November 2023 Newsletter

In this newsletter we welcome four new high-impact organizations to the India Philanthropy Alliance and share highlights (print and video) of our recent "women in philanthropy" webinar, the India Giving Day launch at Drexel University, and recent articles to our blog.

Jump to: Welcoming New Network Organizations to IPA  |  Women in Philanthropy Recap  | Drexel University Highlights  |  Recent Articles

Welcome to our Newest Board Members

IPA welcomes leaders from Avanti Fellows, Lotus Petal Foundation, Community Pure Water, and GIVE to its board of directors. Learn more about how the organizations these four new board members represent are helping drive social and developmental goals in India.
 
Avanti Fellows helps students lift themselves & their families out of poverty in a single generation by working with large government school systems. It runs India's most extensive free test-prep programs focused on helping students qualify for top-tier STEM undergraduate courses. It serves over 30,000 high-school students across 19 states and six union territories.

Community Pure Water safeguards India's rural communities through access to purified water, contributing to better health and equitable opportunities and creating enduring prosperity. It builds sustainable water purification centers that make purified water available 24/7 through water dispensers, each serving at least 500 families and as many as 2,500 people.

Give's mission is to "make giving bigger and better." Give is India's most trusted giving platform and enables individuals and organizations to raise funds for and donate to any cause they care about with trust and convenience. Its community of more than 2.7 million individual donors supports 3,000+ verified nonprofits, serving 15 million people across India.

Lotus Petal Foundation (LPF) works towards holistic education, nutrition & livelihoods for underprivileged children in the urban slums of Gurugram, Haryana, giving them equal opportunities and a life of dignity. LPF serves over 1,500 children from Kindergarten to Grade XII through age-appropriate, end-to-end programs tailored for students with learning delays and fractured learning or learning disabilities.

Women in Philanthropy: Recap and Recording

The IPA hosted a thought-provoking and enlightening conversation with Indra Nooyi, former Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo and Andrea Jung, President & CEO of Grameen America. Moderated by Manisha Bharti, the CEO of Pratham USA and co-chair of India Giving Day, the session explored how philanthropy for women and girls is the central lever for change for the most significant issues of our time. The need of the hour is for society, including men, to come together to support women. Another theme that came up was the scaling of nonprofits, and that to provide impact at scale, nonprofits should be run with businesses discipline, informed by deep economic analysis, and designed for replicability and attracting talent. Click here to view the complete webinar.

In Case You Missed It!

Two blog posts written by Alex Counts, Executive Director of IPA, have been especially well received over the past several weeks.

Drexel University Highlights, Recap & Links

Drexel University and the India Philanthropy Alliance co-hosted a kick-off event for India Giving Day on October 2, 2023. The event included keynote remarks, discussion on the impact of philanthropy in India, and a reception.

Event highlights can be viewed on our YouTube channel and include: a keynote address by Ramji Raghavan, Founder & Chairperson of Agastya International Foundation; a panel discussion with Ravi Reddy of Community Pure Water, Raj Gupta of Ujala Foundation, Deepak Raj of the India Philanthropy Alliance, and moderated by student leader Jini Mahalanobish; insights on fundraising with Alex Counts, Executive Director of India Philanthropy Alliance, and Utsav Ganeriwala of Drexel University's Philanthropy Council; and closing remarks by Jay Sehgal of Sehgal Foundation.

Do you have a question about how you might contribute powerfully to India Giving Day? Contact us at info@indiagivingday.org.

Sincerely,

Alex Counts, Executive Director
India Philanthropy Alliance

September 2023 Newsletter

To read more about each of these updates, jump to:
Women in Philanthropy | Blog Topics & Links | Youth Essay Winners

The India Philanthropy Alliance is excited to announce the return of its “Critical Dialogues” Webinar series!

On October 4, 2023, at 11:00am ET, we are hosting a conversation with Indra Nooyi and Andrea Jung, showcasing the power of women in philanthropy. To register, click here. Invite others to join, too! Come and learn what drives philanthropy for these inspiring leaders.

Indra Nooyi is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo (2006-2019), a Fortune 50 company with operations in more than 180 countries.

Andrea Jung is the President and CEO of Grameen America, the largest microfinance organization in the United States. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Apple, Unilever, Rockefeller Capital Management, and Wayfair. Prior to Grameen America, Andrea served as Chairman and CEO of Avon Products, Inc. 

Congratulations to Sunil and Romesh Wadhwani for being featured in Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in AI. Ramesh and Sunil, founders of SAIGroup and WISH foundation respectively, have teamed up to create Wadhwani AI, a nonprofit institute that develops AI exclusively to pioneer scalable solutions in sectors like health care, education, and agriculture for underserved communities by partnering with governments in the Global South. 

Our blog series continues with articles on the Potential of Collective Impact, Better Health for all Indians, and Indian American Philanthropy. If you missed our first blog post, written by Nishant Pandey of AIF, it reviews What We Know Now About Poverty in India and About Defeating It. A brief recap of each article follows.

June 2023 Newsletter

Nearly six months ago we joyfully welcomed Children's Hope India and Teach for India U.S. into the Alliance. At the time we were deeply immersed in the planning of India Giving Day and quietly welcomed them into our network activities and campaign planning. Now that the excitement of India Giving Day 2023 is past, we gladly introduce you to both. Read on to learn how each is advancing education in ways that both mirror and complement the work of other organizations involved in IPA.

Advancing India's goals for development requires a multi-pronged approach to multidimensional poverty, which includes health care, education, livelihoods, and several other key factors. In this issue we also look at some of the health challenges facing India today and what some of the organizations in our network are doing to advance healthcare for all.

Here are some shortcuts to get you where you want to be:
Improving Health Outcomes | Children's Hope India | Teach for India U.S.

Improving health outcomes through innovation 

Maternal and child mortality and malnutrition remain among India's most significant public health challenges. Both Antara Foundation, supported by Antara International, and American India Foundation do much to help mothers and children at risk access timely prevention and treatment. They do this through an ecosystem of interventions and government and community collaborations. Hundreds of thousands of women and children have benefitted, and will continue to benefit, due to the partnerships and trainings now in place.
 
Arogya World works to prevent NCDs (non-communicable diseases), such as diabetes, which contribute to 63% of deaths in India. They follow a doorstep health model, which takes prevention to people where they live, learn, and work through scalable, science-based programs. Arogya's initiatives, such as Healthy Schools, Healthy Worlplaces, mDiabetes, and MyThali, empower millions of children and adults in India to eat healthily and stay healthy.
 
Vision Spring provides affordable eyeglasses, vision screening, and training focusing on those living on less than $4 per day. It collaborates with nonprofits, social entrepreneurs, government, and corporations. Vision Spring provides corrective vision care to hundreds of thousands of underserved Indians and launched "Made in India" eyeglasses last year.
 
Project ECHO is a global network that provides the infrastructure for knowledge-sharing among medical doctors and specialists so that primary care physicians can treat complex medical conditions where they live. ECHO is bridging the knowledge gap and building capacities across areas such as education, sustainable livelihoods and other development goals by providing millions of hours of webinars and sessions.
 
WISH Foundation is on a mission to scale innovations for creating an equitable healthcare system and make quality primary healthcare available and accessible to the underserved populations. WISH Foundation's impact is being felt by millions of Indians through its direct implementation programs, primary care solutions, strategic advisory, and thought leadership in the field of healthcare.
 
Indian nonprofits are bringing innovative solutions to the health care sector and often partner with government to scale solutions for maximum impact.

One in five children in India (86 million) are estimated to be multidimensionally poor. This makes the task of providing quality education to all particularly challenging. Here is a brief introduction to the activities of two of our members.

Teach for India 
Building a Movement of Leaders

The signature program of Teach for Indiais a two year fellowship targeted to recent graduates of India's finest institutions and designed to provide a win-win experience for the graduates, and the children they serve, by placing the graduates in low-income communities with under-resourced schools. The aim is to build informed and empathetic future leaders for India's social sectors.

During the two year program, Fellows are mentored as they build critical relationships with principals, parents, and public institutions. When their two year commitment is complete they automatically become part of the Teach for India Alumnae, and 71% of program participants continue in the education and social sector fields. Teach for India U.S., a core member of the Alliance, is a mission aligned strategic partner to Teach for India and aids in building the  resources needed to ensure that all children are able to attain an excellent education.

To date, Teach for India has graduated 4600 Fellows who have taught more than 34,000 students across 270 schools in eight cities. Founded in 2009, Teach for India is a part of the Teach for All Network, a growing group of independent organizations in 61 countries that share a common vision of developing collective leadership to ensure a quality education for all.

Children’s Hope India
Lifting Children from Poverty to Prosperity

Children's Hope India was started in 1992 by a group of five professional women wanting to give back to the country of their birth. Starting with a pool of $1,000 to support an orphanage in Mumbai, Children's Hope India (CHI) has grown to become a vibrant organization with 20 projects, having served more than 400,000 children and community members across nine states. 

Their mission is to lift children from poverty to prosperity, nurturing the whole child by providing education, nutrition, medical care (including mental health), and career building. A cradle to career approach, that starts with early education for three year olds through school and college, is aimed at truly empowering India's youth in urban slums and underserved communities. CHI runs five accredited schools in which children advance, from one grade to the next, at an average rate of 96% compared to the national average of 76%. They have educated 146,524 children and impacted over 400,000 lives.  Special emphasis is placed on ensuring that girls follow their dreams and realize their full potential. Jyotsna from Eklavaya School in Hyderabad is working on her MBBS at Mamta College and Nandini from their school in Bengaluru is now working at Aris Global.

