What Lazord Foundation does

Lazord Foundation is a US-incorporated 501(c)-style nonprofit, founded in 2010 and headquartered at 292 Newbury Street, #527, Boston. Its sole product is the Lazord Fellowship, a year-long experiential program that places recent graduates in civic society organizations across the Arab and Mediterranean region, combining job placements, monthly mentoring, and competency-based training across four pillars: civic leadership, professional development and program management, finance and administrative skills, and ethics.

The program is delivered through four regional chapter partners: the John D. Gerhart Center at the American University in Cairo (Egypt), INJAZ (Jordan), UTIL (Tunisia), and HIGGS (Greece). This partner-dependent architecture allows Lazord to operate across multiple countries with a small core team of 5-10 people and a volunteer board. Fellows are recruited through annual application cycles routed via partner and university networks; alumni span 15+ cohorts from 2010-2011 through 2025-2026.

The foundation is funded entirely by donations and charitable contributions, with online giving enabled through PayPal on its website. There are no fees charged to fellows. The foundation holds a federally registered trademark on the "Lazord Foundation" name and "LF" logo. It has no disclosed institutional funding rounds, no parent organization, no subsidiaries, and no commercial revenue streams.

Name

Lazord Foundation

Legal name

Lazord Foundation

Website

https://lazordfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lazord Foundation is a US-based nonprofit that runs the Lazord Fellowship, a year-long experiential program placing recent graduates in civic society organizations across Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Greece through local chapter partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Leadership Development and Fellowship Program

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA), Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE), Private Pathway & Foundation Providers (EDAIAJAB)

Keywords

• Youth leadership development
• Fellowship program
• Civic education training
• Professional skills development
• Civil society capacity building

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The foundation operates primarily through donations and charitable contributions from individual donors, foundations, and institutional supporters. Online donation functionality is available through PayPal on their website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lazord Foundation designs, implements, and develops experiential and educational programs for young professionals in the Arab and Mediterranean region. Its core offering is the Lazord Fellowship, a year-long program that places recent graduates in locally-based civil society organizations while providing monthly mentoring and competency-based trainings in civic leadership, professional development, finance/administrative skills, and ethics. The fellowship is delivered through four country chapters in Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Greece.

Product overview

The Lazord Foundation operates as a single unified fellowship program offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering is the Lazord Fellowship Program, a year-long experiential learning initiative that provides recent graduates with professional and civic skills through job placements, monthly mentoring, and competency-based trainings. The fellowship is delivered through four regional chapters in Egypt (AUC Gerhart Center), Greece (HIGGS), Jordan (INJAZ), and Tunisia (UTIL), each adapting the program to local contexts. The program is structured around four competency pillars: Civic Leadership, Professional Development & Program Management, Finance & Administrative Skills, and Living & Working by Ethics. Alumni from the program (2010-present) work across diverse sectors including youth empowerment, health, human rights, environment, and development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Lazord Fellowship: A year-long program providing recent graduates with professional and civic skills through job placements, mentoring, and trainings by local partners.

Products and services

• Lazord Fellowship Program A year-long experiential fellowship program for recent graduates in the Arab and Mediterranean region that combines job placements at locally-based civil society organizations with monthly mentoring sessions and structured competency-based trainings in civic leadership, professional development, finance/administrative skills, and ethics. The program is delivered at no cost to selected fellows and is open to recent graduates from Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Greece through regional chapters.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• The American University in Cairo (AUC) - John D. Gerhart CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAUC Gerhart Center serves as the Egypt chapter for Lazord Fellowship, providing programmatic oversight, fellow placement coordination, and capacity building for civic engagement in Egypt. The partnership has been active since the foundation's inception.
• INJAZcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINJAZ Jordan hosts the Lazord Fellowship's Jordan chapter, managing national programs for youth employment and leading regional conferences. The organization collaborates on preparing fresh graduates for the professional world through job placements and training.
• UTILcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTIL Tunisia serves as the foundation's Tunisian chapter, focused on youth and women engagement in public life, fighting corruption, and ensuring economic opportunity. Founded in 2011, UTIL works to combat radicalization through employment pathways.
• HIGGSregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerHIGGS (Greece) is an initiative reinforcing Non-Profit Organizations and Social Enterprises through educational and supportive programs. Serves as the Lazord Fellowship chapter in Greece, expanding the program's reach into the Mediterranean region.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Hivos: International development organization supporting civic innovation and youth leadership in the Middle East and North Africa. Comparable on values-driven youth programming and partnership-based delivery, though operating across many more regions and themes globally.
• Search for Common Ground: Large international peacebuilding NGO with deep MENA programming focused on civic engagement and conflict transformation. Overlaps with Lazord's civic leadership pillar and serves similar Arab/Mediterranean youth, but operates at significantly greater scale across many issue areas.
• British Council: UK government-linked organization delivering educational, cultural, and youth leadership programs globally, including MENA. Comparable on educational program design and youth development mission, though at much larger institutional scale with government backing.
• Alwaleed Philanthropies: Large Saudi-based philanthropic foundation supporting youth, education, and civic engagement initiatives across the Arab world. Operates in the same regional philanthropic space as Lazord but at vastly greater scale and with broader thematic reach.

Direct peers

• INJAZ Al-Arab: Regional umbrella for INJAZ national operations across MENA, delivering youth entrepreneurship and workforce readiness programs. While INJAZ Jordan is itself a Lazord chapter partner, the broader INJAZ network pursues a closely adjacent mission of preparing graduates for the workforce.
• International Youth Foundation: Global nonprofit operating youth leadership and employability programs across 80+ countries, including MENA. Compares to Lazord on target demographic (young adults), competency-based training approach, and partnership-driven delivery in developing markets.
• Global Civic Consulting: Founding venture of Lazord co-founder Nelly Corbel, focused on civic capacity development across MENA, Europe, and North America. Closely aligned with Lazord's mission of building citizen-driven leadership capacity through consulting and program design.
• Ashoka Arab World: Ashoka Arab World identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs across the MENA region. Most directly comparable to Lazord - both fellowship-style changemaker programs in the same geography - and notably, Lazord co-founder Anna Manice launched the first fellowship after interning at Ashoka Arab World.

Others

• Middle East Institute: Washington, DC-based think tank advancing US-MENA understanding through research, programs, and convenings. Compares to Lazord through its focus on regional civic capacity, though operates in policy and research rather than direct fellowship delivery.

Emerging players

• Nawa for Social Development: Syrian-focused nonprofit developing youth leadership and civic engagement programs for conflict-affected communities in MENA. Comparable in mission and target demographic to Lazord, with a narrower geographic focus on Syrian communities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lazordFdn
• Facebookfacebook.com/lazordfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lazord-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Lazord Foundation