About AID

Courage | Commitment | Change

Association for India's Development (AID) is a volunteer movement promoting sustainable, equitable development and social justice. We work directly and through partner organizations in creative efforts in interconnected spheres such as agriculture, energy, education, health, livelihoods, natural resources including land and water, women's empowerment and social justice. In addition to work in local areas, we believe that systemic change is necessary to take the country on a different path of pro-people development. Therefore, AID pro-actively participates in many struggles against displacement, corruption, human rights violations and injustice, and advocacy campaigns for pro-poor policies.

Over the past 20 years, AID has learnt from some of the best organizations, movements and activists in India, such as Medha Patkar, Aruna Roy, Ajay Kumar, Dayamani Barla, Dr. Ramanujam and Arvind Kejriwal. AID has adopted a 3-pronged approach of sangharsh, nirman, seva in our work, with all three aspects playing a critical role.

Sangharsh: Countering injustice and advocating for systemic change
Nirman: Building people-centered sustainable development efforts
Seva: Personal dedication and transformation

Donations to AID are tax-deductible in the USA and we are a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization with tax ID 04-3652609. www.aidindia.org

AID at a Glance

Founded: 1991
Incorporated: 2003
Chapters In USA: 36
Number Of Volunteers: ~1000
Chapters In India: 12
Total Projects: 625
Ongoing Projects: ~125
Indian States With AID Projects: 20
Projects Visited By AID Volunteers: All

Why support AID for your end of year fundraiser?

All proceeds from this One For India fundaiser would go towards supporting sustainable developmental projects for marginalized communities in India. Here are some reasons for supporting our organization:

a) We are working with some amazing grassroots groups who are leading and pioneering new ways of working on rural development with the marginalized communities in India working on a wide spectrum of issues.

b) AID is a pluralist organization, we have no religious affiliations and supports pluralism and coexistance and peace amongst various faiths.

c) We have next to no administrative overhead, for every dollar donated 95% goes directly to the projects we support. We recently got the Times of India Global Social Impact Award in 2011.

d) Most of our members are volunteers. We welcome you to join us as it is a great way to meet and make friends with like-minded individuals who are passionate about making a difference.

e) Our volunteers have direct contact with the work in India. Each volunteer has the opportunity to introduce and recommend new projects, visit projects when in India, become the project lead, and play a pivotal role in the interactions between AID, the people affected by the projects and the NGOs. Our focus is trying to build a rewarding partnership relationship that is enriching to everyone involved.

f) Since 1991 when AID was founded in the US, we have developed a strong ground presence in various parts of India. We have Jeevansaathis who have committed to do AID related work in the grassroots for the long term. We have built, in some cases, over a decade long relationship with reputable NGOs and peoples movements in India.

g) Our approach from the beginning has been one that looks at development holistically. We aim to tackle all angles of an issues with our partners: education, income generation, health, women's empowerment, agricultural enhancement, increased use of appropriate technology, land and water rights are just some of the issues that we address.

h) Our three pillars of Sangarsh, Nirman and Seva evolved over the years: our experience has shown that working closely with people in India we must stand by them in their struggles and efforts to find sustainable solutions to their multi-faceted problems.

Our work has gone beyond providing funds, to working in partnership to collectively and sustainably resolve institutional and circumstantial challenges in India. Please join a local chapter or talk to/email one of our volunteers to find out more about AID.

We sincerely hope you can support us.

~ AID Volunteers