About Us

Roots of REAL Nonprofit

At REAL Nonprofit Inc, we believe every child deserves a fair shot at a brighter future. We are a purpose-driven organization focused on supporting vulnerable children and underserved communities, both locally and globally. Through education, resources, and empowerment programs, we work to break cycles of poverty and inequality.

The idea for REAL Nonprofit Inc. began with a church food drive. In the fall of 2023, Shaan Sancheti (a 14 year old rising 9th grader at the time) found himself frustrated at the lack of volunteer opportunities he was able to find in the greater Atlanta area. He had tried to join a service league for young men, but was unable to participate because there were no openings in any of the chapters of the greater Atlanta area for rising 9th graders at that time.

Shaan learned that many volunteer opportunities had age restrictions (16 and up), and with his extracurriculars after school he was unfortunately unable to participate in any volunteer opportunities in the afternoon/evening hours on weekdays.

That fall, his church offered its members a fall food drive bag and encouraged them to either fill up the bag and bring it back to the church, or to drop it off at a neighboring food bank. Shaan chose to participate in his church’s food drive by creating flyers for his neighbors and encouraging them to drop off items at his house, which he would then deliver to the North Fulton Community Charities (NFCC) food pantry. In 2023, Shaan was blown away when he and his mom had to drive multiple car loads totaling over 1,000 nonperishable items to NFCC! Shaan continued to look for volunteer opportunities that year, and began serving with Books for Africa consistently during the summer after his freshman year since he was able to work the shifts in the summertime when he was out of school (the shifts only run 9am – 3 pm each day, which unfortunately does not work during the school year).

Community Impact, Student-Led Growth

In the fall of 2024, Shaan decided to build upon the previous year’s food drive by including the neighborhood next to his, and also asking for book donations that he could contribute to Books for Africa, as well as the food pantry items for NFCC. In 2024, Shaan collected over 2,000 items for North Fulton Community Charities and over 500 books. When he and his mom delivered the food items to NFCC his 10th grade year, the Community Engagement Manager from NFCC came out to speak to them and asked who they represented since they had such a large donation. It was at this point that Shaan realized that while what he was doing was not earth-shattering, his little ripple had started to create a wave. He recognized that people did want to support high schoolers doing things for their community, people didn’t mind contributing items if it was convenient for them, and that the impact upon the greater community could be substantial if he could replicate this system with other students.

Enter REAL Nonprofit, Inc….

During the spring and summer of 2025, Shaan worked to become the founder, incorporator, and President of the Youth Advisory Council for REAL Nonprofit, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization designed to empower students to take ownership of bettering their communities. He’s built a team of student support through other Youth Advisory Council members and Student Ambassadors from designated schools in the greater Atlanta community. These students are ready to build upon Shaan’s individual efforts and are seeking to strengthen relationships with their neighbors and local communities in order to simultaneously educate the communities and collaborate with the communities in order to solicit donations for local nonprofits. They believe in synergy, economies of scale, and fresh ideas when it comes to volunteering.