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From ping pong to pirates to Benjamin Franklin, there is more to diplomacy than one might expect. As the first and only museum dedicated to American diplomacy, the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) provides programs and exhibits designed to explore the critical players, practices, and events that have defined our world. Your generosity and support can help NMAD share the untold and complete story of American diplomacy.

As 2021 comes to a close, you may be starting to explore your options for supporting your favorite charities. During this season of giving, we hope you will consider contributing to the Diplomacy Center Foundation (DCF) and our mission to complete NMAD. Your generosity helps us support NMAD education programs, original DCF programming, and the design of permanent NMAD exhibits. Check out our 2021 Charitable Giving Guide to explore which popular giving options are the best fit for you.
 

Online and Mailed Donations

DCF accepts donations year-round that support the backbone of our organization: our staff, operations, and outreach activities that fulfill our mission to support NMAD and share the history, practice, and challenges of American diplomacy with the public. You can support DCF anytime by donating on our website or via cash, check, and card payments mailed to our office. If donating by mail, please complete and include our Donation Form along with your form of donation payment.

All donations made by mail should be addressed to:

Diplomacy Center Foundation
1990 K Street NW, Suite 315
Washington, DC 20006-1147
 

Matching Gifts

Matching gifts from your employer is one opportunity to maximize the impact of your gift to the Diplomacy Center Foundation. Your employer may sponsor a matching gift program that will match, double, or—in some instances—more than double your charitable contribution. Your company’s personnel or human resources office can provide the information needed to obtain a matching corporate gift. To become a matching gift sponsor, please contact us.
 

Legacy Gifts

Legacy gifts are an inspiring endeavor to memorialize your support for NMAD and ensure that future generations can benefit from your generosity to learn about the history, practice, and challenges of American diplomacy. Legacy gifts offer flexibility to donors and are easy to complete, requiring as little as one sentence to your will or living trust to secure your support. To discuss different will or estate planning options, please contact us.
 

AmazonSmile

If you shop frequently on Amazon, AmazonSmile is an easy way to support your favorite charity while crossing things off your shopping list. AmazonSmile offers the same products and prices found on Amazon with the bonus of donating to your chosen charity. 0.5% of eligible purchases will be donated to your chosen charity with no additional fees or extra cost to you. Get Started
 

2021 Combined Federal Campaign (#30585)

The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the official workplace giving campaign of the federal government that allows federal employees and retirees to pledge monetary support to approved charities. The 2021 Campaign season is from September 1, 2021, through January 15, 2022. The CFC’s online portal allows federal employees to start and renew pledges. It offers a full range of pledge options, including payroll deductions, credit/debit card payments, and bank transfers. CFC contributions will support the development, fabrication, and installation of permanent exhibits and programs at the National Museum of American Diplomacy. Start Your Pledge
 

GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday is a global day of generosity that will take place on November 30, 2021. Even in times of economic uncertainty, everyone has a deep reserve of generosity, which can be deployed to make a difference. Your time, your kindness, your skills, and your voice are all things you can give on GivingTuesday in addition to charitable donations. If you are making charitable donations on GivingTuesday, we hope you will consider supporting DCF and our campaign to complete NMAD. GivingTuesday contributions can be made on our website on November 30, 2021.
 
The Diplomacy Center Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and, as such, all gifts are fully tax-deductible as allowable by law. The Diplomacy Center Foundation’s tax ID number is 51-0398806. For questions about additional giving opportunities to tax-related questions, please contact us at [email protected] or (202) 408-1007.
 
 

Today, we mourn the loss of General Colin L. Powell. His long and historic public service career included serving as US national security advisor (1987-1989), chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989-1993), and secretary of state (2001-2005). Powell served in the US Army for 35 years and rose to the rank of four-star general.

In 2001, General Powell became the first African American to serve as secretary of state and, at the time, was the highest-ranking African American in the history of the federal executive branch. During his term as secretary of state, General Powell sought to reaffirm diplomatic alliances and initiate reforms at the Department of State through increased resources for personnel, IT, security, and facilities. However, the challenges and military action following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks came to dominate his time as secretary of state. Beyond the challenges General Powell faced in the Middle East, he advocated for the George W. Bush Administration to increase its commitment to fight AIDS, oversaw a doubling of development assistance funding, pressed for international cooperation to halt North Korean and Iranian nuclear weapons programs, and responded to multiple international crises.

