Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America

The Federation of Tamil Sangams in North America (FeTNA, established 1988) is an umbrella organization of many (but not all) local North American Tamil diaspora organizations. In April 2006, it stated that it represented 42 local organizations, with a combined constituency of about 20,000 Tamil families, mostly Indian American (from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry) and Sri Lankan American.

FeTNA organizes an annual North American Tamil convention. Established in 1988, the conventions are held during the 4th of July weekend, in a different city every year. Conventions can attract over two thousand attendees from all over North America.

Invited guests typically include Tamil writers, actors, musicians, and politicians from a variety of political parties in India and Sri Lanka.

The annual conventions were held jointly with the Indian-American Tamil Nadu Foundation until 2002; the two groups have held separate conventions starting in 2003.

FeTNA sponsors visits from two Tamil scholars to the United States each year; as of 2006, it had sponsored a total of 24 scholars. It has also been involved in the sponsorship of a Tamil Chair at the University of California, Berkeley and the Tamil Studies program at the University of Toronto.

FeTNA plays an active role in fundraising for disaster relief work in response to crises like the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the 2004 Kumbakonam school fire. In June 2005, the group reported that it had raised $37,965.79 for tsunami relief (disbursed through the Tamil Relief Organization, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and Exnora International) and $16,020.43 for victims of the Kumbakonam school fire (disbursed through the Kumbakonam Lions Club).

...
Wikipedia