Think Armenian Smart Charity — Directory & Updates

1992

Armenian EyeCare Project

Newport Beach, CA · 501(c)(3) · Ophthalmologic care

HealthcareDirect service

A surgical suite on wheels — the Mobile Eye Hospital — tours Armenia's most remote regions delivering free screenings and sight-restoring surgery, alongside fellowships that train Armenian ophthalmologists.

Rating: ★★★★4-star · 97.5/100 — Charity Navigator
Cost per outcome: ≈ $160 restores one person's sight via cataract surgery
Reach: 435,000+ people seen across Armenia since 2002
Why it fits: Textbook high-impact: a quantified dollar-per-cure and a permanent in-country capability.

Give → eyecareproject.com Verify rating

2004

Children of Armenia Fund (COAF)

New York, NY · 501(c)(3) · Rural development & youth

Rural & EconomicEducationChildren

Community-led development across Armenia's poorest villages: schools, clinics, and the SMART education model that pulls rural teenagers into design, science, and self-directed learning.

Rating: ★★★★4-star · 100% — Charity Navigator
Reach: 60+ rural communities; ≈$50M invested in village-scale infrastructure and programs
Why it fits: Long-horizon human-capital building where the urban–rural gap is widest.

Give → coaf.org Verify rating

1988

Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)

New York, NY · 501(c)(3) · Development across all sectors

HealthcareEducationChildrenHumanitarian

Born from the 1988 Spitak earthquake and grown into Armenia's broadest development operator — healthcare, education, child protection, and economic growth, region by region.

Rating: ★★★★4-star — Charity Navigator
Track record: 300+ projects, $400M+ raised over 35 years
Why it fits: Broad, durable, and one of the few with a verified cost-effectiveness benchmark.

Give → farusa.org Verify rating

1994

Armenia Tree Project (ATP)

Watertown, MA · 501(c)(3) · Reforestation

EnvironmentRural & Economic

Restoring forest cover stripped during the post-Soviet energy crisis — four nurseries, community orchards, eco-education, and seasonal jobs for high-unemployment rural regions.

Output: 9,000,000+ trees planted; ≈100,000 tons of CO₂ removed per year
Footprint: 1,800+ community planting sites across Armenia
Why it fits: Climate resilience and rural income in one measurable program.

Give → armeniatree.org

1994

Armenia Fund Hayastan All-Armenian Fund · US

Los Angeles, CA · 501(c)(3) · Infrastructure

InfrastructureHumanitarian

The U.S. arm of the worldwide Hayastan fund, building the physical backbone of Armenia and Artsakh — roads, water systems, schools, and housing at national scale.

Rating: ★★★★3-star · 85% — Charity Navigator
Scale: $300M+ raised; the largest grassroots Armenian-American charity by donor base
Why it fits: Nation-building infrastructure at scale, with a solid stewardship score.

Give → armeniafund.org Verify rating

1906

Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU)

New York, NY · 501(c)(3) · Education, culture, humanitarian

EducationCulture & HeritageHumanitarian

The oldest and largest Armenian nonprofit in the world: schools, scholarships, cultural programs, and a primary funder behind TUMO's expansion across Armenia.

Standing: First Armenian organization to rank among the US's 100 biggest charities
Why it fits: The foundational institution of Armenian identity and opportunity.

Give → agbu.org

2011

TUMO Center for Creative Technologies US-deductible via AGBU

Yerevan, Armenia · Free teen tech & creative education

EducationChildren

A free, self-directed program in animation, robotics, design, and software — Armenia's flagship educational innovation, now expanding to reach every region.

Reach: 20,000+ students enrolled; nationwide build-out targeting 80,000
Why it fits: Directly builds Armenia's future tech workforce — high leverage, free for every kid.

Learn → tumo.org Give via AGBU

1910

Armenian Relief Society (ARS)

Watertown, MA · 501(c)(3) · Humanitarian & social services

HumanitarianCulture & HeritageChildren

A century-old community safety net: social services, relief, scholarships, and cultural preservation serving Armenians in the US, Armenia, and Artsakh.

Rating: ★★★★4-star · 95% — Charity Navigator
Why it fits: Durable, trusted, and squarely focused on Armenian welfare and identity.