General Powell was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD). His term as secretary of state overlapped with the Diplomacy Center Foundation’s (DCF) early efforts to develop the Museum. General Powell was instrumental in maintaining State Department support for the project, which had been established by his predecessor, Madeleine K. Albright. After stepping down as secretary of state in 2005, General Powell joined the DCF’s Honorary Board of Directors. In the private sector, he continued to work with America’s Promise Alliance, a nonprofit devoted to helping create the conditions for success for all young people, and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York.

“The US and the world have lost a statesman and leader gifted in strategic outlook and tactical agility. His military knowledge and background made him a better secretary of state by understanding where war was appropriate in the country’s defense and where diplomacy should prevail,” says DCF Board Chairman Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering.

“Colin Powell was a dedicated public servant whose service to our country will be long remembered and admired,” says DCF President Ambassador Roman Popadiuk. “His leadership, counsel, and humor serve as an inspiration to future generations. Our heartfelt condolences go out to Alma and the entire Powell family.”

Image: General Colin Powell speaking at the opening of the National Museum of American Diplomacy pavilion, 2017.

Biographical details courtesy of the US Department of State’s Office of the Historian. Read more

The Diplomacy Center Foundation recently welcomed Ambassador William Courtney (ret.) and Laryssa Courtney to its list of major donors supporting the capital campaign for the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD). Ambassador Courtney also becomes the 71st member of the Founding Ambassadors Society, which recognizes presidentially appointed members of the US diplomatic community supporting NMAD.

William Courtney is currently an adjust senior fellow at nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and executive director of the RAND Business Leaders Forum, whose members are private-sector business leaders from Russia and the West. He chairs the board of trustees of Eurasia Foundation, which carries out USG-funded programs abroad to improve governance, strengthen civil society, and counter disinformation. He also co-chairs the international advisory council of the America 250 Foundation, the nonprofit arm of the US Semiquincentennial Commission.

In 2014, Ambassador Courtney retired from Computer Science Corporation as senior principal for federal policy strategy. From 1972 to 1999, he was a Foreign Service officer in the US Department of State. He served as ambassador to Kazakhstan, Georgia, and the US-Soviet Bilateral Consultative Commission to implement the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT). The United States and the Soviet Union signed the TTBT in July 1974, but it was not entered into force until 1990. The TTBT established a threshold that prohibits nuclear tests with a yield exceeding 150 kilotons.

Ambassador Courtney also was special assistant to the President for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia; deputy US negotiator for the US-Soviet Defense and Space Talks; deputy executive secretary of the National Security Council staff; and special assistant to the under secretary of state for political affairs. He served abroad in Brasilia, Brazil; Moscow, Russia; Geneva, Switzerland; Almaty, Kazakhstan; and Tbilisi, Georgia.

Ambassador Courtney is a member and former board director of the American Academy of Diplomacy. He was a member of the board of directors of the former World Affairs Council of Washington DC. He belongs to the Council on Foreign Relations, where he was an international affairs fellow from 1977 to 1978. He graduated from West Virginia University with a BA and Brown University with a PhD in economics. He is married to Laryssa Courtney and has two adult children, Will and Alison.

On their reason for supporting NMAD, Ambassador William Courtney and Laryssa Courtney say it is because “young people will learn more about diplomacy as the first line of America’s defense abroad and as a vital enabler of prosperity through trade and investment.”

On May 21, the Diplomacy Center Foundation (DCF) and the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) met with the Foreign Service Retirees Association of Florida (FSRA-FL) as part of a joint effort to share information about the creation, history, and future of NMAD with members of the US diplomatic community. Joining the panel of speakers were DCF Executive Director Robert Heath, NMAD Acting Director Dr. Jane Carpenter-Rock, NMAD Education Program Specialist Lauren Fischer, and FSRA’s Michael Boorstein.

During the meeting, Dr. Jane Carpenter-Rock and Lauren Fischer shared how NMAD encourages visitors online and in-person to explore the story of American diplomacy through collection artifacts, education programs, and exhibits. Some of NMAD’s current offerings include the Diplomacy Is Our Mission preview exhibit, virtual programs, and the newly-launched Facing Diplomacy project.

