F.R.I.E.N.D.S Charities

Raja Jasper, founder of Friends Charities, experienced financial difficulties during college due to income constraints. Wishing to not be a burden, he reached out to his family and church community for advice. Through church he received life advice and began to work full time in conjunction with a full credit load. As a result, he was able to graduate a semester early. Shortly thereafter, he accepted a position at a financial institution.

Mentoring became something of a hobby for Raja during his early career years. He helped guide other friends to pursue graduate studies and offer them advice on how to get their own careers started. In August 2019 he began to think about how to expand this work and reach a wider audience. Thus began Friends Charities in the following October as a 501(c)3 organization. With some of his closest friends as co-founders, Raja began to reach out to current students in need of help pursuing college education.

Friends Charities is written in the form of an acronym. Each letter stands for an adjective describing different core personality traits of each of the founding members. They summarize our organization’s tenets. Anyone can read the full acronym and understand how committed we are to sincerity and generosity.

Faithful – Steadfast and loyal towards friends and community.
Reliable – Consistent performance in work and leisure.
Inviting – Offering the promise of meaningful, educational experiences.
Engaging – Welcoming and empathetic towards all.
Neighborly – Helpful and kind towards all.
Devoted – Enthusiastically giving our time and energy to the cause.
Sharing – Excited to give back to our community.

In October 2019, F.R.I.E.N.D.S Charities was formed as a 501(c)3 organization.

Through your generosity we will provide $500 or more scholarships and professional mentoring to high school students pursuing STEM related degrees in college. Our organization will utilize 80% of the donated amount towards the scholarship fund and the remaining 20% towards regular operations and hosting fundraising events. None of the Friends directly take money from the funds raised: all of us are fully employed in various industries, and are providing these services for the well-being of our communities.

We would like to give back as much as possible to help and mentor those in need. We are here to build a life-long friendship.