Looking ahead, in its 30th year, CHI launched the 30/30 CHI Educational Initiative. This Initiative plans the establishment of 30 Educational Centers providing quality play and concept based Early Education to 3-6 year olds, supplemented in later years by remedial education for children needing extra help and advanced STEM programs in Math, English, and Science.  Each center will incorporate the four CHI pillars of care to truly educate, enrich and empower.

Children's Hope India also manages two mobile medical units that provide medical and vision care to youth and families in the villages. 

April 2023 Newsletter

In this newsletter we cover highlights and lessons learned from our inaugural India Giving Day, share profiles in philanthropy among today's youth and hear their thoughts on engaging their peers, and take a look at the job training and skills development that is happening through our member programs, many of of which are targeted to marginalized women and youth.

Here are some shortcuts to get you where you want to be:
India Giving Day Results | Youth in Philanthropy | Livelihood Development | Young Professionals Program

Highlights and Lessons Learned-India Giving Day

The goals for India Giving Day in our inaugural year were modest. Our aim was to demonstrate that with ample time and resources, the full support of leading philanthropists, and widespread notification to the Indian-American community, those with an affinity for India would come together in force to advance the humanitarian and development agenda in India. 

By all accounts the first India Giving Day was beyond expectation. News coverage and social media outreach touched tens of millions of people, and the generosity of those who engaged was substantial. 

By the end of the campaign, 1031 unique donors had contributed nearly $1.4 million to support the missions of the 25 participating organizations.

Gatherings and Celebrations
Online and in-person celebrations spanned the country and reached as far as London, England. They included academic dialogues, celebrations of Indian culture, networking events, and a dance lesson by well-known Bollywood performers. Those who attended were inspired by what they learned and heartened to see the Indian-American community come together for a common cause. Donors expressed appreciation for the ability to learn about multiple organizations at once and were heartened to know that those participating in the campaign were known and affirmed by the alliance.

Matching Gifts and Prizes
There was great enthusiasm leading up to India Giving Day and throughout the two-week period of early giving. Yet on March 1, the excitement reached a new level as matching gifts and prizes became plentiful. Through the generosity of Rural India Supporting Trust (RIST) the first $75 of every gift, given to any one of the 25 participating organizations, was matched, up until we reached $25,000. Prizes were awarded in multiple categories that included the top volunteer fundraisers, the most creative use of social media, the most expansive donor gifts by state, golden tickets, and more. 

India Here to Give 
An original song and music video, written and produced by Shivansh Chhaya Kapil and inspired by India Giving Day, was released early on March 2 at the height of the campaign. Word spread and the music video garnered more than 30,000 views within the first four days. We are grateful to Shivansh, Ashwini Kumar of Vibha, and Sanober of Harshad Raipure Films for making this extraordinary gift possible. The production came together in a fraction of the time normally reserved for a production such as this and it was a great boost to the India Giving Day team, participating organizations, donors, and the tens of thousands who have enjoyed the sights and sounds of India through this production.

Collaboration and Unity
Participating organizations found their involvement in India Giving Day to be uniquely collaborative and agreed that there was a refreshing sense of unity and support among those frequently work alone or are perceived as competitors. Online trainings and campaign check-ins were a time for participants to share ideas and insights. Achievements by one organization were celebrated by all. During debrief sessions among participating organizations, several stated that one of the most rewarding outcomes of the campaign was the spirit of collaboration among cohorts and the shared experience of having had a greater impact as a community than any one group could have had by themselves.

Lessons Learned
There have been a number of intensive debrief sessions among staff and consultants, the Steering Committee, participating organizations, members of the alliance, and our technical and promotional partners. Several of the key lessons were to be expected from a first-time campaign. For example: 1) earlier funding would have allowed for a more aggressive campaign launch, 2) National Co-Chairs and Ambassadors could have had a more powerful impact had they been engaged earlier in the campaign, 3) earlier notice of matching gifts and campaign prizes would have inspired more giving, etc. More detailed feedback included tracking our social media promotion to ensure equity among participating organizations and engaging more deeply with Indian-American community organizations.

Future Plans
We will take all we have learned through our comprehensive debriefs and incorporate our learnings into our vision for India Giving Day 2024. While we have not yet set a date, it is likely to be early March as the vast majority of those who participated found the timing of this year's campaign to fill a gap in what is typically a slow time of year for fundraising. Our aim is to leverage what we have learned to increase the dimension and impact throughout.

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Youth Engagement as a Cornerstone

Engaging youth is a cornerstone of our work at the India Philanthropy Alliance. We believe philanthropic thought and action is best started early and is essential to our shared vision for an equitable and sustainable future. We have also found that young people can make significant contributions and bring fresh and creative solutions to long-standing challenges.

In this article we connect with past winners of the Youth Essay Competition and the two Youth Ambassadors for India Giving Day. We also touch on a few of the young professionals groups led by our members.

One of the leading youth engagement initiatives of the alliance is the Youth Essay Competition, now in its fourth year. Past winners of the competition participated in a live webinar as part of India Giving Day and shared some of their philanthropic activities as well as suggestions for how we can engage their peers more effectively.

The webinar was led by Kriti Sarav, one of India Giving Day's Youth Ambassadors and founder of the podcast WhyFI Matter$. Kriti was inspired to start her podcast when she heard of the many ways her grandmother's life in India was restricted due to a lack of financial freedom. Moved by her grandmothers plight, Kriti made it her mission to demystify financial literacy for people her own age and create a global platform for financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and economics. Her podcast has been featured by National Public Radio and Money Magazine. Quite a feat for a High School senior.

Tej Shah was a finalist in the 2022 Essay Competition and wrote about the continued stigmatization of HIV/AIDS in India. He saw this firsthand when he witnessed the isolation of his family's domestic worker after she became HIV-positive due to her promiscuous husband. He also witnessed the impact this had on his family who continued to employ her. "Slowly my father's home became less crowded; friends and relatives were wary of contracting the disease from simply being around her and decided to avoid the home entirely."

Last summer, Tej was moved by the spread of MPox and took it upon himself to learn how to give vaccinations so he could volunteer during the summer months to vaccinate those vulnerable to its spread.

When asked how we can more effectively engage his peers, Tej suggested we identify and curate projects that resonate with youth and make sure we are moving with the times. His interests have always been along the lines of HIV prevention and treatment and public health. He says the essay competition opened his eyes to ways in which philanthropy can intersect with public health and facilitated his gaining a deeper understanding of the topic. 

Eisha Yadav also participated in the webinar as winner of the 2021 essay competition in the middle school category. Inspired by the loneliness and isolation experienced by her grandparents in India, Eisha researched and wrote about programs that could bring meaning and socialization to the millions of seniors who have become increasingly isolated as two income households become the norm and extended family living arrangements become less prevalent. Eisha directed her $1000 award grant to American Friends of HelpAge India and has been engaged with them ever since. 

"I have to thank Alex for directing Eisha to me when she won the essay competition," says Sumani Dash, Executive Director of American Friends of HelpAge India. "Eisha's video during India Giving Day was one of the most popular of everything we posted, and I am so very proud of her and grateful for her association."

When asked why it is important to include Generation Z in philanthropy Eisha replied, "We are building the world of the future, the one we will be living in for decades. Let's make sure we are creating a world we want to live in. We have a lot of power. Change can happen through our voices. We have the ability, we have the technical know-how, we have new and interesting ideas, and we have a way to share them with the world."

Our special thanks go to Arjun Athalye for being the fourth panelist in our youth webinar. Arjun is a young actor who has been very successful in television and served as an India Giving Day Youth Ambassador. He joined the webinar to share his thoughts on the options available to youth in philanthropy and shared how he has juggled his acting career with college and the launch of Konnekt Global, a nonprofit organization he initiated with friends, that collects and delivers educational materials to children in need.

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Young Professionals Programs

Several members of the alliance have created thriving Young Professionals Programs to harness the talent and passion of early-career professionals. An article co-written by IPA Director Alex Counts, Jay Sehgal of Sehgal Foundation, and Sejal Desai of Akanksha Education Fund, was published by the Chronicle of Philanthropy on March 1, detailing how each organization has customized their program to suit their unique needs and capabilities.

Sehgal Foundation supports youth initiatives that complement their existing programs and offer the youth who are involved program experience in addition to fundraising experience. Those who are able to travel to India partner with on-the-ground staff to work on the project they initiated, and raised funds for, while being introduced to the needs and realities of local beneficiaries.

The American India Foundation (AIF) young professionals chapter in New York raises $70,000 to $100,000 at their annual gala and has sourced volunteers who serve in India for 10 months; contributing their time, talent, and energy to a program that is run by AIF or a partner nonprofit.

Akanksha Education Fund has a young professionals program that mentors alumni from their schools in India who are now attending universities in the United States. Mentors meet one-on-one with mentees every few weeks and help them adapt to U.S. culture and higher education norms.

To read the full article, visit the Chronicle of Philanthropy here.

