American Latvian Association

American Latvian Association

The American Latvian Association (ALA) was founded on February 24, 1951. The ALA organization and its members lead and support global efforts to facilitate the peaceful and democratic development of Latvia by promoting understanding and support for Latvia through informational efforts in the USA.

The ALA is one of many Latvian organizations that represent the Latvian American Community in the United States of America . In 1961, the ALA participated as a co-founder of the Joint Baltic American National Committee in cooperation with the Estonian American National Council and the Lithuanian American National Council . The ALA is also a member of the World Federation of Free Latvians (WFFL) and contributes 4 of WFFL's 16 board members .

The American Latvian Association (ALA) is the main representative organization for the Latvian American community in the United States. ALA has over 160 member organizations, and some 6,000 individual members, representing over 100,000 people of Latvian descent living in the United States. ALA headquarters are based in Rockville, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Examples of the 160 ALA member organizations include Tilts, Washington DC Latvian Lutheran Church, and the Latvian Welfare Association, Inc.,DAUGAVAS VANAGI in New York .

The ALA is a 501(c)(3)non-profit, tax exempt educational and cultural organization registered as a private and voluntary organization with the U.S. Agency for International Development .

ALA is organized into 4 key program areas as is reported on the annual Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 depicting the operations of non-profit organizations. The ALA supports cultural activities and facilitates cooperation within the Latvian American community. For example, ALA organizes educational and cultural travel to the Republic of Latvia every year. These programs help educate and inform the Latvian American Community about events and people in Latvia . The goals of the ALA are to promote the study of Latvian language, history and culture. The ALA provides Latvian schools in the United States with books and teaching materials. The ALA also provides assistance to newly arrived immigrants with information about the USA and also provides humanitarian aid to people in Latvia .