Dorna Foundation · United States
Art and culture for a more connected world.
Dorna (درنا) is the Persian word for crane. Cranes return every spring, carrying an old promise that what we lost will come back. From them grew the tradition of folding paper, a thousand paper cranes for a single wish. The wish was never in the last crane but in the thousand. That is our philosophy! Every small thing we make, a story translated, a poem read aloud, a book placed in a child's hands, drifts outward like a dandelion seed on a single breath, lands somewhere unseen, takes root, and grows. Enough of them, and the world becomes a little kinder.
Our programmes
What we're building
Each Dorna programme connects literature, art, and community. The flagship is the Children's Magazine, an international magazine made by and for children; alongside it we run a Children's Book Programme, literature initiatives like Narvan Magazine and Unedited, and an art-donation pipeline with Doost Art Gallery.
01·Flagship Programme·Flagship
Children's Magazine
An international magazine made by and for children, in any language.

02·Children's Books
Children's Book Programme
A planned monthly book subscription for children with limited access to books.

03·Literature Initiative
Narvan Magazine
Essays, translations, and creative writing from the Persian-speaking world and its diaspora.
Financial transparency
Public benefit,
publicly accounted.
Dorna Foundation is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation. Its 501(c)(3) application is in preparation; US financial statements will be published after the close of its first reporting year.
Running figures for 2026, the foundation's first reporting year. Full annual reports follow after the year closes.
With you
Three ways to be part of this.
Whether you bring a book budget, a quiet hour each week, or a school's worth of readers, there's a way to walk with us.
Donate
Donate
Fund book subscriptions, workshops, and cultural programmes directly. Stichting Dorna is a recognised ANBI, so donations are tax-deductible in the Netherlands.
Volunteer
Volunteer
Contribute your time and skills to events, story times, publishing, programme design, or translation.
Partner
Partner
Schools, libraries, NGOs, and cultural organisations, let's collaborate on programmes that reach more readers.