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Better futures through job training and skill development for young people and women in urban and rural India 

India has the world’s largest youth population, with 600 million people under the age of 25 years. By 2027 it will also have the world’s largest workforce. The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing and now ranks as the world’s fifth largest. It has an increasing need for skilled workers, but employers face difficulty filling jobs due to a shortage of trained workers, as only a small section of Indian youth have the skills for gainful employment.
 
Availability of economic opportunities also varies based on sector, gender, state and region, as well as the rural and urban divide. For example, women are increasingly dropping out of formal employment despite being more educated than earlier, and youth seeking employment have to move to urban areas, as opportunities in the rural part of the country are limited.
 
Nonprofits in the IPA network, such as the American India Foundation (AIF), Children’s Hope India, Pratham, and Sehgal Foundation, are working to address the many challenges of improving livelihood opportunities for marginalized communities in India such as skilling India’s youth for the needs of the urban job market, bringing more women to the workplace, and providing skill building and entrepreneurship opportunities in rural India.
 
AIF’s flagship program, MAST, addresses the skill building needs of some of the most marginalized populations including women, underserved youth, persons with disabilities, and other job seekers. The initiative provides market-aligned skill development and leverages government collaborations, market linkages, and ecosystem enablement to create job and entrepreneurship opportunities for those most needing it. MAST is creating a workforce of skilled professionals, empowering rural women to build their social identity and financial capital and enabling street vendors and other nano-enterprises to build their livelihoods.

Children’s Hope India (CHI) believes every child deserves a bright future. In addition to education, CHI invests in workforce training and skill attainment programs serving young women and men. These programs aim to help young people gain marketable skills that will offer them a chance at a better future. CHI projects provide youth with computer skills, English language learning, and vocational skills such as driving and electrical work, sewing, tailoring, and woodworking. In addition, CHI works with self-help groups, supporting women to gain a sustainable livelihood through microfinance initiatives.

Pratham’s vocational skills training provides a pathway to sustainable careers and economic self-sufficiency for underprivileged youth especially those in rural areas and young women. It offers technical training, certification, job placement, entrepreneurship opportunities, and vital support for job relocation and transition. To address the gap in skill availability, Pratham works with the industry and emphasizes practical training over classroom instruction to better prepare students to enter the workforce. Pratham prepares students for the automotive, hospitality, beauty, electrical, construction, and healthcare sectors and empowers entrepreneurs through seed capital, training, and mentorship.

SM Sehgal Foundation’s work in agriculture and entrepreneurship development promotes sustainable livelihoods in rural India by building the capacities of farmers, including women farmers, on improved agricultural practices and new technologies that increase crop yields, conserve water, and improve soil fertility. It works with farmers with very small landholdings who are amongst the poorest and play an essential role in meeting the increasing demand for food in the country. In addition to providing farming know-how and capacity building, the Foundation promotes entrepreneurship for better livelihoods among farmers with small farms and landless women, through activities such as horticulture development, goatery management, and farm machinery.

India faces both opportunities and challenges in providing sustainable livelihoods to an ever-increasing working population and meeting the talent needs of a growing economy for an educated and skilled workforce. India Philanthropy Alliance’s network members are committed to meeting these challenges for those who most need it.

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February 2023 Newsletter

We are fast approaching the first-ever India Giving Day and are delighted to share ways in which you can be a part of this momentous celebration!  We are also excited to announce our fourth annual essay competition and feature a synopsis of an article published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy, and written by members of the alliance, on how to engage young people to support nonprofit growth. Finally, a review of some of the key issues facing India today.

Here are some shortcuts to get you where you want to be:
Join India Giving Day | Youth Essay Competition | Engaging Youth | Development Challenges Facing India

JOIN INDIA GIVING DAY
 
YOU TOO can make a difference! 

Early-giving starts on February 14, 2023, and India Giving Day is on March 2, 2023!

More than 20 of the top India-focused nonprofits active in the United States are coming together this spring for the India Philanthropy Alliance’s inaugural India Giving Day on March 2, 2023! Mark your calendars to participate and make this day a turning point in a growing movement in the U.S. to address urgent human and societal needs in India.

YOU too can have an impact! 

Everyone has something to give! Whether it be making a gift, volunteering your time, hosting an event in your city, getting together with friends to attend an online event, or fundraising on behalf of your favorite nonprofit, there are lots of ways that you can be an important part of India Giving Day. 

Here are some ways you can get involved!

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising – This is a fun way to support your favorite cause, get your friends and family involved, and make a big difference. Here are 3 steps to get started:

• You might already have a favorite cause or charity. If so, fundraise on their behalf! If not, visit the India Giving Day website and choose a cause that resonates with you and an organization working on that cause.

• Once you’ve chosen your favorite charity, click on the fundraise” button at the top of their web page. Then share YOUR story about why this nonprofit is important to YOU! Your chosen nonprofit will have all their information show after you’ve shared your story, so there’s no need to say a lot.

• Give it a try! If you have questions, there is a chat bubble with a team of people who are willing to help! 

• Ask your closest family and friends to give to your cause. Reach out to everyone you know! Every person has something to give.

Other ways to participate - We invite and encourage all of you, especially young people, to come together in ways that are meaningful to you to celebrate this historic day. We share some ideas below but feel free to come up with your own ways of celebrating India Giving Day! 

• Organize an event to recognize India Giving Day - from a small dinner for a few couples to a larger event in your community. The event can focus on single or multiple organizations and their mission/s. 

• Give a charity eCard, a fun and creative way to support your favorite cause. Learn more here.

• Write emails to your friends, family, and associates to support your favorite nonprofit and encourage them to extend their support!

• Social media is a great way to raise awareness. Support your favorite nonprofit / India Giving Day and amplify their content on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

• Participate in one or more of the in-person or online meetings and webinars that the IPA is organizing in the days leading up to March 2, 2023.  

• For more ideas on activities on participating in India Giving Day and overall guidelines for organizing events or activities please refer to the community Resource Guide and Toolkit.

ANNOUNCING THE 2023 ESSAY COMPETITION FOR YOUTH

The IPA is excited to announce its fourth annual essay competition for youth!

The competition seeks to “catalyze and recognize creative thinking and action among middle school and high school youth and inspire an ongoing commitment to philanthropy benefitting India from second and third generation Indian Americans.”  

Students are asked to respond to the prompt: Which developmental issue in India do you feel is most pressing and why? How can American individuals and groups be a part of the solution? 

A panel of philanthropy experts will determine the finalists, runners-up and winners in two age cohorts - high and middle school. Winners and runners-up will receive cash awards to direct to the charity of their choice. In addition, winners will get a phenomenal opportunity, with all hotel and flight expenses covered, to present their award-winning ideas to philanthropists, business leaders and nonprofit leaders at a major philanthropy conference in the San Francisco area on September 29.

In 2022, winners presented their ideas at a philanthropy convening held at the Indian Consulate in New York. Students and their families traveled from California, New Jersey, and Philadelphia to attend the in-person gathering. Students were thrilled to be a part of the event!

Yashi Bhowmick, a runner-up for the middle school category 2022, wrote on women’s safety and lack of protection for women. She shared how meaningful the recognition was to her, saying, “IPA offered us a big international platform, and I chose to enter the youth essay competition since this was a huge opportunity for people to hear my voice. Honestly, it means a lot to be the runner-up, and it made me realize that I have a voice that can inspire other people towards a better path.”

For information on how to apply to the essay competition, go here. 

How Nonprofits Can Better Engage Young People

Members of the India Philanthropy Alliance face an existential threat: They need to attract a new generation of supporters to replace a pool of aging supporters and secure the future of their nonprofits.

So, a year ago, the 16-member alliance set out to identify smart ways to engage youth (students in middle school through college) and young professionals ages 21 to 25 by conducting research and interviews, and studying those groups in the coalition that successfully engage them. Here are some key findings from the study.

Better Ways to Market to Younger People
Young people are attracted to cause-centric marketing and respond well to authentic impact stories bolstered by solid data that touch hearts. They also have a deep interest in climate change, sustainability in fashion, social justice, and equity, and nonprofits can lean on this interest if relatable to their cause. Notably, younger people like to learn in interactive and hands-on ways, so fun, gamification, and participatory approaches will enable effective engagement with the youth. 

Host Youth-Friendly Events
One of the stories we heard from a young professional who actively supports a nonprofit in the alliance was the first time he and his wife attended an event. They immediately felt as if they did not belong. When organizing events, include younger people’s suggestions and devise ways to make them feel welcome at events. Traditional galas are often not geared towards people under 40 as the format, and the ticket pricing, can be barriers for them. Nonprofits might choose to include younger people through events that are better aligned with their interest and do not have a high ticket cost.

Recruiting Young People to the Board
According to Board Source, only 29 percent of nonprofit board members in the United States are under 50; just 17 percent are under 40, and a scant 2 percent are under 20. Consider asking young people to serve on governing bodies. This can take the form of junior boards or youth advisory councils and making a concentrated effort to recruit younger board members. Make efforts to reduce the risks of marginalization, perceived tokenism, or expectations of conformity when bringing on younger board members, 

The lessons from the alliance’s deep dive into engaging the younger generation are presented in an article “How Nonprofits Can Better Engage Youth” in the Chronicle of Philanthropy authored by Alex Counts, Director of India Philanthropy Alliance; Sejal Desai, Executive Director of Akanksha Education Fund; and Jay Sehgal, Executive Vice President and Trustee of the Sehgal Foundation. 

