Thirteen Years in the Making: Asili is Now an Independent 501(c)(3) in the U.S.

From fiscal sponsorship to full independence: Asili’s next chapter begins, rooted in the communities it serves with Congolese leadership at the helm.

For thirteen years, Asili has grown from a long-term development project into the organization it is today. Along the way, fiscal sponsorship provided the structure to support that growth while we worked toward a vision from the beginning: an independent organization, led by Congolese people and rooted in the communities we serve. That vision has become a reality.

We are incredibly proud to announce that Friends of Asili, Inc is officially an independent U.S. nonprofit, recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN #42-2295127).

Alongside last year’s registration of Asili Water and Asili Health with the Congolese government, this milestone gives Asili a stronger foundation to build for the future: strengthening our independence, expanding partnerships, and advancing our long-term vision for locally led, sustainable water and health systems in eastern Congo, with Congolese leadership at the center of it all.

• Congolese-led, Board-supported governance: Friends of Asili, Inc’s Board provides fiduciary oversight, resourcing, and strategic support while Congolese leadership continues to set the vision and drive the work on the ground. It is a partnership, not a hierarchy.
• Direct access to funding: many foundations only fund organizations with 501(c)(3) status, which opens partnerships that were previously out of reach.
• Greater transparency: Friends of Asili, Inc. will file its own public financial disclosures (Form 990), giving supporters an even more direct view into the organization.
• A foundation for the long term: independent status gives Asili the ability to build its own sustainable future, strengthen partnerships, and grow with greater ownership.

The mission, services, and staff on the ground do not change. The water stations, the health clinics, and the teams delivering that work across South Kivu continue exactly as they have. Asili is still led by Congolese leaders, in partnership with the U.S. Board. 

What changes is Asili’s capacity to grow that work on its own terms.

Reaching this point took thirteen years of proving the model, earning trust, and building capacity, and it was never a solo effort. It reflects everyone who believed in Asili before there was a track record to point to, and none of this would have been possible without them.

We are grateful to our fiscal sponsors over the years: Eastern Congo Initiative and Alight (formerly known as American Refugee Committee). Alight, one of Asili’s original co-creators, was there from the very start and returned this past year to help carry us across the finish line. As we step into independence, that partnership doesn’t end: Alight remains a trusted collaborator, and we look forward to continuing the work together.

We are equally thankful to the many others who helped co-create, co-fund, and invest in this vision early on: the Congolese communities and mothers who placed their trust in Asili from day one, the Mortenson Family Foundation, IDEO.org, USAID, and a faith-based group of individual supporters who remain an important part of our story.

Thank you all for believing in Asili. We are celebrating this moment together, and with you.

Join us in building what comes next, together.

Our vision is a self-sustaining Asili, where water and health reinforce each other in a virtuous cycle: healthier communities support stronger water systems, and reliable water supports better health outcomes. With this new independence, Friends of Asili, Inc. plans to scale and expand that vision, including:

• 15 additional water points by 2029, added at the highest-demand pockets in our network, reaching thousands more people
• Two new water sources and upsized pipelines, extending our reach and increasing the system’s total flow
• Digital meters at all water points and household connections, giving us real-time visibility into usage and tracking 
• AI-supported ultrasounds and other clinical innovations, bringing a new level of diagnostic quality to communities that have never had access to it
• A new maternity ward, because the trust Congolese mothers have placed in Asili has grown faster than our walls can hold
• Renovated Mudusa and Mudaka clinics, doubling our clinic capacity

A gift today fuels this next chapter of Asili’s work, reaching even more communities across eastern DRC. We can’t wait to see where Asili goes next, in the DRC and beyond.