Friends for Impact

Fundraising & Capacity Building

Our Mission

Born from the hand-holding of a group of friends to raise urgent fund for Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims in 2011, Friends for Impact has grown to become the Catalyst of Change. While we maintain our support for Urgent Needs, we place strong focus on Entrepreneurs and Innovators who could create change and scale social impact together with us.

We believe Everyone has potential to create Change, regardless of Gender, Race or Religion. While the top 1% of entrepreneurs has Access to Opportunities and Capital, the rest of 99% are left behind with numerous challenges.

Our mission is to create Pathways for the 99% of Entrepreneurs and build a Diverse-Inclusive-Equitable Community as a Safe space for them to grow.

Our community are innovative thinkers, entrepreneurs, researchers, scientists, business leaders, thought leaders, evangelists, venture capitalists, and those who are purpose-led and solution-driven, who support entrepreneurship and innovations.

Friends for Impact (FFI) is a 501(c)3 organization for public interest, registered under New York State’s Not-For-Profit Corporation law.

Our program adheres to United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

What we do

To create pathways to capital and opportunities, we operate at both sides of the table: Fundraising and Capacity Building.

Fundraising

Our fundraising work would not become possible without the generous contributions from our private corporate donors, foundations, donor advised funds, and individuals. We deeply appreciate for the support in our hand holding effort to make positive change in people’s lives.

Capacity Building

Our educational work is Technology-focused, Research-based and STEM career-oriented. With the startup mentality, we have the flexibility to adapt to the fast changing of technology and innovation, while maintaining the Diversity-Equity-Inclusion to advance our people’s Capacity and Growth, regardless of Gender, Race or Religion.

Fundraising

FFI@Foundation is our affiliate program with Foundations, Donor-Advised Funds, Venture Capitals, Corporate CSR, Non-profits as well as Public to support for DEI Entrepreneurship in the U.S. and Asia-Pacific. Organizations and projects that are innovative, advancing the diversity, equity and inclusion, community driven, and making change and impact will be our focus. As of date, we have raised more than half of million of dollars and distributed 100% to our selected causes. It would not become possible without generous supports from our donors.

Urgent Needs

We believe that “love is the medicine” for underserved people when they need our help most. Together we share our love by giving them a heart and a hand. We support their Urgent Needs, under any circumstances, whether it is caused by natural disaster, pandemic, or lack of food for living, or lack of fund for primary education.

Fellowships

We believe everyone can create innovation, whether they are entrepreneurs, leaders, researchers or faculty. While top 1% has access to opportunities and capital, the rest of 99% are left behind with numerous challenges. The fellowships are for research cost, lab activities, customer discovery or to build products.

Trainings

We believe that Innovation is at the intersection of Technology, Business and Science. In order to create more innovations, continuous trainings for entrepreneurs, researchers, innovators are essential, so that more impactful solutions could be developed to benefit our Community.

Capacity Building

FFI@University is our affiliate program with Universities, aiming to help improve the Capacity for Entrepreneurs, with two levels: Lab-to-Market and Management. Our work is conducted virtually which allows our friends and community join and support each other from anywhere in the world. We maintain our presence and strategic partnership with Tech Incubator at Queens College, New York, to conduct lab activities and community building.

Lab-to-Market Certification

This is the Lab-to-Market Launch Track which focuses on helping entrepreneurs and researchers bridging the gap between Lab and Market, taking an idea and navigating how to build and launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

This 3-week program is designed as a hands-on, practical and experiential education, based on the Lean Startup Methodology. Entrepreneurs work with industry mentors and experts to conduct customer discovery, validation, prototyping and product iteration, to build and launch their MVP with set timeline and deadline. Their business model must meet certain set of criteria to cross the Valley of Death, which serves as their Launchpad to move to growth stage later on.

Technology Management &
Entrepreneurship Certification

This is the foundation program which provides the focus on Technology in conjunction with Management, Leadership and Entrepreneurship.

The course helps learners to develop their mindset and skillset to become an entrepreneur to build their startup, or an intrapreneur to innovate new products and processes in an existing organization. An upcoming researcher who wants to commercialize their research could also use our program to gain a foundational level of how to take on an entrepreneurial role. This program also helps bridge the gap for non-tech founders to become tech savvy and able to work with technologists.

Our Programs

We support Female founders, Founders of Color, Diverse, Minority and Underserved founders to Create Change.

FFI@University is the Global Entrepreneurs Exchange Program, providing access to global resources and trusted networks. We work with Incubators at U.S. Universities to facilitate entrepreneurship training, community building for global entrepreneurs in the U.S., Asia-Pacific and other emerging markets.

FFI@Foundation builds out The $1 Million Founders Impact Fund. We work with our collective partners and founders network to provide access to capacity training and financial support for those who are academic, female founder, founder of color, diverse, minority and underserved founders.

Our Past Projects & Beneficiaries

We have raised more than half of million of dollars and have distributed 100% fund raised to various selected beneficiaries. Some notable benefited charitable organizations are listed below. While we maintain our hand-holding effort in supporting Urgent Needs as in the past, we have built out our own Capacity and place strong focus on supporting Entrepreneurs and Innovators, who could create change and together with us scale our social impact to benefit our Community.

Our Strategic Partners

FHH Ventures is the venture studio who invested and incubated Friends for Impact, before spinning it off into a separate legal entity. FHH supports Science & Technology Innovations, especially focusing on accelerating innovative solutions to improve Consumer Health & Health Equity.

Tech Incubator at Queens College (TIQC), is supported by the New York City Council as a startup incubator for entrepreneurs. TIQC aims to help startup companies and entrepreneurs to build successful tech-enabled companies, which in turn creates more job opportunities and drives innovation and technology development.

Our Directors in Action

We connect, collaborate and co-create solutions to support entrepreneurs to turn idea into action. We welcome any hand-holding with us.

Ying Zhou is the Chair of the Capacity Building pillar. She has extensive experience in training design, cross-sector collaboration, emerging technology and entrepreneurship. Ying is the Executive Director of Tech Incubator at Queens College, and a long time PwC veteran. She holds a Ph.D. from the City University of New York.

Hanah Tran is the Chair of the Fundraising pillar. She has extensive experience in venture producing business, financial strategy and angel investing, and strategic expansion. She is the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of FHH Ventures, and a long time Goldman Sachs veteran. She holds a Master degree from Kobe University.

Make a Donation

Email us: donate@friendsforimpact.org

Please support our Programs by:

Mail a check with FFI@University or FFI@Foundation in the memo line to:
Friends For Impact, Inc., c/o Tech Incubator at Queens College, CEP Hall #2, 65-30 Kissena Blvd, Flushing, NY 11367, United States.
Make a stock gift or to include FFI@University in your estate plans by contacting FFI Donation team. Please email us before any stock or cash wire donation. If you would like to make a gift of mutual funds, or restricted or closely held securities, please email us for instructions.
Make your online gift using our PayPal’s Donation account. Please email us for instruction.

All contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Tax receipt comes directly from Friends For Impact, Inc.