Check out our recent article on Indian-American philanthropy trends that was published by the Times of India.

Building hope - meeting the development challenges facing India

India has made significant progress across various social and economic indicators, and is projected to be a major engine of global economic growth. However, much remains to be done to ensure the well-being of marginalized communities and those living in poverty. Organizations participating in India Giving Day are addressing several of the major challenges facing India, with some tackling multiple issues:

Education, vocational training, and livelihoods – India’s public education system has had mixed success. Over the last few decades, India has made significant progress in access to education and school enrollment at the primary level. However, the quality of learning remains poor, and less than half of all children complete secondary education. Ensuring the rights of children, better nutrition, child protection and family support, remain some of the crucial concerns for the overall well-being of children. Additionally, there is a great need for skills training and soft skills acquisition by youth from low-income families to benefit from the employability and entrepreneurship opportunities offered by the growing Indian economy.

Find out what these India Giving Day participating organizations are doing in this field: Agastya USA, Akanksha Education Fund, American India Foundation (AIF), CRY, Children's Hope India, Foundation for Excellence (FFE), Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, Pratham USA, Teach for India-U.S., The Akshaya Patra Foundation USA, Vibha Inc..

Rural development, environmental degradation, and climate change– The impact of climate change is increasingly felt across the country as rising temperatures bring severe weather-related events, damage ecosystems, disrupt livelihoods, and destroy valuable assets and resources. The focus of development initiatives needs to be on marginalized communities and disproportionately impacted people. Rural development and improving incomes for farmers with very small landholdings will be critical in ensuring the well-being of those who are the furthest from economic opportunity and mitigating environmental degradation’s impact. In cities, air and water pollution has risen to epidemic proportions and severely affects public health. Many of these issues are interrelated and require an interdisciplinary approach to enable change.

Take a look at the innovative approaches and programs of participating organizations: the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology & the Environment (ATREE), India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), and the Sehgal Foundation.

Public health – Despite many improvements in expanding healthcare resources and addressing long-standing public health issues, these are still insufficient to meet citizens’ actual needs. Lack of equitable resources and uneven gains are prevalent between states, rich and poor, and urban and rural areas. Much work remains to be done to improve maternal and child health indicators. Similarly, in eye care, India requires expanded services and improved access for the poor and rural communities. Also, India’s burden of non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes continues to grow, creating a higher burden on the public health system. Addressing the needs of a growing elderly population, especially in healthcare, is also a public health challenge.

India Giving Day participant organizations are working to create cost and scale efficiencies in healthcare for the poor and vulnerable in India: Akhand Jyoti USA, American Friends of HelpAge India, Antara International, ARMMAN, Arogya World, Miracle Foundation, Vision Spring, Project ECHO.

December 2022 Newsletter

We are delighted to share with you the latest news on India Giving Day, recap the Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit in New York City (which included a fireside chat with the winners of our third annual essay competition!), and take a look at how IPA is magnifying the impact of our work in India through research, collaboration, and information sharing. Learn how our members are stretching donor dollars by partnering with government agencies to expand their reach and deliver more robust and effective programming to people in need.

Here are some shortcuts to get you where you want to be:
India Giving Day | NYC Philanthropy Summit | Partnering with Government

India Giving Day

India Giving Day was first announced on October 3, 2022; a date chosen to align with Mahatma Gandhi's birthday and renew his message of compassion. The third of October also stands as the anniversary of IPA's formal announcement as an alliance. We are 16 organizations working together to advance the development agenda in India through collaboration, shared knowledge and learning, and fostering a more robust and better recognized culture of giving to benefit India.

India Giving Day is designed to catalyze and celebrate the gift of giving and set the groundwork for more informed and impactful giving to India. In addition to our member organizations, there are 13 additional nonprofits that will join us for our first annual national day of giving. 

Participating Organizations
We are pleased to announce that the following nonprofit organizations will be joining us for India Giving Day on March 2, 2023: Agastya USA, Akanksha Education Fund, Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital,  Akshaya Patra Foundation, American Friends of HelpAge India, American India Foundation (AIF), Antara International, Aravind Eye Foundation, ARMMAN, Arogya World, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology & the Environment (ATREE), Children's Hope India, Community Pure Water, CRY America, Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA, Foundation for Excellence (FFE), India Development and Relief Fund (IDRF), Maker Ghat, Miracle Foundation, Pratham USA, Project ECHO, Satyarthi Foundation, Sehgal Foundation, SightLife, Teach for India-U.S., Vibha, Vision Spring. 

YOU too can have an impact!
Everyone has something to give! Whether it be making a gift, volunteering your time, hosting an event in your city (or a national event online), or fundraising on behalf of your favorite organization, there are lots of ways that you can be an important part of India Giving Day. Keep an eye on our India Giving Day website as the day draws near and follow our socials (through the India Philanthropy Alliance) to stay on top of the latest developments. Help make this day a turning point in a growing movement to advance the humanitarian and development goals of India.

Mark your calendar for India Giving Day, March 2, 2023.

Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit 2022

In the Inaugural year of their partnership, Give and Indiaspora jointly hosted the Indiaspora-Give Philanthropy Summit on October 28, 2022 at the Consulate General of India in New York. The event brought together leading philanthropists, foundations, nonprofit leaders, and members of the media to share insights about recent shifts and opportunities in India and in the United States, and explore how we can work collectively toward identifying and implementing solutions.

Among the topics covered were: how to leverage entrepreneurship and innovation for social change, the role and impact of diaspora philanthropy, closing the opportunity gap, and perspectives on India, climate change, and vulnerable communities.

The second part of the afternoon was led by the India Philanthropy Alliance and covered India Giving Day and interviews of the winners and a runner-up of the 2022 Youth Essay Competition.

Essay winners present their award winning ideas

For the first time since its inception, winners of the youth essay competition were able to present their ideas to philanthropists, business leaders, and nonprofit executives, live and in person! Students and their families traveled from as far away as California and drove in from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Regardless of the distance, all were thrilled to be there and the students did an expert job of presenting their case.

From left to right, in the photo above, Mona Shah of the Sarva Mangal Family Trust, which has supported the competition since its inception, interviewed two winners and one runner-up in the competition. Chinmayi Joshi, second from left, spoke to religious intolerance and encouraged her audience to keep an open mind and speak up for those who are being discriminated against. Riya Balaji advocated for clean air and spoke to the deadly impact of current pollution levels with fine particulate matter being 11.6 times the air quality guideline set by the World Health Organization and noted that air pollution is one of the leading causes of death in India. Esha Gadispoke passionately about rape and the criminal justice system, after having heard the harrowing experience of a loved one in India. 

Please join us in congratulating the winners! Read their essays and those of the finalists on the youth essay page of our website. The essay competition is one of IPA's key initiatives to engage youth in becoming a force for good for future generations. 

The benefits of collective research and action

One of the benefits of being part of the India Philanthropy Alliance is being able to take part in discussions, research, and joint activities that address issues of concern for the kind of professionally run nonprofits focused on India that constitute our membership.  For example, in the past we have facilitated collective investigations about how to successfully engage youth and young professionals, how to manage multiple governing boards effectively, success strategies for planned giving (also known as legacy giving) programs, and best practices regarding virtual galas. 

When we identify an issue, we embark on a process of understanding why that issue is important to all or most members, which members have dealt with it most effectively (and how they have done so), what experts are available to us to help us collectively improve our performance in that area, and how we can document and publicize our learnings for the broader community.  Our retreats, which normally take place 1-2 times per year, provide exceptional opportunities to have in-depth discussions of such issues.  

Sound practices and success strategies for partnering with government
In 2021, one of the issues of concern to members that we surfaced was how to most effectively partner with arms of the Indian government, especially at the state level.  This strategy to stretch donor dollars and magnify impact was being used by a growing number of our members in an increasing number of their projects and initiatives in India.  We discussed this issue during several monthly calls and also at length during our December 2021 retreat.  We organized a webinar and invited 3 experts on this matter: Nisha Biswal of the U.S.-India Business Council, the Honorable Randhir Jaishwal, the Indian Consul General to the United States in New York, and Professor Kash Rangan of Harvard Business School.  They shared their views with us and dozens of invited guests (mostly board members, donors, and volunteers of our member organizations).  Slowly, a series of sound practices and success strategies emerged from the collective experiences and learnings of our members and our outside advisers. 

The final step in this process was boiling down our conclusions into an article co-authored by our director, Alex Counts, and our vice-chair, Nishant Pandey, CEO of American India Foundation (AIF), with input from many other members.  It was published in late October by Indiaspora, a founding member of IPA, on its terrific blog in the lead up to the Philanthropy Summit they organized with Give.  We encourage you to check it out and also to be on the lookout for an upcoming IPA article about youth engagement to be published by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. 

To read the full article, titled Nonprofit Success Strategies for Partnering with Government: Lessons from India, click here. 

Best wishes for a joyful holiday season
and a prosperous new year!