Dr. Jane Carpenter-Rock shared artist renderings of future exhibits, including those featuring the famous pin collection of 64th US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the “The Ambassador Shirley Temple Black Gift Vault and Protocol Gallery.” She also highlighted objects from NMAD’s growing collection of 9,000+ artifacts, such as a Great Seal damaged during the 2013 US consulate bombing in Herat, Afghanistan, and a blindfold worn by a diplomat during the 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis. Artifacts in NMAD’s collection represent American diplomacy and the work of the US Department of State. They are often donated to the museum by active or retired diplomats to preserve and share their diplomatic experiences.

Robert Heath outlined additional opportunities for individuals to help bring the story of American diplomacy to the public through the DCF’s giving societies, which honor the contributions of our diplomats. The meeting concluded with answering questions about NMAD from FSRA-FL members about education resources, NMAD’s future digital archives, and more.

FSRA-FL is a nonprofit organization, formalized in 1982, designed to enhance the camaraderie and friendship of members and guests. FSRA also endeavors to increase public knowledge of the Foreign Service and international affairs, in part by providing guest speakers to educational institutions and other groups.

We are saddened by the passing of Carl Spielvogel, an early supporter of the Diplomacy Center Foundation and the project to create the National Museum of American Diplomacy. He joined the Foundation’s Founding Ambassadors Society in 2014.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton appointed Mr. Spielvogel to serve as the US ambassador to the Slovak Republic. He was the US ambassador to Slovakia until April 2001. For his outstanding service to Slovakia, President Rudolf Schuster presented him with the Presidential Medal of Honor of Slovakia.

Before serving as US ambassador, President Clinton nominated Mr. Spielvogel to the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). The US Senate approved his nomination in 1995. Now known as the US Agency for Global Media, BBG was responsible for Voice of America, Radio Free Europe, Voice of Asia, Radio Marti, Worldnet, and other non-military “voices” of the US government. Mr. Spielvogel was also a 2nd lieutenant in the US Air Force Reserve and an infantry soldier in the US Army.

In 2008, to interest Baruch College honor students in pursuing careers at the US Department of State, Mr. Spielvogel funded The Colin Powell Fellowship in International Diplomacy. Named to honor the service of City College graduate and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell, the program has selected two summer interns each year to serve as the State Department.

Beyond his government service, Mr. Spielvogel was a global business executive, conducting trade and commerce in 55 countries during his 40-year career. Born in New York City, Mr. Spielvogel’s career began working as a copy boy in the news department. He later became a reporter and a six-times-a-week columnist for The New York Times. By 1980, he became the founder/chairman and CEO of Backer & Spielvogel, which became one of the world’s largest marketing and advertising communications companies. The corporation had 178 companies in 55 countries, employing 10,500 individuals around the world. He was the chairman and CEO of Carl Spielvogel Enterprises, Inc., an international investment, management, and marketing company. He was also elected to the board of several publicly owned companies.

Mr. Spielvogel had a lifelong involvement in civic and cultural organizations. He was a member of the Board of Trustees, former chairman of the Business Committee, and trustee emeritus of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was also on the Board of Trustees and Executive committee of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Board of Trustees for the Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York, Inc.

Mr. Spielvogel has been married to Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spievlogel—the author of 24 books on the arts, architecture, preservation, and public policy—since 1981. Dr. Diamonstein-Spievlogel has a diverse, admired career in public service on the national, state, and local levels. She recently joined the Diplomacy Center Foundation’s Board of Directors in February 2021.

“Ambassador Spielvogel leaves a strong and inspiring legacy for us all,” says Ambassador Roman Popadiuk, ret., President of the Diplomacy Center Foundation. “He was an early supporter of our efforts to create the nation’s first museum dedicated to American diplomacy, and we are honored to preserve and share his legacy at the National Museum of American Diplomacy.”

Biographical information and image courtesy of Carl Spielvogel and Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation mourns the recent passing of Dr. Vartan Gregorian. Dr. Gregorian has served as the president of the Carnegie Corporation of New York since 1997. Under his leadership, the Carnegie Corporation reached new heights in supporting international peace and advancing education and knowledge.

Dr. Gregorian aided in securing a major grant that helps the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD) meet its education goal to bring the history and practice of American diplomacy to the public’s attention. Since receiving the Carnegie Corporation grant in 2015, NMAD’s education programs have grown to include diplomacy simulations, teacher trainings, and extensive online education resources. To date, these efforts have reached over 30,000 students and 6,000 educators across all 50 US states and the District of Columbia.

