Friends of the Armenian Soldier and Family is a non-profit fundraising platform dedicated to supporting the fallen and disabled Armenian soldiers and their families. By bridging the gap between the diaspora and the brave heroes in Armenia FASF creates a culture of ongoing monthly contributions that will support these families as they regain their strength, rebuild their lives, and return to contributing to their communities.
FASF envisions a world in which Armenians in the diaspora feel a shared responsibility to continuously support the needs of veterans—a duty that is expressed through continuous monthly contributions. FASF will be partnering with organizations on the ground in Armenia to deliver career training programs, rehabilitation services, and support for the everyday lives of these surviving veterans and the families of those who have fallen.
The organization’s first grant recipient is going to be IFS (1000plus) with the mission of providing financial support to the families who have lost loved ones during the war and veterans who were severely injured while protecting the borders of the Homeland.
FASF was officially founded in May of 2021. With the help of the Bay Area Armenian community in this short period of time, FASF was able to raise $100,000 for the Armenian Veterans and their families, initiate several online campaigns, and continues to raise awareness to diasporans living in the U.S.
FASF is currently working with organizations based in Armenia, such as IFS (The Insurance Foundation for Serviceman – 1000plus), who is the organization’s first grant recipient. IFS was created for the purpose of insuring and providing compensations to soldiers and families of soldiers who have been injured or deceased when defending the borders of the two motherlands. The organization is proud to lend their support to IFS and to other organizations that are supporting fallen or disabled Armenian soldiers and their families.
The organization’s sole purpose is to enable support for fallen or disabled Armenian soldiers and their families. The organization believes that this sole focus will help drive the most impact. Because they are solely focused on this cause, they are able to directly measure and transparently share the impact of their work with their donors.
Mary, the widow of a fallen soldier, with her young daughter 40-year-old veteran Sevak Sahakyan
FASF’s platform (website, connections, focus area, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization status) allows them to make a larger impact than other platforms have historically. Transparency in their process, actions, and outcomes will be key. FASF has plans to share outcomes (dollars raised), impact (lives impacted), and future plans in real-time through their website and social media channels.
An important aspect of their work is that they also go through a rigorous process of ensuring the organizations they partner with have the highest ethical standards and track records of success.
The FASF Board consists of three veterans of the Armenian tech community: Adam Kablanian, Al Eisaian, and Patrick Sarkissian. All three board members have had a tremendous impact on Armenia’s economy in two key ways: Through entrepreneurial endeavors across various business opportunities spanning over 20 years, and, philanthropically, through both contributions and organizationally (example: Patrick Sarkissian is the founder of ONEArmenia).
In addition to the founding Board members mentioned above, FASF has many volunteers who feel a similar level of passion for this important cause.
FASF’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the brave men and women who sacrifice their lives for Armenia are supported, forever. This support can come in various forms: education, healthcare, monetary support, and anything in between. FASF would like the global Armenian community to collectively participate in this goal – after all, the monetary donations are just a small sacrifice compared to what the brave men and women in Armenia are contributing every day.
Supporting fallen Armenian soldiers and their families is not a one-time problem. This is a cause that will need continuous contribution for many years to come. IFS, one of FASF’s key partners, estimates that over $300M needs to be invested over the next 20 years towards these causes (per IFS records). This is a big problem, but also a big opportunity for the community to band together and support.
In that sense, continuous giving, both monthly donations (which FASF’s platform seamlessly enables) and continuous mindshare are necessary to solve this problem.
FASF’s mission is to create a “Circle of Friends” – which will be possible to implement on their website. How will it work? After completing the donation donors have an opportunity to invite their own friends to follow them and contribute as well. Here is how the process works:
- Log in to FASF account;
- Click on the “Copy the Link to the Clipboard” button, in order to share the invitation via various online media platforms;
- Click on the “Circle of Friends” button and fill in the emails of friends that you want to invite to your Circle of Friends;
- Visit your FASF account any time to edit, add, or track the status of the “Circle of Friends” Invitation.
Donors will be notified once their friends accept the invitation or complete the donation.
By inviting friends to join and support this great cause, and creating a “Circle of Friends,” FASF and the Armenian diaspora are multiplying the number of monthly donors who support Armenian veterans and their families.
