In December 1988, life in Armenia changed. In a matter of seconds, an earthquake that tore through the city of Gyumri and the region of Spitak was reduced to rubble. Thousands died and hundreds of thousands lost their homes and livelihoods. In the wake of this disaster, three members of the Armenian diaspora in the United States—Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Kevork Hovanian and Dr. Edgar M. Housepian—together mobilized emergency humanitarian assistance for victims of the disaster. Their work transporting emergency supplies to the then-Soviet Republic of Armenia would be Fund for Armenian Relief’s first mission. This assistance helped thousands survive an unbelievable tragedy. 

As a burgeoning player in the humanitarian and development field, FAR spent the next 10 years bringing humanitarian assistance to those in need. Throughout the uncertainty that followed the fall of the Soviet Union, the Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the energy crisis, FAR forged onward, focused on its mission of helping Armenians to survive.  

FAR was reorganized into a not-for-profit charitable voluntary organization and received its 501 (c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit status by the IRS in March 1993. It’s now been 30 years since that first mission was carried out in January 1989. Since then, FAR has moved from an organization solely concerned with immediate need to a true global contributor to Armenia’s transformation. 

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, since inception, FAR has implemented 300+ relief, social, economic, educational and cultural projects valued at $375+ million.