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Venture Philanthropy: We do not give gifts, we make "philanthropic investments."
Welcome to the Massiah Foundation Site
Massiah Foundation seeks opportunities to make innovative, transformational, or charitable contributions in areas within its expertise that can result in broad public benefit mainly in education, health, or arts & culture.
The Massiah Foundation makes investments in educational institutions and individuals that offer opportunities to fulfill its investment philosophy.
The Massiah Foundation is committed to inspiring the best healthcare possible and achieving breakthroughs in medicine.
The Massiah Foundation makes investments in the arts and culture that help preserve our knowledge of civilization and promote creativity.
Philosophy of Giving
Our philosophy in short: "We do not give gifts, we make investments". The Massiah Foundation seeks to strictly adhere to this philosophy of venture philanthropy. Massiah pursues investment opportunities that will create the most significant social impact per invested capital. Massiah support can generally be divided into three primary categories: Education, Health and Arts/Culture. In making its investments, the Massiah Foundation looks for philanthropic opportunities that embody the following three attributes:
Innovative Investments:
The Massiah Foundation seeks opportunities with the intent to create what did not exist. One of our Innovative examples is the creation of The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies at University of California at Irvine (UCI). The Samuel Jordan Center for Persian Studies
is the first independent campus center in the United States for Persian Studies and Culture.
Transformational Investments:
The Massiah Foundation invests in opportunities that will have a transformational result through leverage with others. For instance, the Massiah Foundation awarded a transformational contribution to Portland State University to empower the creation of the new Northwest Center for Engineering facility together with the creation of a number of faculty endowments and student scholarships.
Charitable Investments:
The Massiah Foundation makes contributions to causes that are traditionally ignored by mainstream. One such recurring contribution is the Massiah Foundation's continued scholarship support of low income high school graduates who continue onto college. Over the years we have supported almost 200 scholarships, some anonymously.
The Massiah Foundation makes investments in educational institutions and individuals that offer opportunities to fulfill its investment philosophy. The Massiah Foundation's investments are designed to inspire excellence in education.
Massachusetts Institute of Techology
Portland State University:
Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science
University of California: Irvine
The Massiah Foundation is committed to inspiring the best healthcare possible and achieving breakthroughs in medicine. It seeks opportunities where it can make transformational or innovative investments in healthcare.
The Massiah Foundation makes investments in the arts and culture that helps preserve our knowledge of civilization and promotes creativity.
Encyclopaedia Iranica
http://www.iranica.com/newsite/aboutiranica/index.isc
From the Heart Productions
http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/
Kamelia Massih Outstanding Student and Faculty Prizes in the Arts
http://www.pdx.edu/fpa/news/portland-state-university-establishes-the-kamelia-massih-outstanding-student-and-faculty-prizes-in
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Nishapur Gallery of Persian Art
http://www.metmuseum.org/press_room/full_release.asp?prid={D6DFFF65- 9414-4574-AB63-76EA10FE0C88}
National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)
http://www.neco.org/awards/recipients/fariborzmeseeh.html
New England Aquarium
http://www.neaq.org/index.php
UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts: Maseeh Chair in Persian Performing Arts
http://www.arts.uci.edu/
World Affairs Council of Oregon
http://www.worldoregon.org/
The Massiah Foundation's founder and president, Fariborz Maseeh is at heart both a scientist and an entrepreneur. His undergraduate and graduate studies in the fields of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics inspired him to pursue the field of micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS). In 1991 he founded IntelliSense with the vision to reduce the time and expense of creating next-generation MEMS devices that had broad industrial and humanitarian applications---from airplane landing gear to pace makers. As his company grew, so did his desire to give back to the community. Ever grateful to his inspiring teachers and educational institutions that nurtured his skills and dreams his philanthropy is inclined towards education, youth, scientific innovation, healthcare and culture.
Mr. Maseeh founded the Massiah Foundation in 2001 on the concept of venture philanthropy. This means that the Massiah Foundation targets unique opportunities to invest in entities that will have a lasting and broad impact. It also seeks to leverage its resources to attract co-investors from the community so that the goals of impact and longevity will be realized.
