Congratulations to ASHA for Women, selected as one of the Greater Washington (DC) area’s best small nonprofits by the Catalogue for Philanthropy!
ASHA for Women provides hope through empowerment to South Asian women living in abusive marriages and homes in the Washington area with community-based, culturally competent support. Operating for 20 years, ASHA was one of the first South Asian domestic violence prevention organizations in the United States. By surmounting language, cultural, and social barriers, ASHA helps prevent abuse victims from falling through the cracks of the domestic violence service system.
The Catalogue is an interesting endeavor in its own right. A multi-constituency group of reviewers (including giving circles, foundations, corporations, larger nonprofits, and local government) evaluate small not-for-profits for their merit and impact, including both their program activities (with site visits for all) and operations (including cost-effectiveness and financial transparency). In the last seven years, they have helped raise more than $9.6 million from new donors for nearly 350 smaller not-for-profit organizations across a wide range of issue areas.
Do you participate in activities or knowledge-sharing like the Catalogue, on any scale? Do you think South Asian givers could benefit from this sort of evaluation? We’d love to know your thoughts in the comments.
The South Asian Philanthropy Project (SAPP) is looking for a New Media Intern!
The New Media Intern is charged with posting on the website about a wide range of topics. As part of the SAPP team, you’ll add your voice to the important conversation about South Asians in philanthropy. This is an exciting opportunity to become part of SAPP’s mission, to connect with a vibrant community, and to gain valuable experience and refine your writing and media skills.
The position is virtual and volunteer (as we all are), but can lead to academic credit if you are an undergraduate or graduate student. More details can be found here.
Please do share this opportunity with interested friends and colleagues.
The Daily Tell reports that the Prem Warat Foundation announced a contribution of $25,000 to eye care in India. Ten-thousand people received free eye glasses, 10,500 were given treatment for infections and an additional 1,700 were diagnosed with cataracts and referred to area hospitals.
Asian American Giving profiles Dr. Sudhir Parikh, winner of the 2010 Padma Shri Award: “The Indian government grants this award to distinguished Indians and people of Indian origin for their contribution in various spheres of activity…” Dr. Parikh has donated more than $2 million to various charities and causes in the India and the U.S. over the years, including the Art of Living Foundation and the American India Foundation.
The American Pakistan Foundation has two openings – President & CEO and Director of Development. Check out the job descriptions and apply here.
Can you believe that where and how much we donate actually is due to the mechanics of our brain?
SAPP came across this very interesting article on ScienceBlogs. Jonah Lehrer writes about an article that discusses the scientific aspect of why people donate. In his article he relates donations and philanthropic engagement to dopamine releasing mechanics in the cerebral corticular mechanics. However, he states that the bigger question was how does the human brain assign value to different objects? Why is it that someone decides that something is better than the other?
Lehrer states that, “computing the value of a charitable donation might require inputs from areas involved in social cognition.” For instance, when we engage in giving or donations we assess ourselves in comparisons to others in need. Simultaneously this largely depends on the amount of “empathy” we feel towards that particular organization.
In the experiment 22 women were each given $100 that they could donate to various charities while in an fMRI machine. Any remaining money that was left over they could keep, and their donations would be matched by other research funds. 150 trials were conducted. Subjects would think about which of 75 different charities they wanted to donate to while in a scanner. Before entering the scanner, the 22 women were asked to rate based on their personal opinion whether or not a charity was deserving and how close it was to them.
The study revealed that the amount of charitable donations was stimulated in the brain by an area known as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC). The VMPFC received stimuli from other areas such as the anterior insula and posterior superior temporal cortex (pSTC) (both which are associated with social cognition). The insula has also been associated with feelings of empathy, where as the pSTC detects agency in others.
The decision on whether or not to donate is not always as Lehrer states, “rational calculations” but rather their underlying reason lies within the mechanics of our brain. How interesting!
Safia Hussain of Asbahi Law Group posted an informative essay at Nonprofit Legal Blog recently about choosing between private foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs) as a giving vehicle.
Donor-advised funds are an increasingly popular way to create a grant-making vehicle for charitable giving. Donors establish a small fund (generally upward of $5,000) with a community foundation or the charitable arm of an established investment company, like the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund. Donors get an immediate tax deduction for giving to their DAF but can award grants (generally a minimum of $50-$100 each) over a longer period of time. Safia has more at her post comparing the two.
