Atlanta, GA: The American India Foundation (AIF) is pleased to announce the launch of a new AIF chapter in Atlanta, Georgia, joining a national network of volunteer hubs dedicated to raising awareness and funds for its philanthropic causes across India. AIF has played a pioneering role in fostering the support of internationally recognized members of the Indian diaspora. This list includes Nobel economist Amartya Sen, Chair, AIF US Advisory Council; Victor Menezes, Senior Vice-Chair of Citigroup; Vinod Dham, “father” of the Pentium chip; Vinod Khosla, Sun Microsystems founder, and many such high achievers. At its chapter activities and fundraising galas, AIF has also honored some of India’s most highly venerated business leaders, such as Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal. According to President Bill Clinton, who is the Honorary Chairman of AIF, “AIF plays an ever important role in bringing together Americans and Indians to become active contributors to India’s development.”
AIF’s national chapter network has enabled AIF to deploy more than $84 million to programs in the critical areas of education, livelihoods, public health, entrepreneurship, and leadership, and aims to reach five million people by 2018. Atlanta joins existing chapters in the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, and Dallas. Announcing the entry of AIF into Atlanta, AIF CEO M. A. Ravi Kumar remarked, “As we look to scale our work even further in India, we are excited to expand our areas of support in the US to include Atlanta. We are proud to attract dynamic leadership from the Indian diaspora in Atlanta.” Amitabh Sharma, President of Asterix Consulting, Inc., previously a senior executive with a global Fortune 500 company and an entrepreneur with an enviable record of community service in the US and India, has agreed to be the founding Chair of the Atlanta Leadership Council. The launch of the chapter will coincide with an inaugural event planned for February 2014.
The American India Foundation is committed to 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. Founded in 2001 at the initiative of President Bill Clinton, AIF has impacted the lives of more than 1.9 million of India’s poor by providing access to high-quality education, formal sector employment for urban youth and rickshaw drivers, and public health services to protect the health of mothers and their children, while building the next generation of global leaders through service. With offices in New York and California, six chapters across the U.S., and India operations centered in New Delhi, AIF is transforming lives across 22 states of India while addressing these issues on a regional, country, and international scale. President Bill Clinton serves as Honorary Chair and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen Chairs the Advisory Council. Learn more at www.AIF.org.