Tracing its roots to 1963, VIA (formerly Volunteers In Asia and Trans-Pacific Exchange) is an independent, non-sectarian, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to increasing understanding between the U.S. and Asia. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, VIA provides two kinds of programs. VIA's Asia Programs offer Americans the chance to live and volunteer in Asia, while VIA's Stanford Programs enable East Asian university students the opportunity to participate in multi-week themed programs in the United States.

VIA was established during the 1960s, an era of radical social change and questioning in the United States, especially among college students and other youth. In a century that had already seen two massive wars involving numerous countries, and following a decade of relative peace and prosperity fraught with fear over the rise of Communism, Americans in the 1960s increasingly looked to better acquaint themselves with the international community. It was in this era that the Peace Corps, the US government's program sending Americans overseas to volunteer, was established with great success. It was also during this period that the US Congress established the East-West Center in Hawai'i, an institution designed to bridge learning between Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders. Although much smaller in comparison, VIA has also provided a range of educational and exchange opportunities designed to link Asians and Americans, but it has done so without any governmental or religious linkage.