NEW YORK — The Children of Armenia Fund (COAF) today announced the launch of The Ararat Circle, a global community of monthly and annual donors created to provide sustained support for the expansion of COAF’s SMART education model across Armenia. The organization has set an initial goal of enrolling 100 Founding Members before the new year.
The launch comes at an inflection point for the SMART initiative. Each week, 2,000 students ages 6–18 from 31 rural communities attend the Youredjian COAF SMART Center in Lori, choosing among 19 afterschool programs — from robotics and programming to music, languages, and agrotechnology — offered seven days a week, at no cost to beneficiaries. A second SMART Campus opens in Myasnikyan, Armavir, in 2028, with centers in Goris and Kapan to extend the model into Syunik. COAF’s stated aim is a SMART Center in every region of Armenia.
“The SMART Center in Lori has proven that world-class education can take root and thrive in rural Armenia,” said Dr. Garo Armen, Chairman and Founder of COAF. “Our task now is to carry that model to every region of the country. The Ararat Circle is how people everywhere in Armenia and across the diaspora can take ownership of that expansion.”
Why Recurring Giving
Sustaining a SMART Center requires instructors, mentors, psychologists, speech therapists, social workers, transportation, and technology — every week, in every season. Recurring gifts give COAF predictable revenue to plan and staff programs, and grow operations.
“Our teams see every day what steady support makes possible — the instructors, specialists, transportation, and technology that rural children count on week after week,” said Liana Ghaltaghchyan, Executive Director of COAF. “As we grow from one center to a national network, the Ararat Circle gives our programs the one thing they need most: dependability.”
Becoming a Founding Member
Members can join The Ararat Circle through a monthly or annual gift. Monthly giving levels are $25 (Open Doors), $50 (Build Skills), $100 (Change Futures), and $250 (Strengthen Communities), with corresponding annual giving options.
Those who join during the inaugural year will receive recognition as a Founding Member of The Ararat Circle, exclusive updates highlighting the impact of their support, and a membership pin symbolizing their commitment to rural Armenia.
“For Armenians, Ararat has always meant more than a mountain — it is steady, enduring, always there,” said Haig Boyadjian, VP of Development at COAF. “We are asking 100 people to be that steady presence for Armenia’s children by the end of the new year. Founding Members will always be recognized as the people who believed first.”
To become a Founding Member, visit coaf.org/araratcircle.
