I am interested on how much time you devote to community service!
Take the poll below! Thanks!
- P
Recently I travelled to New York City to visit family. On the flight, I came across an eye opening article in one of those airline magazines. It talked about how much $15,500 can do for a country like India. I was able to find the article online, here it is! 
Enjoy and think how much power $1000 or even $100 can have… Check out American Way Mag!
- P
ABCD Lady, a new (?) online magazine for desi women, did a feature on giving back to the South Asian community this week – and featured The South Asian Philanthropy Project! The author, Pratichi Shah, offers readers some reflective questions to ask themselves when thinking about where and how to give, and then points them towards some great organizations (including SAPP!).
If you’re inspired to give after reading ABCD Lady’s article, check out our Organizations page for some nonprofits to look into…
As the ailing economy is slowly mending itself we are finding that many state’s are experiencing major budget crisis. For example, this article in the Chicago Tribune highlights the very harsh realities of the Illinois budget. The state has found itself in a major deficit and in efforts to balance the budget is threatening to slash funding allocated for social services. The threat of funding cuts, followed by protest, flowed by service disruption, occurs in a cyclical fashion. However, the threat of social service agencies being completely shut down is more real this time because of the very severe economic downturn. Social service agencies that normally supplement their funding through private donations and philanthropic organizations are finding that their secondary funding sources are all tapped out. In addition banks are increasingly hesitant to lend money on the promise that they will be repayed by the state.
These agencies provide services for mental illness, substance abuse, domestic abuse, legal services, and many other services provided to socially vulnerable clients. A disruption in service could severely destabalize the recovery paths for many clients.
How would communities change if there were to be a disruption in service to these clients? Where would these already disadvantaged individuals go for help and is the state being fair in targeting social services? More specifically, as individual donors are you attracted to the possibility of donating to a social service agency? What types of information would you want to know from an agency before making that investment?
Devis with Babies, one of my favorite mommy blogs out there (with a special focus on desi moms!), did a post today on raising generous children, referring back to this short post I did a couple of weeks ago.
The comments over there contain some practical ideas about how to inspire giving in your kids – so check it out!
A recent article in Forbes India reports on the outcomes of Bill Gates’s efforts to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in India. Gates’ famed 2002 trip to India inspired him to develop a 10-year initiative with a $258-million investment to end the 
epidemic. Seven years later, the project, entitled Avahan, is showing little to no major impact on the epidemic.
The major misstep in the initiative seems to be that it was too broad. For instance, Avahan opened 6,000 sexually transmitted infection centers and were eventually forced to downsize to 800. Avahan also started with 50 sites that specifically focused on educating truck drivers, however, they quickly found that only a very small portion of drivers were even aware of their services and even smaller portion actually used their services. This quickly drove down the sites to 20. In addition, Avahan’s approach towards the sex workers was ineffective. They used shiny expensive posters, cars, and offices that the sex-workers were not able to relate to. Many of the sex workers were afraid that they were linked to the police or government and therefore did not utilize the resource. Similar NGO’s felt that Avahan’s goal of ending the epidemic was unrealistic, especially because much of their funding was being channeled towards the pay of their executives. (For more details check out the entire article in Forbes India.)
Avahan’s lack of insight into the world of the sex workers and their mismanagement of funds have made the effort a failure. In what ways could Gates and Avahan have better managed their funds? All the executives of Avahan were former business executives from major firms like McKinsey-Phillips. Would incorporation of individuals who work in the public service fields have been helpful to Avahan? In addition, would consultation with other NGO’s and sociological experts have been a helpful tool in strategically channeling Avahan’s funding?
SAPP is working on its business plan this summer! More news to come soon on that… In the meantime, Venu’s getting married, Archana’s moving to a new country, and Ramya & Priyanka are busy with summer classes and internships. All in all, we’re just not able to publish as much as we want to over the next two months. Don’t worry, you’ll still be hearing from us, but perhaps not as often!
In the meantime, here are a few links to keep you going:
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c/o Zimbio.com
Tomorrow, Michelle Obama launches a “summer of service” through an initiative called United We Serve. We’d love to hear from you if you participate in volunteer opportunities this summer!
- Over at Asian American Giving, Dien profiles CEO Mridul Chowdhury of ClickDiagnostics, which uses cellphones to promote health care in rural Bangladesh and elsewhere.
She also makes her first loan through United Prosperity to an entrepreneur in India. United Prosperity is a new microfinance platform that I encourage all of you to check out.- Echoing Green announces its 2009 fellows, and there are at least two South Asians among them: Veena Ramanna of IndiaGoverns, and Dhruv Lakra of Mirakle Couriers. Their ideas seem fantastic – to remake political discourse in India and to create sustainable employment opportunities for deaf adults in India.
Somehow I got to this interesting little article (sorry for whoever I should give a hat tip to!), on how to raise generous children. We all know that philanthropy is important – but it’s easier to cultivate and practice when you start early. These tips come from a study by Independent Sector on what activities are linked with adult giving. The following activities in children lead to a lifetime of generosity:
- Seeing an admired person who isn’t a family member help others.
- Seeing a family member help others.
- Doing volunteer work.
- Raising money door to door.
- Being active in student government.
- Belonging to a youth group, such as the Boy Scouts.
- Being active in a religious organization.
- Being helped by others.
How do you measure up as a parent? Do you instill values of giving and volunteering in your kids? Whether or not you have kids, do you remember these influences when you were a kid? I attribute my interest and commitment to philanthropy directly to my parents and my religious community – what about you?
Exploring Our Resources: Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Here is a post written by Ramya!
Exploring Our Resources: Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area
Ahuja, Sarita et al. “Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian Communities in the San Francisco Bay Area,” Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (2004).
History:
This project was born out of the aftermath of September 11th. Hate crimes, employment discrimination, and racial profiling are a few of the consequences of Sept. 11th and the subsequent government actions. “Many communities have been torn apart due to government policies such as the USA PATRIOT Act, the Absconder Initiative, and Special Registration.” It quickly became apparent that there was a need in the Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian communities, especially because these communities are new and do not have established non-profits set up. To address this issue the researchers identified ethnic-based organizations in the Bay Area. This process was funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and The San Francisco Foundation. After this initial phase was completed they then worked to identify the issues, needs and capacity challenges facing these communities, in collaboration with Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) and Asian American/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP).
Community Roundtable:
This report was generated out of a roundtable with representatives from Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities in the Bay Area. The objectives of the roundtable were to:
1. Provide an opportunity for local community leaders to share information and network.
2. To understand the impact of post-September 11 backlash, homeland security policies and other issues confronting Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities and the organizations that serve them
3. to gather information and insights that can inform foundations about community needs and solutions and that can be used to advocate for increased philanthropic investments in these communities.
The content of this report is derived from the roundtable discussions, telephone conversations, and in-person interviews. They seek to inform the Bay Area about the most salient issues impacting this population in order to support programs and strategies that respond to these issues. The data is largely qualitative and produced by the 10 leaders at the roundtable discussions. In addition they interviewed 4 local activists and attorneys that have provided services to this population.
The Report:
Arab, Middle Eastern and South Asian communities are among the fastest growing minority groups in the nation. Post Sep.11th they have been the targets of hate crimes, racial profiling, and mass detentions and deportations. Leaders of faith-based organizations and grassroots movements have been the ones to respond to the needs and protecting the rights of these communities. However, these leaders and their organizations are limited in how much they can take on because they are not built to address these issues.
Have the events of September 11th shed light on the needs of South Asians in your community?
If so, do you feel like there are agencies available in your area that could address these issues?
