Yasmeen's Foundation

What Yasmeen's Foundation does

Yasmeen's Foundation is a Canadian registered charity (No. 719355513 RR 0001) headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, founded in 2017 in memory of Yasmeen Rafih. The foundation's mission is to enrich the lives of impoverished girls through three priorities: a safe environment, clean water and food, and quality education. It operates exclusively through a partner-led delivery model, channeling donations to three vetted local non-profit organizations: Mama Bari Trust in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which supports over 100 children through education and pandemic-era technology-enabled learning; Little Steps in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which runs the Haneen Firdous live-in shelter for 8 girls aged 10-15 and supports an underfunded refugee medical clinic; and Nour El Khier in Tripoli, Lebanon, which provides monthly food baskets, educational funding, medical supplies, and clothing to hundreds of families affected by poverty.

The foundation's revenue model is 100% donation-based, with a distinctive structural feature: all administrative, travel, and operational expenses are covered by Yasmeen's family, ensuring that every dollar donated is directed to programs. This is marketed as a core trust-building differentiator. Donation inflows are collected through a Squarespace-based online portal on the foundation's website, as well as through small corporate grants (Volker Stevin, $6,000+ in 2022) and institutional charitable foundation awards (ScotiaMcLeod, $6,500 in 2024). The foundation does not sell products or services and has no employees disclosed; governance is provided by a volunteer board of directors.

The foundation has no proprietary technology products. Its only technology component is the Yasmeen's Tech Hub in Bangladesh, which provides computing hardware and internet access for girls to continue education remotely — a beneficiary-facing infrastructure investment rather than a foundation-developed product. The foundation's GTM motion is community-led, relying on direct donor relationships, website storytelling, and organic social media engagement (Facebook, WhatsApp) to drive donations. Its value proposition differs from typical small charities primarily through the 100% pass-through funding model and the emotional resonance of the founding story.

Name

Yasmeen's Foundation

Legal name

Yasmeen's Foundation

Website

https://yasmeensfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Yasmeen's Foundation is a Canadian registered charity that supports impoverished girls and families in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Lebanon through partnerships with local non-profits, using 100% of donations for direct program delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid / Girls' Education Charity

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

International Grantmaking & Development Foundations (BPAGAKAH), Dropout Prevention, Alternative Education & Re-Engagement Nonprofits (BPAGADAL)

Keywords

• Girls education charity
• Humanitarian aid programs
• Community charitable foundation
• Nonprofit donation programs
• Impoverished children support

Headquarters

HQ city

Calgary

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: The foundation generates revenue entirely through charitable donations from individuals, corporations, and charitable foundations. 100% of donations are directed to carefully selected programs, with all administrative, travel and operational expenses covered by Yasmeen's family.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Yasmeen's Foundation is a Canadian registered charity that channels 100% of donations into humanitarian programs supporting impoverished girls in Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Lebanon. Its core services include funding education, food, clean water, medical supplies, and shelter through three partner-operated programs (Mama Bari, Little Steps, and Nour El-Khier). All administrative and operational expenses are covered privately by the Rafih family.

Product overview

Yasmeen's Foundation is a Canadian registered charity (No. 719355513 RR 0001) dedicated to enriching the lives of impoverished girls through three core programs: Mama Bari in Dhaka, Bangladesh (education and support for girls), Nour El-Khier in Tripoli, Lebanon (food, medical, and educational assistance), and Little Steps in Malaysia (live-in shelter and refugee clinic support). The foundation operates on a 100% donation model, with all administrative expenses covered by Yasmeen's family. The foundation's three priorities are providing a Safe Environment, Clean Water and Food, and Quality Education to young girls.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nour El-Khier

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 80 girls gaining access to meaningful education through partnerships in Bangladesh and Malaysia
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Nour El KhiercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Nour El Khier is a small but highly effective charity working on the ground in Tripoli, Lebanon. Founded by dedicated members and board of directors, they help hundreds of families in poverty navigate dreadful living conditions from years of war, corruption and neglect. Yasmeen's Foundation works hand-in-hand with Nour El Khier to provide food supplies, educational funding, medical supplies and funding for critical medical procedures.
• Mama Bari TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMama Bari Trust is a charitable organization in Dhaka, Bangladesh dedicated to helping impoverished girls. Founded by Mahboob 12 years ago, the organization has helped over 100 children from the streets gain access to education. Yasmeen's Foundation works with this aligned organization to support girls' education and prevent child marriage. The partnership includes sponsoring a technology hub for girls to continue education remotely during pandemic school closures.
• Little StepscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLittle Steps is a Malaysian non-profit organization dedicated to helping young underprivileged girls get education. Yasmeen's Foundation supports Little Steps' first live-in shelter Haneen Firdous, which houses 8 girls ages 10-15. The shelter is run by two full-time qualified staff and supported by Little Steps Board of Directors led by Dr. Aida. In 2022, Yasmeen's Foundation also began supporting an underfunded refugee medical clinic in Malaysia.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education): Non-profit supporting girls' secondary and higher education in sub-Saharan Africa. Directly comparable mission of advancing girls' education in developing countries, though operating at much greater scale and focused on Africa rather than South/Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
• Malala Fund: Global non-profit championing girls' education and empowerment, founded by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. Directly comparable to Yasmeen's Foundation in mission focus on girls' education and a personal founder narrative driving donor engagement, though operating at substantially greater scale.
• Right To Play: International non-profit using sport and play to educate and empower children in disadvantaged communities, including refugee populations. Comparable in working with vulnerable children through local partner delivery models.
• Room to Read: International non-profit focused on literacy and girls' education in low-income countries, with active programs across South and Southeast Asia including Bangladesh and Malaysia. Comparable beneficiary focus and geographic footprint to Yasmeen's Foundation's Mama Bari and Little Steps programs.
• Girl Rising: Global non-profit using storytelling and media to drive awareness and funding for girls' education. Comparable to Yasmeen's Foundation in leveraging emotional narrative to attract donors for girls' welfare causes.

Broad incumbents

• Because I Am a Girl (Plan International initiative): Global campaign under Plan International focused specifically on girls' empowerment and gender equality. Overlapping mission with Yasmeen's Foundation's three priorities (safe environment, food, education) for impoverished girls.
• Plan International Canada: Canadian arm of Plan International, a major global NGO focused on children's rights and girls' equality. Overlapping beneficiary segments and Canadian-domiciled fundraising model, but operating with a vastly broader portfolio and institutional infrastructure.

Regional players

• Aga Khan Foundation Canada: Canadian registered charity supporting international development in parts of Asia and Africa. Comparable as a Canadian-domiciled private foundation channeling donations to international programs, though operating at much larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Yasmeen's Foundation