Following the Durban World Conference on Racism, Dalit activists and researchers felt that there was the need for institutional support in the form of a fund that would focus on providing grant support for grass-root level Dalit activists and organisations.

The Dalit Foundation was officially launched at the UNDP Conference Hall on 8th October 2003. Sixty people from the academic world, the press, Dalit activists, NGOs, Indian and International donor organizations, attended the launch. The Dalit Foundation is a registered trust under the Indian charity law and is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees.

The Foundation focuses on segments living in extreme poverty and facing acute caste-based discrimination, and works towards strengthening these communities, with a special focus on women. Another area of intervention is capacity building and networking for Dalit organizations and activists.

In the past, the Foundation has supported the work of numerous organisations and individuals whose focus has been to improve the lives of the dalit communities, spread all across India. They work in diverse fields such as eradication of manual scavenging, empowering dalit women, education, health, legal aid, awareness generation, etc. With the help of these partners, the foundation is striving to bring about a positive change in society by eradicating caste based discriminations and atrocities. In addition, it is also dedicated towards creating and nurturing future Dalit leaders.

In 2006, the Dalit Foundation became a part of a global network of independent, non-partisan indigenous funders dedicated to the cause of peace-building in their respective countries. The Foundations for Peace comprises of five indigenous organisations, Nirnaya (India), Community Foundation for Northern Ireland (NI), The Dalit Foundation (India), The Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust (Sri Lanka) and the Abraham Fund (USA).