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Noubar & Anna Afeyan Foundation

Annual Giving
$3.0M
Grant Range
$10K - $0.4M

Quick Stats

  • Annual Giving: $2.95M (2024)
  • Success Rate: N/A (no public application process)
  • Decision Time: N/A (invitation/trustee discretion only)
  • Grant Range: $10,000 - $400,000
  • Geographic Focus: Armenia, Greater Boston area, and global humanitarian initiatives

Contact Details

Website: https://www.afeyanfoundation.org
Location: Wilmington, DE (administratively); Cambridge, MA (operations)
Email: Not publicly available
Phone: Not publicly available

Note: The foundation is currently not accepting grant or funding proposals.

Overview

Founded in 2000 by Noubar and Anna Afeyan, the Noubar & Anna Afeyan Foundation designs, builds, and supports innovative organizations and initiatives in education, science and technology, and humanitarian action. The foundation reflects the family's Armenian and Swedish heritage and operates with an "immigrant mindset" characterized by tenacity, resilience, creativity, and optimism. With approximately $10 million in assets as of 2024, the foundation distributed nearly $3 million in grants that year across 40 awards. The Afeyans signed the Giving Pledge in 2025, committing the majority of their estimated $2+ billion fortune to philanthropy. The foundation takes an intergenerational approach, involving the next generation in grant-making decisions and allowing children to manage smaller funds and suggest larger grants.

Funding Priorities

Grant Programs

The foundation operates through trustee discretion rather than formal grant programs. All grants are made to pre-selected charitable organizations based on the trustees' strategic priorities. There is no public application process.

Recent Major Recipients (2024 fiscal year):

  • Friends of McGill University: $400,000
  • Armenian General Benevolent Union: $250,000
  • MIT: $200,000
  • Beacon Academy: $215,000 (combined)

Priority Areas

Education:

  • Supporting underserved students in Boston through organizations like Beacon Academy, a 10-year program preparing students from historically underrepresented and economically constrained backgrounds for competitive high schools, colleges, and careers
  • International boarding education through UWC Dilijan College in Armenia for students ages 16-19
  • Educational opportunities for displaced populations

Science and Technology:

  • Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology (FAST), which aims to create an innovation ecosystem in Armenia by empowering scientists, technologists, and innovators
  • Technology and AI initiatives in Armenia
  • University research and development

Humanitarian Action:

  • Supporting people to move from surviving to thriving
  • Emergency relief for displaced populations (e.g., $2 million commitment for over 100,000 people displaced from Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh)
  • Organizations working in high-risk environments
  • Medical care and basic needs provision

Arts and Culture:

  • Preserving Armenian heritage through innovative cultural initiatives

What They Don't Fund

The foundation explicitly states it:

  • Does not accept unsolicited grant applications
  • Does not award unsolicited donations
  • Does not fund organizations outside their existing network of pre-selected charities
  • Does not operate through open calls or competitive application processes

Governance and Leadership

Trustees:

  • Noubar B. Afeyan - Co-founder and CEO of Flagship Pioneering, Co-founder and Chairman of Moderna, Ph.D. in biochemical engineering from MIT (1987). Received Golden Door Award (2017), elected to National Academy of Engineering (2022). Born in Beirut to Armenian parents, immigrated to Montreal following the Lebanese Civil War.
  • Anna K. Afeyan Gunnarson - Co-founder and Co-Chair of the Afeyan Foundation, MSc in Biochemical Engineering from Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm. Former teacher at Beacon Academy (8 years), current Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of Beacon Academy's board. Previously served on the Lexington Education Foundation and the Corporation board of the Winsor School, Boston.

Both trustees serve without compensation ($0 reported).

Philanthropic Philosophy: In their Giving Pledge letter, the Afeyans stated: "All of us who have been fortunate in our lives, who truly have all we need, can play an even greater role... to ensure that opportunities are more widely accessed and the rewards of progress are broadly shared." Noubar has said, "Much of the means that we have been fortunate to receive are going to be directed to do good on the planet and not kept within the family."

Intergenerational Approach: Anna Afeyan Gunnarson notes: "Every time I express my gratitude in a way that infects somebody else with the need to feel gratitude, I don't diminish my sense of gratitude, I add to the pile." The foundation involves their children in grant-making, giving them smaller funds to make annual grants and opportunities to suggest larger grants to the family.

Application Process & Timeline

How to Apply

This foundation does not have a public application process. The foundation explicitly states on its website that it is "not accepting grant or funding proposals" and makes contributions only to pre-selected charitable organizations based on trustee discretion.

All grants are awarded through:

  • Direct trustee decision-making by Noubar and Anna Afeyan
  • Strategic identification of organizations aligned with foundation priorities
  • Pre-existing relationships with funded organizations
  • Board involvement (Anna serves on boards of key grantees like Beacon Academy)

The foundation also warns potential applicants about grant scams, emphasizing they do not:

  • Award unsolicited donations
  • Request administrative fees
  • Solicit private financial information
  • Offer memberships or investment opportunities

Decision Timeline

Not applicable - no public application process exists.

Success Rates

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept unsolicited applications. All grants are made at the trustees' discretion to pre-selected organizations.

Reapplication Policy

Not applicable - the foundation does not accept applications or reapplications from organizations outside their existing portfolio.

Application Success Factors

Since this foundation operates entirely through trustee discretion without accepting unsolicited applications, there are no application success factors in the traditional sense. However, organizations that receive funding from the Afeyan Foundation share these characteristics:

Alignment with Core Values:

  • Originality: Future-focused and hopeful, unconstrained by conventional thinking
  • Equity & Belonging: Committed to building a just society that respects human dignity
  • Gratitude: Celebrating generosity and inspiring future giving
  • Sustainability: Prioritizing environmental concerns, especially for vulnerable populations

Strategic Fit:

  • Organizations where trustees have direct board involvement or deep personal connection (e.g., Anna serves as Treasurer at Beacon Academy; both are Founding Patrons of UWC Dilijan)
  • Initiatives aligned with the family's Armenian and Swedish heritage
  • Programs emphasizing local knowledge and supporting those closest to challenges
  • Organizations that can demonstrate innovation in education, science, technology, or humanitarian action

Geographic Focus:

  • Armenia-related initiatives (reflecting Noubar's heritage)
  • Greater Boston area programs (where the family resides)
  • Global humanitarian efforts, particularly for displaced populations

Recent Funding Examples:

  • Universities (MIT, McGill University)
  • Armenian organizations (Armenian General Benevolent Union, organizations supporting displaced Artsakhi people)
  • Educational institutions (Beacon Academy, UWC Dilijan)
  • Science and technology initiatives (FAST)

Key Takeaways for Grant Writers

  • No public application process exists: This foundation operates entirely through trustee discretion and does not accept unsolicited proposals or applications
  • Relationship-driven: Funded organizations typically have direct connections to the Afeyan family through board service, personal involvement, or long-standing relationships
  • Heritage focus: Strong emphasis on Armenian causes and the Armenian diaspora, reflecting Noubar's background
  • Local and global: Balances hyperlocal Boston-area education initiatives with international humanitarian work
  • Innovation-oriented: Favors organizations with innovative approaches, reflecting Noubar's background as a biotech entrepreneur and venture capitalist
  • Intergenerational philanthropy: The foundation involves the next generation in decision-making, suggesting a long-term commitment to their philanthropic priorities
  • Immigrant mindset: Values tenacity, resilience, creativity, optimism, hard work, and agility in funded organizations

References

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