What Karam Foundation does

Karam Foundation is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2007 in Chicago, on a mission to build a better future for Syria through education and humanitarian support for displaced Syrian youth and families. The organization operates across five countries — the United States, Syria, Turkiye, Lebanon, and Jordan — and reports having empowered more than 100,000 displaced Syrians since 2011. Its service portfolio is organized into complementary programs: Karam Scholars (higher education scholarships and career pathways), Karam Studios (creative education with design thinking, robotics, and emerging-tech curriculum), Karam Families (food, rent, and emergency relief for displaced families), Karam House (physical creative hubs in Reyhanli and Istanbul equipped with 3D printers, laser cutters, and digital media labs), Karam Connections (US high school student mentorship immersion), Karam Caravan (a mobile makerspace operating across five Syrian schools), and Beit Karam (a community hub for education and rebuilding in Damascus). Curriculum is co-developed with NuVu Studios / NuVuX in Cambridge with ties to MIT alumni.

The organization monetizes impact rather than products. Revenue streams include one-time and monthly individual donations via The Journey program, corporate-matched gifts (commonly 2:1 or 3:1), event-based fundraising through the annual Mother's Day Brunch at The Westin Chicago Lombard, multi-tier event sponsorships (e.g., Damascene Rose at $2,500 and Homs Storyteller's Circle at $10,000), and merchandise sales through the Karam Shop. The go-to-market motion is direct-to-consumer nonprofit: storytelling across the Belonging(s) podcast, blog, Instagram, Facebook, X, and YouTube, supplemented by a Speaker Request Program and high-touch donor stewardship. Notable institutional recognition includes a 2019 $100,000 challenge matching grant from the Schooner Foundation and a BBC London feature of founder and CEO Lina Sergie Attar.

Operationally, Karam Foundation runs a lean team of 11–50 employees with leadership distributed between Chicago, the US (Lake Forest mailing address), Turkiye, Syria, and the wider Middle East, with field leadership including a Director of Philanthropy (Rose), a Head of Innovation (Ramzi Naja, currently deployed in Beirut), and a Deputy Chairman of Beit Karam in Syria (Essam Abu Laban). The organization has navigated significant disruption: it terminated in-country Syria operations due to escalated security risks before reopening with Beit Karam in Damascus in 2025 and launching Karam Caravan, signaling a deliberate re-entry phase.

Name

Karam Foundation

Legal name

Karam Foundation

Website

https://karamfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Karam Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 that supports displaced Syrian youth and families through education, creative learning, and humanitarian aid programs across Syria, Turkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, and the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Humanitarian Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

akta.pro primary industry

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid services
• Refugee education programs
• Nonprofit charitable organization
• STEM education nonprofit
• Community development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and monthly donations from individual supporters, including The Journey monthly giving program and corporate matching donations.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Karam Foundation merchandise including t-shirts, long sleeve tees, crewnecks, silk scarves, and sponsorship tiers through the online shop.
3. Event Tickets: Revenue from Mother Day's Brunch events with adult and child ticket pricing, plus table sponsorships at various tiers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Karam Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers humanitarian aid, scholarships, and creative STEM education to displaced Syrian youth and families. It operates Karam House facilities in Turkiye, mobile innovation labs (Karam Caravan) inside Syria, scholarship programs (Karam Scholars), family support services (Karam Families), and community rebuilding hubs (Beit Karam). Programs are funded through individual donations, monthly giving (The Journey), grants, sponsorships, and merchandise sales.

Product overview

Karam Foundation operates a portfolio of humanitarian and educational programs supporting displaced Syrians. The core programs include Karam Scholars (higher education/scholarships), Karam Studios (creative education hub with 3D printers and laser cutters), Karam Families (family support), and Karam House (physical facilities in Reyhanli and Istanbul). Additional programs include Karam Connections (mentorship immersion for high school students), the Visiting Mentors Program (expert-led workshops), and Karam Caravan (mobile innovation lab). The organization also produces the Belonging(s) Podcast, operates a Shop for merchandise, and runs The Journey monthly giving program. Beit Karam serves as a community hub in Aleppo and Damascus for education and rebuilding efforts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Karam House: World-class creative hub developed in partnership with innovators from NuVuX and MIT where young people turn ideas into action through design, technology, and storytelling.
• Karam Scholars
• Karam Studios
• Karam Families
• Karam Connections
• Karam Caravan
• Beit Karam
• Belonging(s)

