Washington Trust Foundation Inc.

Just like Awad himself, CAIR’s identity is not as straightforward as you would expect. When you visit the CAIR website, you read:

“CAIR was founded in 1994 with headquarters in Washington, D.C. . . .CAIR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations to CAIR are tax-deductible as allowable by law; our tax ID number is 77-0646756.”

But if you look up the tax ID number given on the CAIR website (77-0646756) you will learn that CAIR Foundation was established in 2005, and not 1994. And when you look up 52-1887951, you come across Washington Trust Foundation Inc., an entity that on the first glance does not seem to have anything to do with CAIR. But a closer look reveals that Washington Trust Foundation Inc. was incorporated at a time when CAIR Foundation should have been, on 15 September 1994. Indeed, this is the date we find on the incorporation documents for CAIR Inc.

So why was CAIR Inc. renamed into Washington Trust Foundation? And what is the relationship between that entity and CAIR Foundation? Who owns the right to CAIR brand? We don’t know the answer to all these questions, but we can try.

According to its 2020 990 tax filing, Washington Trust Foundation serves to support the CAIR Foundation. Washington Trust is also named as the direct controlling entity behind Greater Washington LLC of Delaware whose primary activity is real estate leasing. 

Until as late as 2017, the address given for Washington Trust Foundation was the same as CAIR Foundation’s headquarters at 453 New Jersey Avenue. (which also is the address for Greater Washington LLC of Delaware). In more recent years the address for Washing Trust is a PO box in Falls Church. We can find the address on DC government’s corporation records: 120a East Broad St, Falls Church, Virginia. A property owned by . . . 120a East Broad St LLC.

According to Virginia’s corporation records databse 120A E Broad Street llc was formed in October, 15, 2014, and the registered agent’s name was Samer Garbia. Samer Garbia is an attorney in Virginia. We don’t know who is the principal behind the corporation. But less than a month later, on Nov 13, 2014, Samer Garbia had served as a registered agent for another llc, Celestium Consulting, where Nehad Hammad was the principal. 

Whether it is CAIR Foundation, CAIR Inc., Washington Trust Incorporation Inc., Greater Washington LLC of Delaware, or 120A E Broad Street LLC, only one name connects all of them together: Nihad Awad.