Friends of Bulgaria was established in 1991 by Ivan Stancioff to provide humanitarian assistance to Bulgaria. The supply of equipment and pharmaceuticals desperately needed in Bulgarian hospitals accounted for £64,000 of the charity's funds during the first eight years of its existence, but in addition £29,000 was sent to the Karin Dom Children's Home in Varna while another £17,500 went to various other Bulgarian institutions.

A notable early project was the involvement with the Sofia School for the Blind. With the assistance of Friends of Bulgaria, Alex Thomas, the son of the British Ambassador in Sofia at the time, completed a sponsored cycle ride from the Bulgarian Embassy in London to the British Embassy in Sofia, raising nearly £12,000 for the School.

During the critical economic situation in Bulgaria in the winter of 1996/97, the charity supported the work of a British aid worker in gathering and distributing food supplies to those in need in the town of Assenovgrad and its surroundings. Support has also been given to John Panitsa's Free and Democratic Bulgarian Foundation for its work with street children and Roma communities.

In recent years, Friends of Bulgaria has focused its support on improving the quality of life for children with disabilities, establishing and providing ongoing support, including staff training, volunteer placements and equipment, for a special needs teaching unit in the Ivan Hadjiisky School in Troyan. Other institutions with which we work on a regular basis are the Petrovo home for children with mental disabilities and the Nezabravka (Forget-me-not) orphanage in Stara Zagora.