BRAC USA

BRAC is a leading international nonprofit with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. We design proven, scalable solutions that equip people with the support, skills, and confidence they need to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve their potential. Founded in Bangladesh as a small relief effort in 1972, BRAC's programs in education, health care, youth empowerment, financial inclusion, agriculture, and more now reach 100 million people across Asia and Africa. Founded in 2006, BRAC USA is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that amplifies BRAC's impact through communications, fundraising, and program support.

BRAC envisions a world free from all forms of exploitation and discrimination, where everyone has th

Goal One: Implement proven, innovative approaches in healthcare, education, youth empowerment, and more, born from local communities in the Global South to tackle the world’s greatest development challenges.

Goal Two: Scale BRAC’s impact beyond direct program implementation through partnerships with governments and civil society organizations around the world.

Goal Three: Empower women and adolescent girls throughout all BRAC programs to fully engage in society and the economy.

To advance staff learning and support leadership development, all regular BRAC USA employees are eligible to utilize up to $1,000 annually to build professional capacity, knowledge, and skills. For example, last year staff engaged in technical training to develop their skills as well as classes in donor management, budgeting and project management. All managers who oversee other staff receive leadership training from The Management Center that focuses on managing in a diverse and inclusive manner. Additionally, BRAC USA partnered with a consultant in early 2020 to facilitate regular training for staff of all levels. The consultant engages the team on a range of topics including diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging as well as managerial coaching, time management and providing constructive feedback.

BRAC was founded in 1972 in the aftermath of Bangladesh’s independence. In 2006, BRAC founded BRAC USA to engage the North American public and private sectors to support global efforts. As an affiliate organization, BRAC USA raises awareness about BRAC’s work, mobilizes resources to support its programs and works closely with international counterparts to design and implement evidence-based poverty innovations worldwide. BRAC USA nurtures relationships with U.S. and Canada-based foundations, corporations, academics, media, government, the public, and development professionals to implement solutions to global poverty.

Sustaining global operations amidst external changes such as the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging and complicated task, but BRAC made significant adjustments to provide continuity to its global programs that work in resource-constrained environments. For instance, BRAC’s health programs continued to provide care to millions around the world, by providing its community health workers with mobile phones that would allow them to carry out telehealth activities while maintaining physical distance. BRAC’s global early childhood development and education programs worked remotely with teachers when students could not meet in person, creating an environment where children could still be intellectually stimulated outside of the classroom. For those without stable internet service, school curriculum was adapted for alternative, low-tech delivery mechanisms such as radio and text. Many of the methods that BRAC was forced to pilot and deploy at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have permanently integrated into the organization’s ongoing programming. Domestic and international travel were once integral to BRAC USA’s daily operations. When travel became unsafe, the organization began working remotely and connecting with constituents virtually, equipping staff with the necessary resources to work from home. BRAC remains committed to promoting the organization’s culture and values while staying flexible as global public health protocols ebb and flow. External changes in recent years have touched every part of the organization, but BRAC has continued to evolve and deliver critical programming.