In this newsletter: Akshaya Patra inspires learning through nutrition | The Sehgal Foundation brings clean water and more to village schools | Project ECHO removes barriers to healthcare

August 2022

On July 1, 2022, the India Philanthropy Alliance welcomed Akshay Patra Foundation as our newest member. Akshaya Patra is one of nine IPA member organizations that is working to advance educational opportunities for children in India whose ability to attend school, and flourish while there, has been compromised. This might be due to a parent's inability to pay tuition, the child dropping out of school to work and supplement the family income, or the accessibility of a quality education in remote rural areas.

In this newsletter we will review how Akshaya Patra is ensuring India's children are not deprived of an education due to hunger; how the Sehgal Foundation is facilitating learning by bringing clean water, improved sanitation, a stimulating learning environment, and life skills and digital training to rural schools; and how Project ECHO is revolutionizing medicine by training doctors in remote regions how to treat diseases usually reserved for specialists.

Akshaya Patra's Commitment That No Child Should Go Hungry

Looking out of a window one day in a village near Calcutta a man of compassion saw a group of children fighting with stray dogs over scraps of food. From this simple yet heart-breaking incident was born a determination that no child should go hungry. Soon afterward, 1500 children in five government schools were receiving hot and nutritious meals each day. By leveraging technology and innovation, this program has grown to serve 1.8 million children in more than 20,000 schools, 14 states, and 2 territories throughout India every day.

Poverty, Hunger and Access to an Education
Extreme poverty frequently forces children from low-income families to drop out of school to earn money. As the leading provider of the mid-day meal program, Akshaya Patra is addressing a critical intervention in hunger and education simultaneously.

Of the world's malnourished children, 29% live in India. One of the devastating results of this critical statistic is that 3000 Indian children die of hunger or hunger-related diseases each day.

In our last newsletter we featured Antara International, an IPA member that is fighting malnutrition and mortality in children five years and under. In the year 2000, the Government of India declared that every child in government schools will receive a meal as part of its plan to address classroom hunger. Akshaya Patra is one of those partners and has plans to increase their service to include 5 million children daily by 2025.

Leveraging Technology for Growth and Conservation
Akshaya Patra utilizes cutting edge technology that outproduces earlier methods of food production exponentially while assuring high quality food and nutrition, conserving energy, and protecting our natural resources. For example, Akshaya Patra's custom designed Chapati Baking System can cook 60,000 chapatis per hour. Their advanced steam-based rice preparation can prepare 1,200 liters of rice in just 15 minutes. Thermite kitchen boilers burn sustainable agricultural waste made of ground nut shells and grain husks to reduce carbon emission and cooking times. All of this is done while procuring local fresh vegetables daily and conducting 75 quality checks prior to, during, and after the cooking process.

These are among the many reasons the India Philanthropy Alliance has enthusiastically welcomed Akshaya Patra into our alliance. We look forward to many fruitful collaborations in the days ahead.

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Sehgal Foundation is Transforming Lives, One School at a Time.

The government of India has done a great deal to improve the quality of education over the past ten years. Yet education alone is not enough. A myriad of factors can inhibit a family's ability to send their children to school and a child's ability to learn while there. The work of ensuring an inclusive and equitable quality education for all needs to be shared among the whole population, local communities, government entities, and nonprofit organizations. 

IPA member organizations contribute to the goal of ensuring every child is able to learn in many different ways. In addition to Akshaya Patra's meals program, IPA members are collaborating with government to teach healthy living and disease prevention, water conservation, STEM programming, digital technology, and more. 
 

Sehgal Foundation, for example, which works with remote and impoverished communities to introduce water management procedures, agricultural advances, community engagement, and knowledge sharing, has brought these advances to public schools in the areas where they work.

Through their Transform Lives One School at a Time program, Sehgal Foundation is incorporating clean drinking water, improved sanitary stations, and school building transformation to facilitate a better learning environment, and digital technology and life skills training to regions that have not had access to these benefits. 

For example, the digital divide in India is felt most keenly in rural areas where young people may have seen a computer or digital device, but have not had the opportunity to turn them on, explore their uses, or access the many resources available on the internet.

Young Entrepreneur Launches His Small Business with the Help of Online Learning
Ravi, pictured below, wanted to find a way to contribute to his family's income. His father, who works as a laborer, found that his income was often insufficient to support his family of five. While participating in Sehgal Foundation's Digital Technology and Life Skills training, Ravi opted to explore business opportunities through online learning.

He accessed YouTube on the internet at the Sehgal Foundation's training center and, along with a friend, learned how to develop a business plan. Together they decided to pursue careers as disc jockeys (DJs) and joined forces to purchase their own laptop and DJ sound system. Business was a bit slow to take off; but within a year, Ravi was making five to six thousand rupees a month, more than doubling his family's income and funding his own continuing education. 

Ravi is just one of many talented youth whose lives have been transformed by their ability to attend and stay and school because of the Sehgal Foundation's contribution to their community.

Impact 
So far 115 rural schools have been transformed with comprehensive makeovers, including ensuring clean drinking water and sanitation and providing digital resources and life skills training. Nearly 10,000 girls and boys have completed the training so far, and 21,785 students have benefitted by their programs. In addition, 364 school management committees have been trained in how to sustain and better manage the functioning of their government schools. 

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Worldwide Learning for Medical Professionals with Project ECHO

One of the greatest challenges facing India today is the provision of inclusive and equitable health care services for the 1.3 billion people living within its boundaries. Urban areas tend to fare better than rural; in fact, there are world class medical facilities in many of the major cities in the country. And yet, according to ECHO India's 2021 Annual Report, that leaves 70% of India's population, those who live in rural areas, to largely manage their own health and well-being as only 13% of them have access to primary health care. Finding qualified health care is complicated further for those who require the help of a medical specialist because rarely can one be found for several miles in any direction. Low-income communities are especially vulnerable because they do not have the resources to take time off work or pay for travel expenses, particularly when treatment requires multiple visits. 

The Hub and Spoke Model of Project ECHO
This challenge is not unique to India. In fact, it was this challenge that inspired Dr. Sanjeev Arora, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to create a model that would train primary care physicians in rural areas to treat complex diseases with the remote support of an interdisciplinary team of experts. Motivated by the preventable death of a patient, Dr. Aurora launched Project ECHO at the University of New Mexico in 2003 so that patients experiencing complex diseases can be treated where they live. With the help of widely available video conferencing technology, Project ECHO facilitates trainings and ongoing support in more than 50 disease areas in Asia, North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Australia-though its biggest country of operation and impact, by far, is India.

The ECHO Model relies on a “hub” of medical specialists, usually at academic medical centers, who mentor a large numbers of clinicians; and the “spokes” who are then able to treat more patients more effectively. In addition to teaching, ECHO uses a case-based learning technique by holding discussions about actual (but anonymized) patients. This model follows the training of medical students, who manage complex patient cases while under the supervision of medical school faculty.

Expansion in India
Over the past year, as the COVID pandemic continued to test the world's health care capabilities, ECHO India was uniquely positioned to communicate critical information and training at scale. They added nearly 100 new hubs to the 100 that were already in existence and led trainings in COVID Awareness and Management to 510,000 attendees and COVID Immunization Training to 168,000 attendees. IPA members AIF, Antara International, and the WISH Foundation also leveraged their health care networks to train personnel, distribute supplies, and otherwise contribute to relief efforts. 

As India battles the highest global burden of the top three non-communicable diseases (NCDs): hypertension, diabetes, and cancer, Project ECHO is well positioned to halt, and potentially reverse, this trajectory. Its work on NCDs effectively complements that of Arogya World, an IPA member that focuses exclusively on combatting NCD by teaching healthy living and lifestyle change in India's public schools.

Just like the technology and information networks that connect our world, ECHO’s human networks provide the infrastructure for rapid, efficient sharing of medical knowledge and expertise. With more than 200 hubs in India, and strong collaborations with government and private sector partners, ECHO India is well on its way to reaching its goal of touching the lives of 400 million Indians by 2025. 

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Are you inspired?  

You too can have an impact on enhancing the quality of life for all. Visit any one of our member organizations to see how you can be a part of the solution. Whether you give of your time, talent, or treasure, all of it is crucial to bringing sustainable change to our people and our planet. And when you make a donation of any size, share about it on social media to amplify its impact and encourage others to join you, and be sure to tag IPA when you do!

There are a tremendous number of volunteer opportunities as well as full time careers to choose from. Here are the organizations that are currently recruiting for full time positions in India and the United States.

Akshaya Patra Foundation
American India Foundation (AIF)
CRY America
Dasra 
Indiaspora 
Pratham USA 
Sehgal Foundation 
Vision Spring
WISH Foundation
 

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 In this newsletter: 2022 IPA leaders retreat | Foundation for Excellence (FFE) reaches milestone of 10,000 scholars | Arogya World's work for a world without disease

June 2022 Newsletter

The 2022 Retreat for India Philanthropy Alliance

Since IPA was established, in 2018, our purpose has always been to identify ways in which we could work together to increase the scale and impact of philanthropy benefitting India. We determined the most effective way to do this was through peer learning exchanges, developing a more robust culture of giving among Indian-Americans, and engaging youth for a healthy and sustainable future.

The New York IPA leaders retreat held on June 3 was an opportunity for members to exchange information and explore new ideas for partnerships, collaborations with Indian corporations and government services, and celebrate the milestones that have been achieved so far this year.

