North American Association of Indian Students
The North American Association of Indian Students (NAAIS) is a nonprofit and non-partisan Indian-American organization that functions as an umbrella group to cater to Indian and Indian-American students studying in the United States and Canada. The organization has 23,000 members and aims to connect the variety of Indian groups on college and university campuses. With over 200,000 Indian students and over 500,000 Indian-American students studying in US institutions, young Indians are one of the largest identity groups within the United States, behind China. The organization works to create a better  resource for Indian-Americans and Indian-origin students. Programs and Initiatives. Student Aid. Since 2020, the North American Association of Indian Students has helped over 5000 Indian students with food, legal and rental assistance in the times of COVID-19 alongside the recent winter storm in Texas. The organization claims to have crowdsourced over $150,000 in aid. Radio Mirchi x NAAIS Helpline. In early 2020, NAAIS partnered with Radio Mirchi to set up a phone helpline for Indian students impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The helpline has supported students in answering questions about visa status, travel restrictions , and university closures. The Desi Vote. The organization is conducting an outreach and voter registration for the 2020 elections to get more Indians to vote. Mentorship Program. The NAAIS mentorship program is a student-led initiative that aims to connect Indian-origin/Indian-American/Indian undergraduate students with experienced Indian alumni mentors. The program encourages support of Indian individuals from underrepresented backgrounds including but not limited to non-Hindu, LGBTQIA+, low-income, non-professional through mentorship. Partnership with ZEE5. ZEE5 created a strategic partnership with NAAIS to engage more young Indians around college campuses in the Summer and Fall of  2021. The partnership was announced by Priyanka Chopra and Chief Business Officer, Archana Anand. As of November 2021, the partnership program had visited over 50 college campuses in the United States, as claimed by both organizations. The India Workshop Series. NAAIS has created a workshop series to help form stronger, lasting bonds between Indian-origin students within India. The tour is slated to host workshops in over 30 cities and expected to reach upwards of 10,000 students slated to study in the United States in the Fall of 2022