After time spent working on an election monitoring and political party capacity building project in Serbia for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), Ilves served more than three years as the executive director of the Names Project Foundation, the sponsor of the international AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Töötanud mõnd aega NDI (National Democratic Institute for International Affairs) valimisvaatluse ja poliitiliste parteide võimekuse loomise projektis Serbias, oli Ilves üle kolme aasta tegevjuht Names Project Foundationis, mis toetab AIDS-iohvrite mälestusmärki NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.