It’s worth noting that donors contributed more than $1.1 billion in 2009 to Giving Accounts at Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, up from $1.05 billion in 2008 – despite the financial downturn. Donors also recommended more than $1 billion in grants to more than 60,000 charities.
Do any of you have experience with DAFs?
c/o Partners in Health
Haiti is still on all our minds and seems to be the great philanthropic cause of our time…
The American India Foundation just started a Haiti Relief Fund, proving once again my thoughts on the powerful diversity of South Asian giving:
In the aftermath of the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake and the 2004 Tsunami, the world stood by those affected in India. Today, our brothers and sisters in Haiti have been devastated by an earthquake, and we must support the rehabilitation of their lives.
Although AIF will not be working directly in Haiti, we are raising funds to support partner organizations of ours that are working on the relief and rehabilitation efforts on the ground. We will channel 100 % of your funds toward the William J. Clinton Foundation and CARE International, both of which are working with communities in Haiti to begin the long process of rebuilding.
Here is Anne C. Richard, VP of International Rescue Committee on eight things you should know about Haiti, including one important point about giving:
8. Give money. Americans are generous and want to take action. Most want to roll up their sleeves and do something. But for most of us, sending supplies or jumping on a plane to Haiti or offering to adopt an orphan are all bad ideas. Small shipments of mis-matched supplies that sit unclaimed at airports take up space and become a barrier to aid delivery. Untrained personnel occupy needed shelter and eat into supplies. Orphaned children belong with their relatives and efforts should be made to trace them. The best thing to do is to give money, which can be used to procure major relief deliveries of essential materials. It can also be used to buy food and pay staff locally — helping to get Haitians back on their feet. If writing a check does not salve that urge to do more, then the best advice is to help organize fundraisers and to keep giving, long after Haiti has left the headlines.
Here are some links to interesting reading for the week:
The Toronto Star features Indo-Canadian entrepreneurs, including Aditya Jha (whom SAPP profiled recently) – and concludes that “many are already giving back significantly to the mainstream community.”
The American Pakistan Foundation is a great example of diaspora philanthropy in action. Founded last May, the group seeks to play a role in the development of Pakistan through philanthropy from the United States. (H/T to Asian American Giving).
(c/o Pratham)
Claremont McKenna College (CMC) announced this week the selection of Pratham, India’s largest educational nonprofit organization, as the recipient of the fifth annual Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership. The Henry Kravis Prize, which carries a $250,000 award designated to the recipient organization, recognizes extraordinary leadership in the nonprofit sector.
Sheela Murthy is featured in Asian American Giving as an example of a South Asian with diverse giving interests – both here and abroad. She really fits with some of the diversity in giving I’ve been talking about with regard to the Haiti earthquake.
Another example of Asian American diaspora giving to think about – Check out the OneVietnam Network, “whose mission is to connect and organize the people and groups that want to make Vietnam a better place to learn, work, and live.”
The interview I mentioned yesterday is up. It’s a conversation on the show MASALA CANADA on Radio Canada International with Wojtek Gwiazda. We talked about the South Asian Philanthropy Project in general, but also why South Asians should give to the relief efforts in Haiti.
The segment on SAPP starts around 6:02. Happy listening!
This question was the subject of an interview I just did with Masala Canada, a radio show of Radio Canada International out of Montreal. The interview will be up tomorrow afternoon – so come back soon and I’ll post the link…
I’ve been thinking about this question a lot after posting yesterday and seeing the continuing tragic news come out of Haiti. This essay by journalists Todd Shea and Ethan Casey on why Pakistanis should give to Haiti sums up my thoughts as well (emphasis theirs):
You, as Pakistanis who are also Americans, and as affluent and highly skilled professionals, can help. Please do help. Many of you are physicians, and your skills could save lives. Those of you who responded after the earthquake in Pakistan have experience that could be invaluable in Haiti…
Thank you. Let’s make this another finest moment for the Pakistani-American community. As a Haitian woman memorably told the young Paul Farmer, “Tout moun se moun” – all people are people. We’re all human beings, fellow children of God, and we need each other. Right now, millions of suffering Haitians need us.
(H/T Shree)
One thing this blog has taught me is that South Asians are very diverse in their giving – from giving to causes here in North America, to giving around the world. I’m sure this will translate into resources, talents and prayers for Haiti too…
