The American India Foundation (AIF, founded 2001) is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

American organization working in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It is one of the largest secular, non-partisan American organizations supporting development work in India. AIF is committed to improving the lives of India’s underprivileged, with a special focus on women, children, and youth. It does this through high impact interventions in education, health, and livelihoods, because poverty is multidimensional. AIF’s unique value proposition is its broad engagement between communities, civil society, and expertise, thereby building a lasting bridge between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

. Till date, AIF has impacted 6.7 million lives across 26 states of India. It also runs the William J. Clinton Fellowship now renamed as AIF Banyan Impact Fellowship for Service to India on May 11, 2009, which sends skilled young Americans in an immersive volunteer service program training and placing young professionals to support development organizations across India for 10 months.

History

Founded in 2001 at the initiative of

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

following a suggestion from Indian Prime Minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (; 25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian politician who served three terms as the 10th prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months fr ...

, by a group of

Indian-American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred t ...

s responding to the

Gujarat earthquake The 2001 Gujarat earthquake, also known as the Bhuj earthquake, occurred on 26 January, India's 52nd Republic Day, at . The epicentre was about 9 km south-southwest of the village of Chobari in Bhachau Taluka of Kutch District of Gujar ...

. AIF has impacted the lives of 6.7 million of India’s poor by providing access to high-quality education, skilling for youth, and protecting the health of mothers and their children, while building the next generation of global leaders through service. It has offices in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, twelve chapters across the U.S., and India operations headquartered in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Hous ...

AIF's Work

The American India Foundation focuses on catalyzing social and economic change in India and building a lasting bridge between the United States and India through high-impact interventions in education, livelihoods, public health, and leadership development. Working closely with local communities, AIF partners with NGOs to develop and test innovative solutions and with governments to create and scale sustainable impact.

Education

AIF’s education programs ensure that children in neglected regions and under resourced schools have access to high-quality educational opportunities and gain critical life skills alongside 21st century knowledge to prepare them for success in today’s globalized world.

Learning and Migration Program (LAMP)

AIF's Learning and Migration Program (LAMP) provides access to quality education opportunities to children in areas of seasonal migration, while also advocating to communities and governments the universal right to education. The program has impacted over 580,000 children in 13 states of India.

Digital Equalizer Program

The Digital Equalizer Program utilizes technology to bridge the educational and digital divide in India by transforming under-resourced schools into dynamic places to teach and learn through collaborative, project-based learning. The program has impacted over 4 million children across 15 states of India.

Public Health

Maternal & Newborn Survival Initiave (MANSI)

MANSI utilizes a public-private partnership model to reduce maternal and child mortality by providing resources and support, thus empowering local communities to care for their mothers and children while improving the local health systems. The program has helped serve over 171,000 expecting women, 133,000 new born babies and train over 2900 ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists).

Livelihoods

AIF works closely with the public and private sector to create inclusive and sustainable livelihoods for individuals, families, and communities across India with a long-term goal of equalizing the informal and formal sectors to provide equitable opportunities for all citizens.

Market Aligned Skills Training (MAST)

AIF's MAST program provides underprivileged youth with skills training and access to formal employment opportunities. The program has helped train over 124,000 disadvantaged young people. As part AIF's COVID response, AIF has launched Project Entre-prerana which will be a systemic transformation intervention aimed at reviving the livelihoods of 1 million street vendors, micro entrepreneurs in India, all of whom have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ability Based Livelihood Empowerment (ABLE)

The Ability Based Livelihoods Empowerment (ABLE) program helps train persons with disabilities and facilitates their entry into the job market through advocacy, promoting inclusive growth in India. Through this program AIF has served over 16,000 persons with disabilities.

AIF's Emergency Response

In cases of major national disasters in India, AIF has been involved in relief and rehabilitation efforts. It has undertaken several campaigns for relief and rehabilitation: # In 2001, after the

# In 2004, after the

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

# In 2005, after the

Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu and ...

# In 2019, after the

Pulwama attack The 2019 Pulwama attack occurred on 14 February 2019, when a convoy of vehicles carrying Indian security personnel on the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway was attacked by a vehicle-borne suicide bomber at Lethapora in the Pulwama district ...

#In 2020 and 2021 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

AIF takes a multi-phased approach to disaster relief: relief, reconstruction and rehabilitation. AIF's focus is the long-term rehabilitation of communities, and it dedicates most of its resources to this phase. In

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, AIF funded organizations in affected communities for up to three years following the earthquake so that NGO partners could identify long-term solutions to improve the lives of people affected by disaster.

References

{{Authority control Development charities based in the United States South Asian American organizations Organizations established in 2001 Foreign charities operating in India 2001 establishments in the United States