 Coptic Orphans incorporated as a US 501(c)3 nonprofit in 1992, when founder Nermien Riad began her work among orphaned children in the Cairo area.Riad organized family and friends to sponsor 45 girls in an orphanage when she returned to the U.S.; however, with the departure of the nun who oversaw the orphanage, Riad turned her attention to paternal orphans living with families.She recruited the "church servants" of local Coptic parishes who visited the families.