OUR FOUNDERS
IN 2000, YOUNES AND SORAYA SARAH NAZARIAN FOUNDED THE YOUNES & SORAYA NAZARIAN FAMILY FOUNDATION IN LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.
Several years later, they established the regional office in Tel Aviv, Israel, under the name of the Ima Foundation. The Foundation is driven by the core belief that the promotion and support of education is the most important catalyst for societal change. The Foundation's charitable giving is focused on supporting educational causes through a multipronged approach, be it in the academic setting, the public policy arena, community focused or through the arts. The Foundation is interested in planting seeds, building bridges, and enabling pioneering thinkers to imbue their knowledge into today's global community.
Younes and Soraya Sarah viewed themselves as vigilant stewards of a moral inheritance passed down to them by their parents. They aspired to leave behind a legacy of passing on this moral inheritance, as well as sharing the family's financial resources, for the benefit of future generations. They were deeply committed to their philanthropy because of their own personal stories, which began with humble beginnings and challenges in Iran that shaped their lives, and ultimately who they became.
Younes and Soraya Sarah served as beacons to their family and to the larger community by sharing their guidance, wisdom, and inspirations as well as the challenges they have strived to overcome.