Collaboration
Members reported increased private sector support in India and the United States and significant new interest from state governments to work collaboratively with well-run nonprofits. We shared our impressions that the Indian government, which has been very active in enhancing the quality of schools in recent times, is now turning its attention to improving health care. Since many of our members are active in the fields of education and healthcare, new partnerships are sure to develop in the coming months and years.

Members of India Philanthropy Alliance show their support to AIF by attending their gala, the evening before this year’s retreat.Members also shared some of the newer collaborations happening between member organizations and explored additional partnerships to broaden our collective reach and impact. Nalini Saligram, Founder and CEO of Arogya World, spoke of their long-time partnership with Akanksha's affiliated schools that provides the opportunity to teach healthy lifestyles to adolescents in their formative years. Minoo Gupta, President of Foundation for Excellence (FFE), proposed creating new mechanisms to ensure that members working in primary and secondary schools can partner with FFE to assist students through college and beyond.

Engaging Youth
We also discussed ways in which we are engaging youth to shape the future of philanthropy, particularly philanthropy benefitting India. For example, IPA has recently concluded their call for youth essays to address the question, "What do you think is the most significant issue facing India and its people today, and what role can individuals and groups in the U.S play to be a part of the solution?"  Judging will be conducted over the summer months and the winners, runners up, and finalists will be announced in September. 

A More Robust Culture of Giving
Several studies, including one by Dalberg and Indiaspora, have shown that Indian-Americans are generous with volunteering their time and are expected to significantly increase their financial donations in the years ahead. This could result in an additional $2 billion going to charitable causes in the United States, India and elsewhere.  Reaching this goal is a priority for India Philanthropy Alliance and much time was spent exploring ways to engage the Indian diaspora more fully. 

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The Promise of 10,000 Scholars

Foundation for Excellence (FFE) has been transforming the lives of exceptionally bright students from financially constrained backgrounds since 1994. This year a record number of 10,000 high school graduates will be entering the field of engineering, medical science, technology, pharmaceuticals, and the law, thanks to scholarships resulting from the generosity of FFE and their supporters.

Founded by Prabhu and Poonam Goel, FFE targets its scholarships at low-income students pursuing high-cost fields of study because the likelihood of breaking the generational cycle of poverty and creating role models is greatly increased. Scholarships are awarded to students who have scored in the top percentage of national entrance exams and have already been accepted into highly reputed Institutions in India.

A Continuum of Educational Opportunity
FFE is not the only IPA member working to advance the cause of quality education for all in India. There are nine IPA member organizations that work in the field of education, all to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goal of inclusive and equitable quality education.

“Our programs wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for organizations like Pratham, Magic Bus, Akanksha, the Sehgal Foundation, AIF, and CRY, that provide high quality, accessible, education at the primary and secondary level,” says Minoo Gupta, President of Foundation for Excellence. “There is a tremendous need to have children from marginalized communities complete schooling to be eligible for our programs, and this is no small task. We need to work together if we want to create sustainable change.”

Whether it be primary, secondary, or college level learning, IPA member organizations offer holistic educational models to ensure students and families have the support they need to facilitate a child’s education.

Beyond Scholarship
In addition to financial support, FFE augments their scholarship program by providing soft skills training and upskilling opportunities in order to prepare students for life in their newfound careers. Many FFE supporters, particularly corporate volunteers and FFE alumni, provide individual mentorship focused on employability skills and career counselling.

FFE’s Beyond Scholarship program includes English and aptitude training, aspirational technical courses, and mock interviews for placement readiness. All coursework is supplemented with volunteer facilitators and industry experts who provide one-on-one mentoring throughout the scholars' college years and beyond.

Paying it Forward
One of the ways FFE has reached this level of momentum is through their "Pay it Forward" model. Each scholarship recipient is encouraged to pledge to support two future students with scholarships once they themselves are well established in their careers. Today, 8-10 percent of scholarship funding comes from former students who have continued their engagement and are paying it forward.

To learn more about Foundation for Excellence, and how you can get involved, visit their website at https://ffe.org/

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Arogya World: Changing the Course of Chronic Disease in India

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015 are a carefully balanced global development plan that espouses ending hunger, poverty, and gender inequality while boosting inclusive, quality, education, health and well-being for all, full and productive employment, sustainable cities and communities, the health of our planet, and more. Arogya World is one of nine IPA member organizations working to ensure healthy lives and well-being for all in alignment with the United Nations Strategic Development goal # 3.

Arogya World is a global health organization working to prevent noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in India through health education and lifestyle change, leveraging technology and partnerships to help people lead healthier lives. Since its inception in 2010, Arogya World has reached more than six million people from 19 states in both rural and urban communities across India in its tireless effort to achieve the vision set forth in its name: In Sanskrit, Arogya means to live a life without disease: Arogya World envisions a world without disease and is working every day to bring us closer to that bold goal.

NCDs – One of the Century’s Leading Health and Development Challenges
The NCD burden in India is tremendous - nearly two thirds of deaths in India are attributed to NCDs. More than 77 million Indians are living with diabetes, and they often are diagnosed in their 30s and 40s, typically 10 years before those living in the West. As many as three out of four people in metro cities like Chennai are diabetic or pre-diabetic.  Low-income families in underdeveloped communities are the most vulnerable and hardest hit; 25% of a poor family’s income is spent treating a single family member with diabetes, which plunges them further into poverty.

Community-Based Prevention: The Smart Solution
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 80% of heart disease and diabetes can be prevented through healthy lifestyles. Thus, Arogya World focuses on prevention and employs an innovative doorstep health model to take prevention education to people where they live, learn, and work – delivering it in the community, outside of the often-overburdened health system.

Healthy Schools: Impacting Adolescent Health
Every fifth person in India’s 1.4 billion population is an adolescent. More than 10% of India’s children, even as young as 5 years of age (5-19 years), are estimated to be pre-diabetic, while 75% of adolescents get “insufficient physical activity” according to WHO. Thus, educating adolescents about the basics of healthy living, such as eating right, exercising, and avoiding tobacco, is a smart and effective solution since many lifestyle habits are acquired at this age.

Healthy Schools is one of Arogya World’s signature programs, with over 500,000 children having completed it to date. This two-year school-based program consists of five activities each year that are delivered through implementation partners in government and private schools in both rural and urban areas. These compelling and fun games and activities teach the importance of physical activity and a healthy diet in a hands-on way. The lessons are peer-led, offered in 9 Indian languages, and are now digitized to offer virtual, in-person, and hybrid formats.

As one child from Sri Saraswathi High School in Hyderabad said, “I have learned so much about diabetes and how can it be prevented; how it will occur in a person and the preventive methods we have to follow… it was such a nice, wonderful, and useful session for us.”

To read more about Arogya World’s Healthy Schools program and see their results, click here. For more information about Arogya World and how to get involved, go to https://arogyaworld.org/.

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Are you inspired?

You too can have an impact on enhancing the quality of life for all. Visit any one of our member organizations to see how you can be a part of the solution. Whether you give of your time, talent, or treasure, all of it is crucial to bringing sustainable change to our people and our planet. And when you make a donation of any size, share about it on social media to amplify its impact and encourage others to join you, and be sure to tag IPA when you do!

There are a tremendous number of volunteer opportunities as well as full time careers to choose from. Here are the organizations that are currently recruiting for full time positions in India and the United States.

American India Foundation (AIF)
CRY America
Dasra
Indiaspora
Pratham USA
Sehgal Foundation
Vision Spring
WISH Foundation

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April 2022 Newsletter

In 2015 the United Nations developed 17 goals for sustainable development that encompass poverty, hunger, the environment, global partnership, and more. One of the inspirations for India Philanthropy Alliance is knowing that together we can advance toward achievement of these goals in India more quickly and efficiently that any one of us can achieve alone.

In this newsletter we review how Agastya is advancing goal #4 by sparking creativity and scientific discovery among underserved youth in India; how Antara is advancing goal #2 by fighting malnutrition and morbidity among infants, children, and young mothers; and how Child Rights and You (CRY) is advancing goals #3, #4, and #16 by working for children's rights which include good health and a quality education.

Navigate to: CRY America | Antara International | Agastya USA

Child Rights and You (CRY America)

Driven by their vision of a just world for all children, CRY America partners with grassroots organizations in India to advance children's rights and create equal opportunities for all. Firm in their belief that all children have a right to reach their full potential and realize their dreams, CRY identifies and supports community-led solutions to problems pertaining to education, healthcare, malnutrition, child labor, child marriage, child abuse, and gender discrimination.

Engaging the Whole Community
For sustainable change to happen, the whole community needs to be engaged. That's why CRY supports community led initiatives such as KMAGVS in Latur, Maharashtra. With a staggering rate of 35% of girls being forced into child marriage, this region of the country lags far behind national metrics. Child brides are consigned to a life of educational deprivation, isolation from family members, and health concerns related to early pregnancy. To raise awareness about the ills of the practice, project staff are organizing community meetings and children’s groups, in which participants discuss child labor and child marriage, and identify at-risk peers.

Every Mother and Each Child, with an Equal Start to a Healthy Life with Antara International

Nearly one million children under age five and some twenty-five thousand women die each year from preventable causes in India. Antara International, through its partner, the Antara Foundation in India, tackles the pervasive and chronic problems of malnutrition and maternal, neonatal, and child mortality.

