Hindu American Foundation
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Inaccurate, negative, and stereotyped understandings of Hinduism and Hindus are indicative of a systemic problem that results in ignorance, discrimination, hate, and even violence against Hindus in America and around the world. The problem is rooted in Hindus not having had a seat at the table of individuals and institutions of influence that form the narratives and shape policies that affect Hindus everyday. This void has led to narratives that don't reflect Hinduism and Hindus clearly, and policies that don't promote dignity, mutual respect, and pluralism, nor ensure the well-being of Hindus and that all people and the planet thrive. HAF seeks to fill this void.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Education & Awareness
HAF works to improve the understanding of Hinduism and Hindus through K-12, Higher Ed and Media
Policy - Civil & Human Rights
HAF works to ensure Hindus and other minorities in the U.S. and around the world are free, safe, and secure by engaging and working with key stakeholders.
Community Building
HAF serves the community through unique opportunities and beneficial programs and promoting pluralism and mutual respect through intra and interfaith engagement.
Where we work
Awards
Hindu Renaissance Award 2009
Hinduism Today
Affiliations & memberships
Member, International Religious Freedom Roundtable 2016
Suhag Shukla, Member, First Amendment Center's Committee on Religious Liberty 2018
Suhag Shukla, Advisory Committee, Department of Homeland Security (Prevention of Targeted Violence) 2018
Member, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights 2019
Member, Committee on Religious Liberty 2019
Member, Asian American Unity Coalition 2022
Member, American Academy of Religion (AAR) 2022
Member, Asian American Unity Coalition 2022
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of unique website visitors
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Parents, Adults
Related Program
Education & Awareness
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
HAF's Hinduism 101 & Hinduism Essentials offer a content-rich experience to learn about Hinduism through a wide array of well researched and easy to understand resources. Metric: unique pageviews.
Number of policymakers or candidates reached
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Ethnic and racial groups, Hindus
Related Program
Policy - Civil & Human Rights
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
HAF consistently educates and strategically engages policymakers about Hindu issues & perspectives thru in person meetings, briefings, testimony, interns, and newsletters. Metric: Federal/State/Local
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
EDUCATION: Improve the understanding of Hinduism and Hindus.
1. Work towards an equitable and accurate portrayal of Hinduism in K-12 textbooks and in classrooms.
2. Promote a balanced understanding of Hinduism as a lived tradition in academia.
3. Improve narratives about Hindus and Hinduism in media.
POLICY: Promote policies for the well-being of Hindus worldwide and the benefit of all people and the planet.
1. Advocate for policies that enhance the well-being of Hindus in the US.
2. Advocate for policies that secure the human rights of Hindus around the world and promote peace, prosperity and pluralism in India, the spiritual homeland of Hindus.
3. Advocate for solutions aligned with or inspired by Hindu teachings for the benefit of all people and the planet.
COMMUNITY: Empower Hindu American communities and partner institutions.
1. Enhance the well-being, safety, and security of Hindu communities and institutions.
2. Build a culture of advocacy.
3. Promote the recognition of Hinduism and Hindu contributions.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is an advocacy organization for the Hindu American community. The Foundation educates the public about Hinduism, speaks out about issues affecting Hindus worldwide, and builds bridges with institutions and individuals whose work aligns with HAF's objectives. HAF three areas of focus are education, policy, and community. Through its advocacy efforts, HAF promotes dignity, mutual respect, and pluralism to ensure the well-being of Hindus and for all people and the planet to thrive.
HAF is politically agnostic and non-partisan, meaning we are informed, but do not favor or endorse any one political party or its positions. We will work with all individuals and institutions committed to and constructively engaged in promoting dignity, mutual respect, and pluralism.
HAF is not affiliated with any religious or political organizations or entities. HAF seeks to serve Hindu Americans across all sampradayas (Hindu religious traditions) regardless of race, color, national origin, citizenship, caste, gender, sexual orientation, age and/or disability.
Our positions are based on a relentless pursuit of facts; deep consideration of Hindu principles and American values, such as freedom, equality, and justice; and the input of subject matter experts. If we like a policy, we'll say so, and rigorously substantiate our position.
HAF positions will always be based on our guiding principles. And we will always advocate for what we believe is rooted in Hindu Dharma, and serves the well-being of Hindus and the greater good of all.
*Satya. Be truthful. We pride ourselves in offering programming and information with accuracy, integrity, and honesty.
*Ahimsa. Be non-harming. We aspire to work and communicate fairly and respectfully.
*Viveka. Be discerning. We approach our work through careful contemplation, reason, and consensus building.
*Nutana. Be innovative. We aspire to keep our work and approach relevant to our constituents by being creative, innovative, and flexible.
*Sadbhavana. Be collaborative. We seek out partnerships with other individuals and organizations to forward our objectives.
*Kutumbakam. Be big-hearted. We value and respect each other as individuals, work well together as a team, and respect each other's work/life balance.
*Utsaah. Be passionate. We are passionate about Hindu Dharma, the global community, and our work.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
HAF has a full-time staff of 14 of highly qualified, motivated, and passionate individuals. The team is dedicated to ensuring the objectives and goals set forth by the Board of Directors with input from HAF's National Leadership Council, staff and other stakeholders. HAF's National Leadership Council is a small body of dedicated and knowledgable volunteers who work with HAF's staff and board in ensuring progress towards the organization's stated objectives and goals. With a 19-year track record in education and advocacy, two attorneys on staff and a staff team with decades of work experience, HAF is a highly capable and top industry leader.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
➤ Improved how India & Hinduism is taught in public schools in 11 states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
➤ Taught 85,000 students and trained 3,400 teachers and nearly 1,400 professionals with accurate information about Hinduism through HAF's signature Hinduism 101 and professional development programs.
➤Reaffirmed the Hindu roots of yoga through the Take Back Yoga campaign covered in over 90 mainstream news articles including prime time coverage in the Washington Post, NY Times, CNN, BBC, and NPR.
➤Graduated and inspired over 50 emerging leaders through the first and only Hindu American Internship.
➤Empowered the community with 2,200 trained in HAF’s Dharma Ambassadors and Dharma Advocates programs.
➤Gave voice to Hindus suffering gross human rights abuses in South Asia through 12 annual, first-of-its-kind Hindu human rights reports and over 30 Hindu Human Rights advocacy campaigns.
➤Ensured over 4,000 Pakistani Hindu refugees receive vital medical services and nearly 18,000 Bhutanese Hindu refugees are able to preserve their culture and successfully integrate into American life.
➤Harnessed the power of the community to ensure the well-being of Hindus in the US and around the world with 36,000 grassroots advocates activated.
➤Worked with the US Congress and FBI to create and institute the “anti-Hindu” hate crime data category to better monitor anti-Hindu hate crimes and protect the Hindu American community.
➤Sued California’s Board of Education, Department of Fair Employment & Housing, and the California State University system for violating Hindu American rights.
➤Successfully advocated for the first-ever recognition of Diwali in the US Congress.
What's next? HAFs commitment to excellence and innovation allows us to adapt to the changing needs of the education and advocacy space.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Hindu American Foundation
Board of directorsas of 10/19/2022
Dr. Mihir Meghani
Dr. Rajiv Pandit
Mihir Meghani
Rishi Bhutada
Rajiv Pandit
Arjun Bhagat
Swami Venkataraman
Dena Merriam
Rajeev Singh
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/15/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.