The National Fatherhood Initiative (NFI) is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization that aims to improve the well-being of children through the promotion of responsible fatherhood

Responsible Fatherhood

- The rise of single-parent homes :The number of children living in single-parent households has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Approximately 9% of children under 18 lived with a single parent in 1960; by 2007 this rate increased to nearly 32%...

. Headquartered in Germantown, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, its mission is to improve the well-being of children by increasing the proportion of children with involved, responsible, and committed fathers. NFI was founded on March 7, 1994 by Don Eberly

Don Eberly

Don E. Eberly is an American author and researcher in the study of civil society.He earned masters degrees from George Washington University and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He has also performed doctoral work in public affairs at Penn State University...

, a civil society scholar..

NFI coordinates the Senate and Congressional Task Forces on Responsible Fatherhood. Its three-fold mission is to educate and inspire all Americans, equip organizations and fathers in six different sectors, and engage all sectors of society around this issue. The six target sectors are work-family balance, military, faith, corrections, community-based organizations, and healthcare. The organization also produces and disseminates a national public service advertising campaign, in partnership with the Ad Council

Ad Council

The Advertising Council, commonly known as the Ad Council, is an American non-profit organization that distributes public service announcements on behalf of various sponsors, including non-profit organizations and agencies of the United States government....

. The campaign includes print, television, radio, Internet, and outdoor ads.

In 2004, there was a small amount of controversy in response to NFI-produced bus stop

Bus stop

A bus stop is a designated place where buses stop for passengers to board or leave a bus. These are normally positioned on the highway and are distinct from off-highway facilities such as bus stations. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage...

 advertisements, which commentators suggested implied that African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

men were not good fathers.