Rural Access and Quality of Care
Mothers in rural India often cannot access essential care during and after pregnancy, which puts both mother and child at risk. Frontline health workers lack the training, data, and coordination to provide timely and quality care, and health facilities are often inadequate.Superstitions, tribal practices and pervasive gender inequity can compound the problem, particularly when overlaid on poverty. Rural women are without a voice and are unable to access the critical care they need. The tragedy is that most maternal and child deaths in these cases are preventable.

Working Together to Strengthen the Public Healthcare System
In response, the Antara Foundation works at the grassroots level in rural marginalized communities to strengthen andtransform the health system and deliver public health innovations at scale. The Antara Foundation partners with state governments to train communities of frontline health workers on a common problem-solving platform to identify and manage high risk cases and helps empower women with essential knowledge and skills. In parallel, the supervisory cadres are strengthened for leadership, and health data is improved. On the beneficiary side, they work within communities with self-help groups, panchayats, and other local influencers to help women build agency and demand better care.

By strengthening the public healthcare system at all levels, Antara aims to transform maternal and child health and nutrition outcomes, and demonstrate evidence for system-level change at a state and national level.

Antara's Reach and Impact

The Antara Foundation currently works in the state of Madhya Pradesh, one of India’s most populous states with its worst maternal and child-health record. They have active programs in six districts with a collective rural population of 6.2 million, serving 4,800 villages, and 330,000 pregnant women and lactating mothers. Over 3-5 years, Antara Foundation aims to replicate and scale up across the entire state by training 173,000 frontline health workers and improving maternal, child mortality and malnutrition numbers for 1.6m pregnant women and 5.5m children under age five.

Antara is one of nine IPA member organizations working to improve the health of India's underserved communities. This aligns with United Nations goal # 3, to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

Sparking and Nurturing Creativity Among India's Youth

Several studies on the state of education in schools have shown that curiosity levels among children decrease significantly as they progress from one grade to another. Agastya International Foundation is striving to fill these gaps in the Indian education system by taking experiential, hands-on learning, particularly in the field of science, to underserved children and teachers.

The Agastya way of learning is designed to spark creativity, nurture creativity, and instill confidence. To augment the existing school curriculum, Agastya has built a growing network of Mobile Science Labs, Science Centres, night community centres, and digital learning programs.

The Building of a Movement
In its 23-year journey, Agastya has reached over 15 million children, 250,000 teachers, and 21 states across India. With the launch of Agastya 2.0, Agastya is heralding the transition from an organisation to a movement. Their aim is to reach 100 million children and 1 million teachers by 2031.

To achieve this extraordinary goal, Agastya is promoting digital and phygital (physical+digital) methods of teaching and learning. Resources such as myagastya.education, WELearn app, and the Acti-Learnbook bring innovative digital learning to communities that were previously out of reach.

Agastya USA is one of nine IPA member organizations that are working to bring educational opportunities to traditionally underserved communities. Together we are advancing the United Nations goal #4 to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.

Are you inspired? Join one of our member teams!

There are a tremendous number of volunteer opportunities as well as full time careers to choose from. Here are the organizations that are currently hiring full time positions.

American India Foundation (AIF)
CRY America
Dasra
Indiaspora
Pratham USA
Sehgal Foundation
Vision Spring
WISH Foundation

January 2022 Newsletter

As a friend of the India Philanthropy Alliance, we hope that your year has gotten off to a good start.

Despite the hardships that COVID continues to visit upon people in India, especially the most vulnerable, we are grateful for the work of our 15 member organizations and for all of their supporters. 

In this newsletter we will spotlight how Akanksha Education Fund is combatting learning loss in low-income communities, how VisionSpring is making India's roads safer through eyeglasses, and how Magic Bus USA is working to advance opportunities for Indian youth through building essential life skills and preparing them for the world of work.

Navigate to: Akanksha Spotlight | VisionSpring #DriveSafeIndia | Magic Bus Scale to Significance

Spotlight on Akanksha Education Fund

While much has been done to facilitate remote learning in India, low-income communities are at a distinct disadvantage when adapting to online learning. Extended families often live in crowded one room homes and students do their best to learn despite their chaotic surroundings and spotty internet connections. The learning loss experienced throughout the course of this pandemic has been profound. 

IPA members such as Agastya, AIF, Akanksha, FFE, Magic Bus, and Pratham have been working on different aspects of making the right to education guaranteed under Indian law a reality for every single child in the country.  Their innovative and complementary approaches have impacted the lives of millions and created models that have been adapted by private and public organizations in India and beyond.  IPA’s director wrote an article several years ago about a field visit where he saw how 3 of these groups worked synergistically in the state of Karnataka to improve educational outcomes and performance.  

Akanksha’s singular focus is on providing a high-quality holistic education through their 27 public private partnership schools in urban centers. Akanksha partners with students and their families for 20 years from the age of 3 to 23 supporting the student journey through college and career. The holistic approach extends the scope of Akanksha’s programs to benefit families and the communities, making Akanksha a trusted partner in the community and creating pathways out of poverty.

Adapting to Remote Learning
Early in the pandemic, Akanksha distributed close to 7000 tablets to students and 255 tablets to Akanksha teachers to enable blended learning. They facilitated internet connection for every student in grades three to ten and strengthened their partnerships with parents so that teachers served as lesson planners and parents served as executors of the daily school activities. Many of the parents attend classes along with their children so that they understand the tasks and take the onus of having their children complete assignments on time. Hear from Akanksha's teachers how the blended learning program was implemented to serve these children from low-income households.

Social-Emotional Well-being
Student socio-emotional needs were a big part of Akanksha’s COVID response, with regular student check-in calls from teachers and staff. Teams from all 21 Akanksha schools checked in with each child and their family on a weekly basis, reaching 91% of the students for a total of 78,000 phone calls. The check-ins served as a platform for students and parents to voice their concerns and for teachers to better understand the home environment of their students. Students at high risk of neglect or abuse were red flagged so that victims were provided access to social workers and counselors.

While social emotional learning has long been a hallmark of Akanksha schools, staff received special training in the Social, Emotional, and Ethical program (SEE) that was developed by Emory University in partnership with the Dalai Lama Trust. Employed by all Akanksha schools, the SEE program used tools such as sharing circles, yoga, and journaling to ensure the mental safety of Akanksha students. You can learn more about the SEE program here.

Looking Ahead

Like other IPA members active on education issues, Akanksha’s priorities in the new year are influenced both by its innovations over many years and its experience during the pandemic. They include a special focus on combating learning loss, investing in technology and teacher training to make blended learning a success, and continuing to invest in the mental health of their students, teachers and communities. Visit www.akankshafund.org to learn more.

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VisionSpring is making India's Roads Safer with Eye Glasses

Members of the India Philanthropy Alliance work in myriad ways to address human needs, prevent unnecessary illness and death, and enable the citizens of the world’s largest democracy to thrive.  Among those members working on public health, VisionSpring is unique in several ways.  It uses a social enterprise and micro-franchise approach to close the huge gap in supply and demand for affordable eyeglasses.  While on the surface spectacles may seem like a middle class luxury, they are essential for artisans and perhaps most importantly, for the nation’s tens of thousands of professional drivers who ferry goods and people around the country. 
 
India’s Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) reports the sobering fact that there is a death every 4 minutes on India’s roads and that almost 80% of these are due to driver errors. The World Health Organization (WHO) data confirms this silent tragedy: they report that there are approximately 300,000 driving-related fatalities every year in India, and that 26% of them involve commercial vehicles.
 
#DriveSafeIndia
Since 2019, VisionSpring has partnered with Shell in India to address this critical issue through the #DriveSafeIndia program. The objective of the program is to reduce road accidents and improve efficiency by helping commercial vehicle drivers and allied transport workers obtain clear vision through eyeglasses. Those requiring surgical and other medical interventions are referred to eye hospitals for further diagnosis and potential treatment. This program helps this important community see better and foster a culture of safe driving and road use over time, ultimately reducing India’s high fatalities caused by commercial vehicle drivers along its highways.
 
Early Results
Thus far, the program has touched approximately 300,000 people with eye-screenings and 65% of them were found to have poor vision and were given corrective eyeglasses. 70% are first time wearers. The #DriveSafeIndia program has become the largest program of its kind in the world. The program is a part of the broader See to be Safe program of VisionSpring through which the organization has touched approximately 500,000 people in India since 2015.
 
Awards and Recognitions
The #DriveSafeIndia program has also won the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in 2019 at London, United Kingdom, and the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) Golden Award (Community Engagement Category) in 2020. It also won the India CSR Leadership Award in 2020. 
 
It is remarkable how well VisionSpring’s successful efforts to ensure clear vision complement the pathbreaking public health work of the Antara Foundation, Arogya World, AIF, Project ECHO, and the WISH Foundation.  Together, these IPA members are bringing India closer to reaching its targets related to Sustainable Development Goal #3: “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.”   

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Magic Bus is Bringing Childhood to Livelihood to Scale
Magic Bus has been working with vulnerable youth to build essential life skills and prepare them for the world of work for more than 20 years. Breaking the cycle of poverty, Magic Bus supports youth through the critical years of secondary education and offers work readiness programs to build on foundational life skills through financial literacy, digital skills, and spoken English. Students are made aware of career options and offered sector specific training in Retail, IT, BSFI (Banking, Financial Services and Insurance), and e-commerce. Aspiring Entrepreneurs are equipped with skills for starting small enterprises and seed money to launch their business.