The Massiah Foundation mirrors Mr. Maseeh's entrepreneurial spirit as he applies management principles to improve the value of the Foundation's social investments. It also applies his solution-based approach toward innovation and finding unique opportunities to serve and unite people and their communities.
May 2011
Fariborz Maseeh named Distinguished Engineering Graduate (DEG) of the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin
The highest honor the Cockrell School of Engineering can bestow on its alumni is the title "Distinguished Engineering Graduate" and "Outstanding Young Engineering Graduate." These are graduates who have presented themselves to the world as consummate professionals, dedicated engineers and strong supporters of engineering education.
A "Distinguished Engineering Graduate" (DEG) is a graduate who has presented him or herself to the world as a consummate professional and dedicated engineer. Learn more about this year's award recipients, as well as past honorees.
http://www.engr.utexas.edu/alumni/distinction/deg/2011/maseeh
Massiah Foundation does not solicit applications. If you have a special interest you would like to present, we will review it to see if it meets our current priorities. Please fill out the information below and give a short description of your project. If it meets our criteria, someone will contact you. Please do not directly contact us.
April 2010
Massiah Foundation sponsors a field trip to Abu Dhabi for 58 MIT Students, Alumni, and Staff
A group of 58 MIT students, alumni and staff recently returned from a five-day trip to Abu Dhabi to study the practical application of technology for renewable energy solutions.
The trip was part of Terrascope, a yearlong program for first-year students that begins each fall with a mission to solve an unsolvable or very complex problem. The students spend the fall semester designing a viable solution and then travel during spring break to a location related to the complex problem where they experience the reality of the solutions they have proposed.
Click here to see photos and read students' blogs.
Terrascope Report 2010.pdf
Portland State University Establishes the Kamelia Massih Outstanding Student and Faculty Prizes in the Arts
(Portland, Ore.) May 26, 2010 Donations to Kamelia Massih's memorial have contributed to the establishment of a permanent endowment for Portland State University's School of Fine and Performing Arts that will fund annual Kamelia Massih Outstanding Student and Faculty Prizes for PSUs School of Fine and Performing Arts.
Upon the passing of former PSU student Kamelia Massih on March 19, 2010, her family requested that in lieu of flowers, her friends, family and colleagues donate to a memorial fund established at Portland State University in her honor. These contributions along with the donation of Dr. Massih's brother, PSU alumnus Fariborz Maseeh through his Massiah Foundation, created the Kamelia Massih Endowment for the Arts.
The Kamelia Massih Endowment for the Arts was established to recognize outstanding students and faculty in PSU's School of Fine and Performing Arts with annual prizes. One Kamelia Massih Outstanding Student Prize and one Kamelia Massih Outstanding Faculty Prize will be awarded on an annual basis to those individuals who have brought innovation to their discipline, demonstrated excellence in performing and/or fine arts and exemplify PSU's commitment to community engagement.
"The School of Fine and Performing Arts is honored to have the opportunity to recognize excellent students and faculty through a memorial for Dr. Kamelia Massih." Dean Barbara Sestak, Portland State University's School of Fine and Performing Arts.
A beloved Portland optometrist, Dr. Kamelia Massih, was a true American success story. Born and raised in Tehran, she came to the United States in 1978, initiated her studies in biology at Portland State University and subsequently graduated in 1981 from Oregon State University. After completing a doctorate in optometry at Pacific University, she opened her own practice, Beaverton Vision World in 1989. She later opened a second clinic in downtown Portland near the Portland State University campus. She cared deeply about others and gave her time and resources to a wide range of local and national charities. She was a dedicated wife and mother who loved travel, the outdoors and above all else, fine arts, music and dance. Dr. Massih passed away on March 19, 2010, after a three-year battle with cancer.
About Portland State University
Portland State University (PSU) serves as a center of opportunity for over 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation's most livable cities, the University's innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. The School for Fine and Performing Arts exemplifies Portland State's commitment to community engagement. PSU's motto, "Let Knowledge Serve the City," inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.
For more information visit http://www.pdx.edu/news/portland-state-university-establishes-the-kamelia-massih-outstanding-student-and-faculty-prizes-in.