In 2016, NMAD and the Diplomacy Center Foundation hosted the John C. Whitehead Student Conference at the US Department of State. The Conference brought together 240 students and educators from 76 institutions in 28 states and the District of Columbia. During the Conference, students and teachers engaged with diplomats serving on the frontlines of diplomacy to explore why and how the United States engages with foreign policy issues around the world. Funding for the Conference was generously provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with Dr. Gregorian presenting the keynote address.

“Dr. Gregorian’s commitment was deeply personal, underscoring the importance of diplomacy and the need to share its story with the public,” says Ambassador Roman Popadiuk (ret.), Diplomacy Center Foundation President. “We greatly appreciate his commitment and the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.”

During the most recent meeting of the Diplomacy Center Foundation Board of Directors, Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel was elected as the Foundation’s newest board director.

Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel has been referred to as a model for civic and cultural engagement, having demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to the arts, architecture, design, and public policy. She was a White House assistant and helped create the White House Fellows, the Presidential Scholars Program, and the first and only White House Festival of the Arts in 1965. She was the first New York City (NYC) director of Cultural Affairs and the longest-serving member of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. She served as the chair of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Foundation from 1987 to 1995, and she has been the chair of the Historic Landmarks Preservation Center since 1995. Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel created the Historic District Marker Program, which has become a model for similar initiatives throughout the United States. She also created the Cultural Medallions Program to commemorate notable New Yorkers by placing medallions on buildings where they have lived or worked.

Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel was also the producer/interviewer for seven television series about the arts, architecture, design, crafts, and public policy for the Arts & Entertainment Network and many other programs for national networks such as CBS and NBC. President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the Board of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), and she served as chair of the sub-committee of USHMM that commissions all the Art for the Public Spaces. In 1996, President William J. Clinton appointed her to the US Commission of Fine Arts (CFA). In 2002, she was the first woman to be elected as vice chair of the CFA in its century-long history.

In 2001, Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel was the first woman to be elected as an honorary member of PEN-Slovakia. In 2003, she received the Gen. Milan R. Stefanik Award for contributing to the advancement of public knowledge about the Slovak nation and its people. In 2004, The Slovak Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs decorated her for “her remarkable personal contribution to the development of a civil society in Slovakia.”

In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed her to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), which oversees the design, construction, and maintenance of the US military memorials throughout the world. She also chaired the ABMC New Memorials Committee.

Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel was appointed to the New York State Council for the Arts in 2007, in which she served as its vice chair from 2008 to 2016—until she was appointed chair and chief executive officer by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2016. In 2011, she was elected an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects.

In addition to her extensive public service, Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel is the recipient of four honorary doctorates and numerous honors and awards. She is the founder and chair of the NYC Landmarks55+ Alliance—a consortium of more than 189 organizations that was convened to commemorate and honor the significant anniversaries of the passage of the NYC Landmarks law in 1965.

In 2014, Dr. Diamonsten-Spielvogel and her husband, Ambassador Carol Spielvogel (ret.), were welcomed to our Ambassadors Circle for their charitable support. Ambassador Carl Spielvogel is recognized as part of our Founding Ambassadors Society. “We look forward to working with Dr. Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel as part of the Foundation’s Board of Directors,” says DCF President Roman Popadiuk. “Dr. Diamonstein-Spielvogel provides a wealth of knowledge and experience in the arts and cultural sector, along with a personal connection to American diplomacy. Her counsel will be most helpful as we continue to progress through the exhibition design, fabrication, and installation phase for the future Museum.”

Learn more about the Diplomacy Center Foundation’s leadership.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation is pleased to announce that retired Foreign Service Officer Robert Heath, who has devoted 21 years to realizing the National Museum of American Diplomacy, is now a Founding Ambassador. He joins 69 other members of the US diplomatic community as part of the Founding Ambassadors Society.

Bob is the executive director of both the Diplomacy Center Foundation and the Public Diplomacy Council—a nonprofit organization committed to the academic study, professional practice, and responsible advocacy of public diplomacy. He is also a trustee of the American Council for International Education, a nonprofit organization that administers international exchange programs.

In 1997, Bob completed 27 years as a career diplomat in the US Foreign Service that included assignments for the United States Information Agency (USIA) in seven countries on four continents. His last assignment was as director of the United States Information Service in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 1994 to 1997. During that period, he also occasionally served as deputy chief of mission.

