ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE INC

Story. Walk. Hospitality.

Maplewood, NJ   |  www.abrahampath.org

Mission

The mission of the Abraham Path Initiative is to drive economic growth, social development, and cultural heritage preservation through community-based tourism. In 2020 we implemented online programming to introduce global audiences to people, landscapes, history, and heritage in Southwest Asia (aka "the Middle East"), with webinars, LiveOnLine tours, and Postcards from the Path. Abraham Path Initiative (API) is a US-based non-profit organization that since 2007 has catalyzed development of 2000 miles of walking trails in Southwest Asia that promote intercultural connections across the challenging divides of our times.

Ruling year info

2007

Executive Director

Ms. Anisa Mehdi

Main address

PO Box 86

Maplewood, NJ 07040 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

20-8041715

NTEE code info

International Cultural Exchange (Q21)

Alliance/Advocacy Organizations (A01)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

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Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Community Tourism Development

Abraham Path Initiative helps bridge a gap between peoples of Southwest Asia (aka “the Middle East”) and the wider world by catalyzing sustainable economic and cultural development in the region through experiential tourism and exceptional storytelling. Initiatives include catalyzing trail in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, bringing students from UNRWA refugee camps in Palestine to explore local trails, and cultural heritage preservation in Yazidi, Syriac, and Syrian refugee communities. In 2022 efforts are underway to redevelop Abraham's Path in Turkey. In 2020 we launched effective online programming to reach global audiences. We scouted trail in Saudi Arabia in 2018. In 2017, two trails nurtured by API (Sinai Trail and Jordan Trail) were among Wanderlust travel magazine’s top six trails in the world. Average income along the trail in Palestine has risen by $900--approximately a 30% rise in income compared to the GDP. Ten years into the project, social cohesion is a proven benefit.

Population(s) Served
Working poor
People of Middle Eastern descent
Adults
Immigrants and migrants
Victims of conflict and war

While the term “Middle East” fills many with fear, the Abraham Path Initiative pulls focus to the spectacular landscapes and enduring traditions of hospitality in the region. We drive economic growth, social cohesion, and cultural heritage preservation through community-based tourism and internet-based educational programming. API webinars, LiveOnLine tours, and e-blast Postcards from the Path, introduce global audiences to people and places in the Middle East they cannot otherwise visit, shattering preconceived notions, transforming perceptions, and generating a sense of wellbeing and new possibilities for all.

While other organizations generously help with food and blankets, API affirms diversity, fills in knowledge gaps, and helps marginalized communities be seen as human beings rather than hostile, faceless enemies. Where others build walls, API is building paths: pathways to the certain knowledge that no matter what divides us, what unites us is far stronger.

Population(s) Served
Adults
People of Middle Eastern descent
Immigrants and migrants
Victims of conflict and war
Adults
People of Middle Eastern descent
Immigrants and migrants
Victims of conflict and war
People of European descent

Where we work

Awards

Honorary Mention 2017

Coexist

Affiliations & memberships

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations 2010

United Nations World Tourism Organization 2014

Videos

Financials

ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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ABRAHAM PATH INITIATIVE INC

Board of directors
as of 02/22/2022
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Lionel Sauvage

Raed Saadeh

Jerusalem Hotel

Lionel Sauvage

Capital Group (retired)

William Ury

Negotiator/Mediator

James Sebenius

Harvard Business School

Joshua Weiss

Program on Negotiation

Anisa Mehdi

President, Abraham Path Initiative

Samia Bahsoun

Capwave Technology

David Baum

David Baum Conversation Architect

Deidre Combs

Combs & Co.

Susan Hackley

General Manager, Harvard Program on Negotiation (retired)

Marcia Greenblatt

Principal, Integral-Consulting Corp.

Oliver Pospisil

Consultant

Leo D'Acierno

Simon-Kucher

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 1/29/2022

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic (2+ races/ethnicities)
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 07/09/2021

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.