Our mission is to support and encourage the foreign policy debate in Baltimore and the wider Middle Atlantic region. In a democracy like ours, we all need to be well-informed so we can monitor what our elected leaders are doing in foreign affairs and what they’re failing to do.
Our dues are low to ensure everyone can afford to attend. Our aspirations are high: to objectively address critical and pressing issues in American foreign policy. Your contribution will enable us to continue delivering our programs and to expand our reach. All contributions –beyond members’ dues – are a tax-deductible charitable donation. So please contribute!
All donations other than membership dues are tax deductible.
Dear Council Member,
I hope everyone had a fine Thanksgiving!
Year-End Donations: On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I thank you for your support this past summer, which all but wiped out the deficit for the current year. As we head into 2024, please remember us with an End of Year donation.
Gift Memberships: This year we hope to expand our membership and help balance the budget — thanks to an anonymous donor. For every new member you sponsor, the donor will match the amount with a gift to the Council. The offer also covers past members — those whose membership has lapsed a year or more. Membership is a bargain – just $30 for a student, $60 for an individual, and $90 for a family. It’s a great gift for the Holiday season. The offer extends to other categories, including individual Supporter at $160, family Supporter at $190, and individual Sustainer at $260 and beyond, up to $500. The donor writes: “All members are encouraged to introduce your engaged friends so they can enjoy the extraordinary speakers and at the same time double their financial contribution to the Council.” Any donation beyond the cost of a gift membership is tax deductible, as we’re a 501(c)(3) non-profit. One condition: the donor’s membership match expires December 15th.
2023 Summary: “We are in one of the most perilous periods of international existence,” is how veteran diplomat Thomas Pickering recently summed up the world situation. The elements are clear: a major war in Europe with no end in sight and Russian hints it might use nuclear weapons, a Middle East conflict that can blow up into regional war and a paralyzed UN Security Council.
If ever there was a time we all need to be well informed, it is now. Baltimore Council speakers offer incisive looks into current crises and perspectives for the time ahead. They also provide solid insights into past calamities.
Christopher Kolenda laid out the lessons of the U.S. failure in Afghanistan, and retired General Frank McKenzie, the former commander of the Central Command, offered valuable insights on Iran and Afghanistan. We broke new ground with Polish Ambassador Marek Magierowski on his country’s vision for European security and with Professor Jennica Larrison from the University of Baltimore on the Forced Displacement catastrophe.
Two Brookings scholars, Michael O’Hanlon and Robert Kagan, gave upbeat assessments of U.S. policy. We also hosted two contrarians, Trita Parsi of the Quincy Institute on the rocky U.S. relations in the Middle East, and former Pentagon official Elbridge Colby, on the case for prioritizing aid to Taiwan over aid to Ukraine. We will top off the year with Robert Zoellick, former World Bank President, on the lessons of history for today’s diplomacy. In January, we’ll have a program on democracy and autocracy and in February, former Ambassador James Jeffrey will address whether there’s a way out of the Middle East impasse.
We’ve just launched a website discussion forum, building on the debate at our speakers’ events. We’ll shortly post a web feature on the Forced Displacement crisis – the 110 million civilians who fled their homes under armed attack.
We hope to restore Council programs for high schools and colleges in 2024 but require an additional staffer and the funding for the position — unless there’s a volunteer who’ll take this on!
So please renew your investment in the Baltimore Council. As a non-profit with low dues, our budget is tight. You can make an impact today by supporting our End of Year Donation Appeal. And you can help even more by sponsoring a new member. Members have helped sustain the Council for more than 40 years. Your continued backing will enable the Council to continue bringing the most thoughtful, considered presentations possible.
The value of the Council is greater than ever. Please join at future programs. Please support our fundraising drive.
With gratitude,
Roy Gutman, President and CEO