Impact and Results
Their reach and impact across India has included more than one million youth and demonstrated a 37% increase in school attendance, a reduced drop-out rate for girls (40% to 5%), reduced the incidence of child marriages, and successfully placed 70% of those trained through their livelihood program into salaried work. When combined with the complementary efforts of other IPA members and positive work of other actors in the education sector, Magic Bus is truly moving the needle on learning and helping India’s students reach their full potential. 

The Next Five Years-Scaling to Significance
Education is both a human right and a ticket to lifelong learning.  In the context of India, education can be an effective on-ramp to employment that can allow a child born into poverty to satisfy all of their basic needs for the rest of her life. While many IPA members have been advancing the cause of quality education for all, Magic Bus has been squarely focused on making the connection between schooling and sustainable livelihoods for poor children. 

And it has been making impressive progress. With backing from its supporters, Magic Bus is on track to reach more than five million adolescents and young adults by 2027. Their methods will include transforming education and skilling systems for outsized impact, delivering essential life skills training to more than 4.5 million adolescents and connecting more than 500,000 young adults to meaningful work. Key components to these aggressive plans include increasing government partnerships, creating a digital platform, and expanding livelihood training programs to rural communities.

Like many nonprofits and all IPA members, Magic Bus pivoted to areas of urgent need during Covid-19. They are now ready to build on their strengths as an organization and ensure they empower vulnerable youth in India in ways that effectively complement the work of other IPA members working on vocational skills, such as AIF.  In fact, Magic Bus has even brought its work to other Asian countries, including Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal, mirroring Pratham’s global expansion. Clearly, IPA members such as Magic Bus have much to teach the rest of the world about making the leap from childhood to livelihood based on their exceptional track record in India.  

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Are you inspired? Join one of our member teams!

There are a tremendous number of volunteer opportunities as well as full time careers to choose from. Here are the organizations that are currently hiring full time positions.

American India Foundation (AIF)
CRY America
Dasra 
Indiaspora 
Pratham USA 
Sehgal Foundation 
Vision Spring
WISH Foundation

 August 30, 2021

Midyear 2021 Newsletter

SPOTLIGHT: Pratham Continues to Fight COVID-19

On July 14, India reported its lowest daily rise in COVID cases in nearly four months. Still, even as travel restrictions ease and vaccination supplies decline, the battle against the pandemic is not yet over. This second wave that wracked India this spring saw healthcare systems overwhelmed and people unable to access treatment as cases rose out of control. Anxiety and helplessness plagued everyone in the nation and their families around the globe. Nonprofits and concerned individuals around the globe responded with multi-faceted approaches to support communities through healthcare, learning, and essential supplies. Now, as doctors say a third wave is inevitable, the continuing work of humanitarian organizations is essential.

While all IPA members stepped up to the challenge in April and continue to serve communities in India, we are highlighting the work of Pratham to showcase how organizations worked across domains and through collaborative alliances to provide both short- and long-term relief as part of their extensive work over the past year to support and strengthen communities.

Immediate Response to the Crisis

In April 2021, when India went into a second lockdown, Pratham immediately channeled its vast networks and logistics expertise to help alleviate the stress on the country's healthcare system and meet the demand for essential medical and safety supplies.

With oxygen being the nation’s most critical immediate need, we quickly procured more than 7,000 5L and 10L from Chinese manufacturers, who represent 90% of the global supply.

To ensure equitable and need-based distribution, Pratham carefully vetted regional implementation partners, establishing an oversight committee to:

• identify reputable NGOs to transport and deliver concentrators

• prioritize hospitals and determine allocation against supply

• monitor and track concentrator distribution via a real-time public dashboard.

As of July 15, 2,400 concentrators have been distributed to under-resourced communities in 23 states in cooperation with partner NGOs including Piramal Swasthya and Project Mumbai (more).

Pratham is uniquely positioned to engage communities regarding the benefits of vaccination and reduce hesitancy. Pratham is mobilizing community volunteers to reduce the spread of Covid in 10,000 communities. These health champions are being trained in the recognition of Covid symptoms, the use of vaccine registration portals, and the promotion of vaccination.

There is a need for healthcare worker training, particularly in rural parts of the country. Pratham is using its vocational programs to bridge this gap. They are expanding their bedside assistance program to include courses in nursing assistance and home healthcare with certification in the handling of Covid patients. In addition, a new course in medical equipment repair is also being offered.

Capacity building and learnings from Pratham’s 2020 “Karona Thodi Masti Thodi Padhai” campaign to reach children and families during the first year of the pandemic helped the organization respond quickly and thoroughly when the second wave hit. Their robust network of participants, volunteers, and partner organizations informed the collaborative grassroots response to the current crisis.

Working for the Long Term

In order to beat the pandemic, Pratham recognized the need for efficient delivery of accurate, essential information related to COVID-19 prevention. The Karona Apni Suraksha communication initiative distributed verified information about the pandemic in 11 different regional languages through a wide range of delivery channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, Zoom, YouTube, and phone calls. The initiative’s objectives focused on ensuring information delivery methods are accessible and easy to use even in low-tech and under-resourced communities, as well as focusing on open and two-way communication so recipients of information can ask questions and discuss with experts. Messaging features health awareness, myth-busting, cause and consequence analysis, and vaccine information. Critically, activities and messages to engage children are integrated into the program.

This video demonstrates how Pratham’s initiative helped families and communities learn how to use a pulse oximeter, an at-home medical device that can help patients determine if a COVID infection is severe and requires hospitalization. Karona Apni Suraksha also featured an awareness Q&A to help nearly 250,000 adults and children gauge their understanding of COVID-19 and its precautions. All content, including videos, infographics, calls, and interactive activities was widely distributed among Pratham’s networks and made freely available to other organizations and government. The campaign was six weeks and run in 20,000 communities. The content created for the campaign was utilized by more than 100 nonprofit partners and is now included in Pratham’s ongoing education and skilling programs.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, Pratham has begun to refocus on children, ensuring their wellbeing and helping them cope with Covid-related anxieties. Just as importantly, they are beginning to address learning loss and prepare children for school after a 20-month hiatus. Pratham is uniquely positioned to implement remedial learning interventions given the past success of our highly effective Teaching at the Right Level approach, which was recently recommended by the World Bank and FCDO.

As the threat of a third wave of cases looms over India, the importance of multi-faceted and collaborative approaches to building resilience, fighting misinformation, and providing essential services is greater than ever. None of these transformative and life-saving projects would have been possible without generous support from people around the globe. To support Pratham’s immediate aide and information campaign, donate here. To learn more about the efforts of all IPA members and donate to fund their critical work, see our page on COVID response.

Letter from the Director

This summer India Philanthropy Alliance took stock of its performance during the first half of 2021. We have much to be proud of as a coalition of 13 of the leading India-focused nonprofits in the country, and yet there is much work left to do in the second half of the year. 

Most notably, all our members and IPA itself had to make dramatic adjustments to their annual plans on the fly as the second wave of COVID-19 hit India with shocking force. IPA responded by creating a microsite summarizing the work, plans, needs, and accomplishments of our members (building on an earlier effort related to the first wave in the spring of 2020). We were highly impressed with the creative responses of our members and the generosity of their donors, volunteers, and partners. 

We continue to encourage people to consider giving their time, talent, and money to these terrific organizations, while extending our sympathy and empathy to those in India and beyond who lost loved ones or suffered in other ways due to COVID.

Follow Us on Twitter for Updates

Not everything came to stop with the onset of the second wave. Our youth engagement program moved forward, most notably with our second annual essay competition for middle school and high school students around the country. The number of submitted essays more than doubled from our inaugural year. We are grateful to all our members and to the Sarva Mangal Family Trust for promoting and supporting this important effort to encourage young people to respond with intelligence, creativity, and generosity to needs in India and elsewhere. 

The judges met in late July to determine the winners, runners-up, and finalists in the two age categories. All participants were recently informed of their status. Public announcements of the top essays will be made in the next few weeks. You can view the award-wining essays from last year here.

We also held webinars for the staff, board members, and volunteers on three topics: technology in education, how members can plug into the award-winning collaboration and learning platform that our member Project ECHO has developed, and what can be learned from the Sehgal Foundation’s impressive work in youth engagement. 

We welcomed Dasra back into IPA and celebrated the graduation of our amazing interns, Meg Lanthier and Julia Clark, from the University of Maryland, and brought on 2020 essay competition winner Maher Adoni as an intern after he served with distinction as an adviser and judge for the program’s second year.

All in all, we are looking forward to the second half of the year despite the uncertainty and many challenges our members and the people who depend on them are facing. There is much to do; fortunately, more people are stepping forward every day to help with the work.

Thank you for all of your support,

Alex Counts, Senior Director

More member news and updates:

• VIDEOS: Sehgal Foundation interns share their experiences in the Youth for Change series.

• Community Youth Leaders from Magic Bus organized a relief drive to deliver supplies in flood-affected Poladpur, Mahad & Chiplun in Maharashtra.

• WATCH: Recording of Indiaspora’s DiasporaNEXT author’s round table that took place on August 19.

• As part of its COVID response, WISH Foundation organized a vaccination camp for construction workers in Kamrup district.