Give → arseastusa.org Verify rating

2005

Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR)

Radnor, PA · 501(c)(3) · Orphaned & institutionalized care

ChildrenHumanitarian

Relief for orphaned children and adults with disabilities, with a push toward deinstitutionalization, family reunification, and care for families of fallen soldiers.

Rating: ★★★★3-star · 79% — Charity Navigator
Why it fits: Protects the most vulnerable Armenians — and works to get children out of institutions.

Give → soar-us.org Verify rating

Lexington Gathering Rallies Diaspora Support Behind AECP's Mission in Armenia

More than two dozen supporters gathered at the Lexington, MA home of Harry and Katrina Glorikian for an intimate fundraising evening. AECP Vice President Dr. John Hovanesian delivered a presentation on the organization's continuing work, anchored by the Mobile Eye Hospital — a 48-foot surgical suite on wheels that tours Armenia's most remote regions providing free screenings and cataract surgery.

COAF Breaks Ground on New School and Expands Healthcare Across Armavir

COAF is executing a major 2026 expansion in the Armavir region. A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a new school, and the Youredjian Children and Families Center opened in the same region. Healthcare services are being extended to additional rural communities — a significant step toward reaching every region of Armenia with the SMART development model.

FAR Targets Childhood Malnutrition and Doubles Down on Displaced Artsakh Families

FAR Executive Director Bree Carriglio outlined two 2026 priorities: a new malnutrition program assessing nutritional deficits in Armenian children, and continued long-term support for displaced Artsakh families focusing on physical resources and psychosocial recovery. FAR also appointed Kirk Hourdajian to its Board and co-organized a Harvard partnership workshop on ultrasound diagnostics.

ATP Enters New Era: Executive Director Retires, New Forest Planted in Armenia's Harshest Region

Executive Director Jeanmarie Papelian retired December 31, 2025 after the planting of ATP's 9-millionth tree. Under new leadership, ATP has already launched a reforestation project in Pemzashen, Shirak. The Hrant Dink Memorial Forest in Fioletovo is on track for handover to the village municipality in 2027 — the first community-owned forest in Armenia's history.

Armenia Fund Announces Return of All-Inclusive Donor Trip to Armenia for September 2026

Armenia Fund confirmed the return of its All-Inclusive Donor Trip to Armenia in September 2026, giving donors direct exposure to the infrastructure and humanitarian projects the Fund finances — roads, hospitals, schools, and youth programs. The annual Thanksgiving Telethon remains the flagship fundraising event each fall.

AGBU Shifts Artsakh Relief Toward Long-Term Recovery as Displacement Enters Year Three

AGBU is pivoting its Global Relief Fund from immediate food and heating aid toward longer-term economic recovery, psychosocial programming, and integration support for displaced families now settled in Armenia. The fund has reached hundreds of thousands of individuals through AGBU's century-old humanitarian infrastructure.

MVRDV Breaks Ground on €42.5M EU–TUMO Convergence Center in Yerevan

Construction began February 24 on the EU TUMO Convergence Centre for Engineering and Applied Science — a five-story, 18,000 m² building designed by Dutch architecture firm MVRDV and cantilevered over the Hrazdan Gorge with views to Mount Ararat. A €42.5M project with a €12.5M EU contribution. PM Pashinyan attended the groundbreaking.

ARS Continues Century-Old Mission: Scholarships, Social Services, and Artsakh Displacement Support

ARS chapters in the US have contributed to a coalition of benefit concerts alongside AGBU, FAR, and local Armenian organizations, raising funds for Artsakh displaced families. ARS also continues its long-running scholarship programs, social services, and cultural preservation programming across the diaspora and Armenia.

SOAR Supports Artsakh Orphans in SOS Villages, Funds Surgery for Children with Disabilities

SOAR is supporting orphaned children from Artsakh relocated to SOS Children's Villages in Kotayk, providing art therapy, food, and clothing. Through its Families of Fallen Soldiers Relief Fund, SOAR continues financial and emotional support for widows and children of soldiers killed in the Artsakh wars — explicitly to prevent any child from being institutionalized.

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