Dear

Doug,
Central Asia Institutes impact and current auditing practices were brought up in the show The
Controversy Over Three Cups of Tea which aired on Monday October 10, 2016, on KUER. Since
neither of the shows guests speak on behalf of CAI, we want to make sure that the audience
receives the correct and most current information about CAI.
In the five years since the CBS inquiry, CAI has continued to pioneer programs benefitting
hundreds of thousands of children in the impoverished, often conflict-ridden regions of
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan (over 98,000 people benefited from CAI-supported
programs in 2015 alone). During this time, CAI has overhauled and improved both its
governance and its operations with new board members and staff, shored-up procedures and
personnel policies, and revamped its financial systems and independent oversight. Greg
Mortenson also retired from the organization and stepped down as a member of the board of
directors. Staff from CAI-USA have visited projects overseas every year. For the past five years,
CAI has also employed the services of an independent international accounting firm to perform
auditing and monitoring services. CAI also requires the international NGOs it funds to conduct
internal audits. Finally, it now employs two well-respected external monitoring and evaluation
firms to review CAI-supported projects in Afghanistan and Pakistan to ensure the accuracy of the
operations and social impact reporting of its international grantees.
This activity, and other domestic operation improvements, has resulted in CAI meeting and
exceeding every reporting requirement presented, including those of the Montana Attorney
Generals office, the nonprofit watchdog agency GuideStar, the Better Business Bureau and
Charity Navigator. CAI remains committed to accountability and transparency. Our tax filings,
audited financial statements, and annual reports are all on our website centralasiainstitute.org.
Wed also like to share with your listeners that our 2015 Impact Report is now available
(https://centralasiainstitute.org/financials/2015-impact-report.pdf) online. The report clearly
shows the organizations positive social impact is far greater than stated in the course of the
show.
To date, CAI has initiated over 450 programs and the need for educational programs like those
we provide continues to grow. We hope that people will see past the issues of 2011 and see the
positive impact the organization has on the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Sincerely,

James Thaden, Executive Director

Central Asia Institute

PO Box 7209 Bozeman, MT USA, 59771 | 877.585.7841 | info@centralasiainstitute.org | centralasiainstitute.org

CAI is a U.S. registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, IRS EIN #51-0376237. Contributions are tax-deductible in the U.S.