AICPA Makes Contribution to Habitat for Humanity International to Assist With Haiti Reconstruction

Donation Made on Behalf of CPA Profession to Help Ten Families by Building or Reconstructing Their Homes

NEW YORK, April 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants today announced a donation of $40,000 to Habitat for Humanity International, on behalf of the CPA profession, to assist in the ongoing recovery effort in Haiti. The donation was made possible by AICPA member contributions to its disaster relief fund—CPAs in Support of America Fund Inc.—a 501(c)(3) formed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and later used to collect contributions for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"The earthquake that struck Haiti caused widespread damage, and it will take years to rebuild Haiti's infrastructure," said Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO. "The AICPA thanks our members for their generous donations which will assist Habitat for Humanity International in the rebuilding effort."

AICPA's funding will be used to help 10 families repair and reconstruct their homes, including "core houses." These housing units are permanent structures with separate sanitation facilities designed to be expanded over time by the homeowner families. They meet international humanitarian standards and are resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes.

"Habitat for Humanity International is the ideal recipient of the AICPA donation, because of their decades of experience providing housing improvements in Haiti and our past efforts together to build housing for those in need," said Victor Velazquez, AICPA vice president of strategy and human resources and chair of AICPA's Corporate Citizenship Task Force. "Their plan will provide concrete results and help the Haitian people recover from this disaster."

Habitat has set a goal of helping 50,000 families who lost their homes improve their living conditions. The multi-year plan includes distributing shelter kits, removing and recycling debris, repairing and constructing new and transitional homes and providing training for residents to help improve their living conditions.

"We are grateful to the AICPA for selecting Habitat to receive disaster relief donations from member contributions," said Paul Phipps, director of Corporate Development for Habitat. "The need in Haiti is great, and this generous donation supports Habitat's efforts to help families affected by the devastating earthquake."

CPAs advise that Americans wishing to participate in the Haitian relief effort should give to reputable organizations and research their options. Charitable gifts are tax deductible and CPAs are able to advise taxpayers about the requirements for claiming a deduction on their taxes. Information about charities recognized by the IRS may be searched online at Guidestar.org. Information about groups working in Haiti is available through the U.S. State Department and the United Nations.

CPAs have a strong record of providing pro-bono financial advice to Americans seeking to put their lives back together after disasters. These efforts include partnering with the Red Cross and National Endowment for Financial Education to publish Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues aimed at helping Americans who lose their homes or are displaced by storms, floods and earthquakes. While this guide is focused on Americans, many of the same basic principles will apply to Haitians as they recover from this earthquake.

Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues is available on the AICPA's 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy Web site.

The AICPA provided financial assistance to Habitat for Humanity in 2008 to build a house for a family in Durham, N.C., including construction by employee volunteers.

About Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity International is an ecumenical Christian ministry that welcomes to its work all people dedicated to the cause of eliminating poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976, Habitat has built, rehabilitated, repaired or improved more than 350,000 houses worldwide, providing simple, decent and affordable shelter for more than 1.75 million people. For more information, or to donate or volunteer, visit www.habitat.org.

About the AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (www.aicpa.org) is the national, professional association of CPAs, with more than 360,000 CPA members in business and industry, public practice, government, education, student affiliates and international associates. It sets ethical standards for the profession and U.S. auditing standards for audits of private companies, non-profit organizations, federal, state and local governments. It develops and grades the Uniform CPA Examination. The AICPA maintains offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Durham, N.C., Ewing, N.J. and Lewisville, Tex.

Media representatives are invited to visit the AICPA Online Media Center at www.aicpa.org/mediacenter.

SOURCE American Institute of Certified Public Accountants