ARISC is an American Overseas Research Center, an independent not-for-profit, that supports research in and about Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, both in the South Caucasus and the US. A member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC), ARISC offers fellowships, programming and research support. An idea initiated during a gathering in Chicago one weekend in 2005, ARISC was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in Illinois and secured 501(c)3 status in 2007.