We build and advance innovative solutions for a better world.
Our Work
Founded by Noubar and Anna Afeyan in 2000, the Afeyan Foundation believes that the power of imagination and the strength of our communities can create a better world for all.
The Foundation designs, builds, and supports innovative organizations and initiatives in the areas of education, science and technology, and humanitarian action.
The Afeyan Foundation reflects our family’s Armenian and Swedish heritage and values. We approach our work with what we view as immigrant mindsets: tenacity, resilience, and creativity. Our programs impact communities around the world including in Armenia and the greater Boston area.
The Afeyan family provides financial support through multiple vehicles, including a donor-advised fund held at Morgan Stanley.
We are future-focused and hopeful in our mission, unconstrained by commonly held beliefs about what is possible.
We are committed to building a more just society, one that respects the rights and dignity of all human beings, offering opportunity and a sense of safety and belonging.
We recognize and celebrate the generosity and sacrifices of others and believe that a powerful sense of gratitude inspires the next generation of giving. We call this “gratitude in action.”
We prioritize sustainability, acknowledging that climate change is an ever-growing threat, especially to the world’s most vulnerable populations.
We design and support initiatives that empower those in the greatest need to go from surviving to reviving to thriving.
The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative seeks to address on-the-ground humanitarian challenges around the world with a focus on helping the most destitute. The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is a $1 million global award that recognizes those who risk their lives, health, or freedom to save the lives, health, or freedom of others.
We build and fund programs and initiatives that drive impact through innovation.
Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST) aims to create an innovation ecosystem in Armenia and beyond by empowering scientists, technologists, and innovators to bring cutting-edge, commercially viable and globally competitive solutions to life.
We work to expand educational access and opportunities with the belief that equity in and through education allows communities to prosper and individuals to flourish.
Beacon Academy is a Boston-based academy that offers a 10-year program that prepares students from historically underrepresented and/or economically constrained backgrounds to succeed in competitive high schools, colleges, and careers.
UWC Dilijan College is a member of the United World College movement, with a mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. One of eighteen UWC colleges around the world, UWCD is the first international boarding school in Armenia for students ages 16 to 19 offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program.
The Afeyan Foundation today announced it has completed the allocation of its previously announced $2 million USD commitment to help the more than 100,000 people displaced from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) last year. This financial support follows previous efforts by the Afeyan family to help the people of Artsakh after the forced displacement of the Artsakh population.
AIFA leverages more than two decades of philanthropic efforts in Armenia by the Afeyan family and serves as the strategic and operational hub for its current and future development initiatives in Armenia. Talar Kazanjian, a seasoned organizational and nonprofit leader in Armenia and globally, has been appointed Executive Director of AIFA.
The recent arrest by the government of Azerbaijan of philanthropist, businessman, Armenian citizen and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, Ruben Vardanyan, is both outrageous and politically motivated. As members of the global humanitarian and human rights community we call for his immediate release.
Based on our current commitments to the organizations we fund,
we are not accepting grant or funding proposals at this time.
