Non-profit founded in 2003 that produces K-12 educational resources on Hinduism and conducts policy and community advocacy for Hindu Americans' rights.
Hindu American Foundation (HAF) is a non-profit education and advocacy organization founded in 2003. It works to advance understanding of Hindu Dharma traditions and to secure the rights and dignity of Hindu Americans. The organisation is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operates nationwide, working with school districts and temples across the United States.
HAF's work is organised around three areas: education, policy and community. Its education output includes K-12 lesson materials, toolkits on Hindu festivals such as Holi and Diwali, puja guides for students, parents and educators, and the Hinduism 101 series. These materials have reached more than 2.2 million students. The Advocacy Center serves as a community engagement hub, running events and webinars and supplying resources for parents navigating school systems.
On the policy side, HAF engages federal, state and local officials on hate crime legislation, religious freedom protections and anti-bullying initiatives. Its advocacy contributed to the inclusion of an "anti-Hindu" category in law enforcement hate crime reporting. The organisation cites a figure of one in three Hindu American students reporting bullying for their religious beliefs, and works with civil rights groups in coalition-building efforts.
Employees work in a mission-driven setting spanning K-12 education, government and public policy, and civil rights and religious freedom, with an emphasis on cultural proficiency in teaching about Hinduism and on serving the Hindu American community "now and for generations to come".
