The Eurasia Foundation, established in 1993 with a major grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development, promotes democratic and market economic reform at the grassroots level in the twelve countries of the New Independent States (NIS) of the former Soviet Union. The Foundation is privately managed and field-driven; it has built its reputation on its ability to offer a quick and flexible response to needs identified by NIS organizations and for reaching areas often untouched by other Western donors. The Foundation is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and has regional offices in Almaty, Kyiv, Moscow, Saratov, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Yerevan, and Vladivostok. In FY99 the Foundation's branch office in Baku will be expanded into a regional office serving Azerbaijan.

The Eurasia Foundation's primary tool for providing assistance is an open-door grants program, supporting initiatives in the areas of civil society, public administration and policy, and private enterprise development. The Foundation also employs grants competitions to target certain priority areas on a regional basis. In addition, the Foundation manages three projects designed to encourage more professional economic policy research, a more rigorous small business sector, and financially independent media.