AIACA Donors

The Indian office of the Ford Foundation was established in 1952. It was the first office to be established outside the United States. The foundation works with a wide range of partners, with a focus on helping India's civil society find local solutions to challenges of poverty and injustice. The Ford Foundation has been supporting AIACA to connect craft producers to mainstream markets in a commercially sustainable manner, study the feasibility of a bridge loan fund, create an impact assessment system and build institutional capacity of crafts group in India.

The European Commission is one of the world's biggest aid donors. The Switch Asia project funded by the European Commission seeks to promote sustainable production and consumption projects in Asia. AIACA, in partnership with Traidcraft UK and Consortium of Textile Exporters, Jaipur has received a grant under the Switch Asia Project to explore environmental and health and safety issues related to the crafts and textile sector in India. The overall objective of the project is to reduce poverty and improve the quality of life among artisans in the crafts and textile industry in India.

The Ebay Foundation contributes to the economic and social well-being of local communities by engaging eBay employees in charitable giving and volunteerism. Through eBay Foundation GIVE Teams, employees are directly involved in recommending grants to deserving causes in their communities and around the world.

Fabindia is India's largest private platform for products that are made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes. Over the last 50 years, Fabindia has linked over 40,000 craft based rural producers to modern urban markets, creating a base for skilled, sustainable rural employment, and preserving India's traditional handicrafts in the process. Fabindia has been a strong supporter of AIACA from its inception and was one its earliest donors.

RBS Foundation India (The Royal Bank of Scotland Group) supports organizations that work on enhancing livelihood opportunities for vulnerable and underprivileged communities in India. The Foundation lays a special focus on communities living in fragile ecosystems so as to both increase incomes of the poor and enhance environmental sustainability. With RBS support, AIACA is working to connect crafts producers in the poor tribal clusters of Wayanad (Kerala), Nilgiris (Tamil Nadu), and Sitlingi (Tamil Nadu) to mainstream markets. Key project activities include streamlining operations, value chain mapping and gap analysis, production planning and unit setup, supply chain linkages, and marketing and sales. The project will provide alternative sources of income generation, promote sustainable utilization of natural resources and reduce forest dependency.

DORABJI TATA TRUST: The Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, one of the oldest, non-sectarian philanthropic organisations in India, was established in 1932 by Sir Dorabji Tata with the prime purpose of encouraging learning and research in the country, of meeting costs of relief during crises and calamities and of carrying out worthwhile charitable activities. AIACA has received a grant from the trust under the theme of Natural Resource Management and Rural Livelihood. The grant supports the Enterprise Support program which aims to provide business development and capacity building solutions to craft based enterprises thus promoting sustainable livelihoods for artisans.