Products and services

• Karam Scholars Higher education and scholarship program supporting displaced Syrian youth with university access and career pathway development.
• Karam Studios Creative education hub at Karam House featuring hands-on mentorship in design, technology, and storytelling with equipment including 3D printers, laser cutters, and digital media labs.
• Karam Families Family support program providing resources, emergency aid, and assistance to displaced Syrian families to help them rebuild their lives with dignity.
• Karam House World-class creative hub developed in partnership with innovators from NuVuX and MIT, where young people turn ideas into action through design, technology, and storytelling. Located in Reyhanli, Turkiye.
• Karam Connections Week-long service immersion program for high school students to mentor displaced Syrian youth at Karam House, led by Malik and Hana Osman.
• Karam Caravan Cutting-edge mobile innovation lab (mobile makerspace on wheels) equipped with 3D printers and laser cutters, bringing advanced hands-on learning to underserved communities across Syria. Operating across five schools in Eastern Aleppo, Rural Aleppo, Idlib, Jindires, and Al Ruhaybah.
• Belonging(s) Podcast Podcast hosted by Lina Sergie Attar exploring stories of displacement, identity, and the pursuit of home. Available on Spotify and Apple Music, currently in production of Season 4.
• Beit Karam Community hub for education and rebuilding, founded in Aleppo and now active in Damascus, Syria. Designed as a 'home for possibilities' giving young Syrians the opportunity to learn, build, and imagine a better future.
• The Journey Monthly Giving Program Monthly giving program helping displaced Syrians rebuild their lives and return home with dignity and opportunity. Members receive stories of return and resilience, exclusive access to programs, and community connections.
• Karam Shop Online store offering Karam Foundation merchandise including apparel (t-shirts, long sleeve tees, crewnecks), silk scarves, and books about Syria. Also offers sponsorship tiers such as Damascene Rose and Homs Storyteller's Circle.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ young minds equipped with skills and confidence to lead
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung (FES)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2025Partnership for 'Makers of Tomorrow' showcase event hosted by Beit Karam in Damascus on October 28, 2025. FES is a German political foundation focused on social democracy and international cooperation.
• NuVu Studios / NuVuXcoreTechnology or IntegrationCurriculum partnership for STEM education programming developed in Cambridge with MIT alumni. Karam Caravan programming designed with NuVu Studios, providing Design Thinking, Robotics & Coding, and Emerging Tech (AR/VR) curriculum. Also developed Karam House creative hub concept.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Syria Relief & Development Foundation: US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit delivering humanitarian relief and development programming to Syrian refugees and internally displaced persons. Directly comparable to Karam Foundation in mission, diaspora-led governance, and operational focus on Syrian crisis response.
• Molham Volunteering Team: Syrian diaspora-led humanitarian organization providing relief, medical, and educational support to displaced Syrians across the region. Closely comparable community-led, Syrian-identity-centered model to Karam's diaspora-driven approach.
• Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS): US-headquartered Syrian-American nonprofit providing medical care and humanitarian aid inside Syria and to Syrian refugees. Comparable diaspora-led, US-domiciled nonprofit serving the same displaced population as Karam, though with a healthcare rather than education focus.
• War Child Alliance: International NGO dedicated to protecting and educating children in conflict zones, with active Syria programming. Directly comparable in combining education (Karam Scholars/Studios) and child-welfare focus for conflict-affected youth.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Large global humanitarian organization with extensive Syria programming in livelihoods, food security, and youth education. Overlaps with Karam's humanitarian aid and youth development work but operates at much greater scale and with a broader geographic portfolio.
• International Rescue Committee (IRC): Major international refugee assistance NGO with significant Syria crisis programming across education, health, and economic recovery. Overlapping refugee-focused mission with Karam, but with global scope and substantially larger institutional footprint.
• Save the Children: Global NGO with active Syria programming focused on child protection, education, and emergency response. Directly comparable in serving conflict-affected Syrian children through education, but at far larger organizational scale.
• UNICEF: UN agency for child welfare with major Syria response portfolio in education and child protection. Overlaps with Karam's child-and-youth development focus for Syrian populations, but operates globally as a UN system organization rather than a small US nonprofit.

Emerging players

• Seenaryo: Lebanon-based nonprofit using performing arts and creative education to support refugee and vulnerable children in the Arab region. Directly comparable to Karam Studios' creative/STEM education model for displaced youth, though operating at smaller scale and with an arts rather than tech focus.

Others

• NuVu Studios: MIT-affiliated innovation and STEM education studio in Cambridge that co-developed Karam House and Karam Caravan curricula. Not a humanitarian peer but the primary technology, curriculum, and design partner enabling Karam's STEM education differentiator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/karamfoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@karamgives
• Facebookfacebook.com/karamgives
• Instagraminstagram.com/karam_foundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3739997

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Karam Foundation