Previously, Bob was spokesperson and public affairs advisor for the US Delegation to the Negotiations on Nuclear and Space Arms in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1983 to 1984 and again from 1989 until the signing of the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START I) Treaty in Moscow on July 31, 1991.

Bob also served as spokesman and press attaché at the US embassy in Bonn, West Germany; as director of the American Cultural Centers in Cape Town, South Africa, and Karachi, Pakistan; and as an assistant information officer in Kinshasa, Zaire.

Bob also served in the Washington headquarters of USIA as Deputy Director of the Office of Policy Guidance; Senior Policy Officer for Arms Control, Security Issues and European Affairs; Policy Guidance Coordinator; and Regional Projects Coordinator for Africa.

He holds a BA in physical science from the University of California at Riverside and an MA in international studies from American University in Washington, DC. Bob was born in Loma Linda, California, and has resided in Washington, DC, since 1965 when not on assignment overseas.

The Diplomacy Center Foundation’s supporters are proof that American diplomacy touches every one of our lives. Many of the Foundation’s supporters dedicated their careers to advancing American diplomacy, while others have been impacted by the work of our diplomatic corps and the Foreign Service.

The Foundation is honoring our capital campaign donors with two interactive kiosks located inside the National Museum of American Diplomacy (NMAD). The kiosks—designed by C&G Partners—launched in February 2021. Each kiosk includes an entry for each of our donors to tell their story of American diplomacy, share their accomplishments, and preserve their legacy.

Once NMAD safely reopens, we look forward to welcoming our donors and guests to the Museum to discover these unique stories of American diplomacy. An online version of the Donor Stories kiosks is now available to explore.

Major Gift Donor Stories

The Major Gifts Donor Stories kiosk is located on the main level of the NMAD entrance pavilion adjacent to the Foundation’s Major Donor Wall. The individuals, foundations, and corporations featured in this kiosk have made contributions of $100,000 or more or made contributions through the Legacy Ministers Society. The Major Gift Donors Stories kiosk contains 32 entries and will continue to grow over the next year.

Founding Ambassador Donor Stories

The Founding Ambassadors Donor Stories kiosk is located in the Founding Ambassador Concourse in the NMAD entrance pavilion. The individuals featured in this kiosk have made contributions to the Foundation as part of the Founding Ambassadors Society. The Founding Ambassador’s Society represents presidentially appointed diplomatic personnel who have contributed $100,000 or more to the Foundation’s capital campaign. The Founding Ambassadors Donors Stories kiosk contains 45 entries and will continue to grow over the next year.

See our full list of donors.
 
 

George P. Shultz (1920-2021) had a distinguished career as a public servant, businessman, and scholar that spanned nearly eight decades. We are deeply saddened by his recent passing on February 6, 2021. He had been serving as an honorary director of the Diplomacy Center Foundation since it was established in 2000. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, DCF Board Chairman, says, “Secretary Shultz was one of the finest men I ever worked for. Deeply engaged, wise, thoughtful, and determined, he was a great delegator and scion of negotiation and personal chemistry, from whom I learned a great deal. He had mastered his role as Secretary of State to rank with the top of them all.”

During his career, Secretary Shultz became one of only two individuals with the honor of holding four federal cabinet positions. Under President Richard Nixon, he served as secretary of labor (1969-1970), director of the Office of Management and Budget (1972-1974), and secretary of the treasury (1972-1974). He held his fourth cabinet position under President Ronald Reagan, serving as secretary of state from 1982 to 1989.

Secretary Shultz’s life and accomplishments mark some of American history’s greatest and most challenging moments. During his nearly seven years as secretary of state, he played a key role in marshaling US foreign policy during the height of the Cold War. He signed landmark arms control treaties, and he helped create the foundation for a working relationship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, all of which eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union. He remains one of the most influential American diplomats of the 20th century.

Yet, Secretary Shultz’s contributions to the United States extend well beyond his tenure at the State Department. As secretary of labor, he implemented the federal government’s first use of quotas to hire people of color when a Pennsylvania construction union refused to accept Black members. After leaving government service, he was an educator and scholar working at Stanford University as a professor of international economics at the Graduate School of Business and as a distinguished fellow at the Hoover Institution.

On December 13, 2020, George P. Shultz celebrated his 100th birthday. To learn more about Secretary Shultz’s life and legacy, you can watch the Hoover Institution’s virtual celebration: George P. Shultz at 100: A Lasting Impact and a Singular Legacy.