Friends for Impact

Capacity Building for Livelihood Entrepreneurship

Accelerating Equity, Empowering Communities

Our Mission

We believe everyone has potential to become a ChangeMaker, regardless of Gender, Race or Religion.

Our mission is to facilitate Capacity Building for ChangeMakers and their Livelihood Entrepreneurship. By doing so, our ChangeMakers can help accelerate Equity and Fairness, improving resilient Livelihoods, bridging Cultures and Continents, and empowering local Communities.

Born from a volunteer group of friends to support Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims in 2011, Friends for Impact has grown to become the catalyst of change. Friends for Impact (FFI) currently is a 501(c)3 organization, registered under New York State’s Not-For-Profit Corporation law.

Our program adheres to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Our Scope

With the main focus on Livelihood Entrepreneurship, we raise Awareness and facilitate Capacity Building for entrepreneurs and business owners with our designated lab-to-market training programs. Our scope includes critical areas that impact our human life, including Agriculture-Food Security, Health Equity & Sustainable Community.

Agri-Food Security

Agricultural Security is vital for the resilience of food supply chains. Accordingly, Food Security creates better human health, greater economic stability, better tackle climate change.

Health Equity

Health Equity provides equal access and opportunities for people to be as healthy as possible and addresses systemic barriers and obstacles that cause differences in health.

Sustainable Community

Sustainable Community is to meet the needs of the present without compromising future generations’ ability to meet their own needs. The key here is sustainable Local Communities.

Our Work

Social barriers are related to the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, learn, work and age (CDC), which create serious issues such as food security, access to healthcare, access to education, so on. First and foremost, we support the underserved by providing trainings and toolkits to help them overcome their challenges created by those social barriers. Furthermore, we facilitate Capacity Building for those entrepreneurs and business owners who can provide Livelihood solutions to accelerate equity and build sustainable local communities.

Thematic Livelihood Programs

Our thematic Livelihood programs are designed to transforms aspiring entrepreneurs into Livelihood Architects – equipped to build profitable businesses that systematically increase beneficiary incomes. The program’s unique integration of operational discipline, financial literacy, and ethical foundations creates sustainable ventures where business success and community prosperity grow together.

Global Entrepreneur-In-Residence

We support Technology-focused, Research-based and STEM career-oriented entrepreneurship that could increase Sustainable Livelihood for Local Communities. FFI@University is the Global Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Program which supports global entrepreneurs. For more details, please visit the Program’s website: https://ffi.university/

Current Program

“We support businesses that – honor the earth, empower farmers, nourish communities –
profitably and sustainably.”

Module 0 - Grow your business while growing community prosperity

Intro:
Discover how to build a food business that supports farmers and feeds communities. Set the goal to launch food businesses that increase smallholder farmer incomes by targeted percentage.

Key Components:
1. The “Farmer First” business philosophy.
2. Overview of the 10-module journey.
3. Why do you want to start this business?
4. How will your business creates impact?

Module 1 - Find Ethical Ingredients

Intro:
Learn to source ingredients directly from farmers, ensuring fair pay and building trust from day one.

Key Components:
1. Farm visit protocol.
2. Fair pricing calculations.
3. Sample negotiation scenarios.
4. Ethics verification

Module 2 - Create Food Products

Intro:
Transform raw ingredients into market-ready products using simple, safe methods – no commercial kitchen required.

Key Components:
1. “No-burn” recipe scaling.
2. Cottage food law compliance.
3. Shelf-life testing.
4. Sustainable packaging design.

Module 3 - Monitor Lean Operations

Intro:
Minimize waste in production and control inventory to maximize every dollar spent.

Key Components:
1. Batch optimization math.
2. FIFO/ LIFO inventory system.
3. Waste audit protocol.
4. Equipment cost analysis.

Module 4 - Practice Selling

Intro:
Build confidence through simulated sales experiences before hitting real markets.

Key Components:
1. Pricing role-plays.
2. Customer objection handling.
3. Basic bookkeeping.
4. Stall setup optimization.

Module 5 - Launch at Real Markets

Intro:
Take your products to actual farmers markets, generating revenue while supporting farmers.

Key Components:
1. Market permit navigation.
2. Dynamic pricing tactics.
3. Farmer payment automation.
4. Customer retention systems.

Module 6 - Control Cashflow

Intro:
Transform financial anxiety into control through practical cashflow systems.

Key Components:
1. Profit vs. cash distinction.
2. 13-week cash forecasting.
3. Emergency fund planning.
4. Collection sprint tactics.

Module 7 - Crowdfund Your Business

Intro:
Leverage your market success to fund growth through community-backed campaigns.

Key Components:
1. Farmer impact storytelling.
2. Reward design within allowable tax limits.
3. Campaign timeline planning.
4. Post-campaign fulfillment.

Module 8 - Source Globally

Intro:
Scale your impact by ethically sourcing from international farming communities.

Key Components:
1. Import-Export compliance and custom basis.
2. Fair trade contracting and legal risk management.
3. Currency risk and carbon-neutral logistics management.
4. Pricing empathy and cultural negotiation.

Module 9 - Grow Your Impact

Intro:
Transition from business owner to industry changemaker through systematic impact scaling.

Key Components:
1. Farmer co-ownership models.
2. Open-source knowledge sharing.
3. Policy advocacy basics: Supporting local communities.
4. Succession planning: Apprentice-to-Mentor conversion.

Module 10 - Post Program & Beyond

Intro:
For Graduates who are ready to scale systemic change.

Key Impact Pathways:
1. Regenerative Supply Chains.
2. Policy Leadership.
3. Impact Capital.

Module Appendix - Livelihood Business Impact Measurement

Graduate Pledge:
“I measure success not just by profit, but by the prosperity I create for every farmer in my network.”

Key Impact Metric:
1. Farmer Income Lift.
2. Food Waste.
3. Business Survival.
4. Women Farmer Partners.

Our Past Beneficiaries

We have supported various selected beneficiaries within our scope of work. Some notable benefited charitable organizations are listed below. We place strong focus on supporting entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs, and small business owners, who could create change and social impact to benefit local communities.