppafoundation@gmail.com.