Fund for Armenian Relief

Following lunch on Friday, delegates heard from leaders of the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR), the Diocesan-affiliated international development organization.

Garnik Nanagoulian, executive director of FAR, told delegates that the organization has been getting more and more support from individuals. Today, FAR receives 46 percent of its support from individual givers, with the rest coming from government contracts, endowment funds, and other areas.

“Our donor base is growing because people trust us. We are becoming the organization of choice for men and women in the Diaspora who wish to help their brothers and sisters in the homeland,” Nanagoulian said.

Annette Choolfaian, vice chair of FAR, spoke about the different ways individuals help FAR provide hope, opportunity, and empowerment to the people of Armenia. She noted that individuals go to Armenia to teach, provide equipment, create long-term giving programs in their wills, and establish endowment funds to benefit FAR.

FAR’s mission is not one of relief but one of giving the Armenian people the tools to strengthen their own civil society.

“FAR will always be there for building and taking care of the basic subsistence of the people of Armenia, but you have to thank past that, think of different ways to help Armenian people help themselves,” said Randy Sapah-Gulian, chairman of FAR.

He said one idea FAR is exploring is developing out-sourcing IT centers to provide jobs in Armenia.

“We’re trying to develop an economic business development model where we would train individuals, having that backed by a commercial venture, and grow the economy that way,” he said.

For more information on FAR, visit its website: www.farusa.org

Posted by Jake at May 4, 2007 02:35 PM