Asha SV Report - 2003 - Asha for Education

Asha for Education
Silicon Valley Chapter
Annual Report 2003

Asha Overview
From the Team
Our Projects
Chapter Financials
Fundraising
Looking into the Future
2004 Programs
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Asha for Education Overview
Asha for Education originated in 1991, at the University of California in Berkeley, with the
belief that education is a critical requisite and an effective catalyst for social and economic
change in India. Since its inception, Asha has grown steadily and has now become one of
the leading non-profit organizations dedicated to the cause of basic education in India.
Asha's focus of basic education for children has galvanized over a 1000 volunteers across
the US. Today, as Asha nears fifteen years of existence, it has over 35 chapters in the US,
India and other countries.
Asha - Silicon Valley is the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Asha for Education. The
chapter was started in 1998. The chapter today constitutes over 300 volunteers and supports
over 25 projects in India and is one of the largest chapters in the US. With the voluntary
support of time and resources from a diverse group of individuals, the chapter has been focused
on mobilizing the Silicon Valley community to support and provide financial assistance
to grass-roots level educational movements in India.
Our Mission
The activities that the chapter undertakes include raising
funds for the Asha cause, coordinating grassroots education
projects and volunteering. Among the popular programs
the Silicon Valley chapter organizes are the Harbingers
of Hope-Marathon Training and the Support A Child
initiatives.
“To Catalyze Socio-
Economic Change in India
Through Education Of The
Underprivileged”
The objectives of Asha for Education are:
• To provide education to underprivileged children in
India.
• To encourage the formation of various local groups, both in India and U.S., to reach
out to larger sections of the population.
• To support and cooperate with persons and groups already engaged in similar activities.
• To raise the required human and other resources to achieve the group objectives.
• To provide opportunity to individuals based in the U.S. who wish to participate in
Asha activities in India.
• To address, whenever possible, other issues affecting human life such as health
care, environment, socio-economic aspects and women's issues.
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From The Team
Dear Friend,
Thank you very much for your support over the past year. The past year has
been very fruitful, as Asha for Education-Silicon Valley inched a little bit closer towards
the goal of social transformation in India. The chapter's success is a direct result
of the contributions of funds and time from all our invaluable donors and volunteers.
This annual report is an opportunity for us to share with you the fruits of your support
over the year.
From Uttaranchal in the north to Nilakottai in the south and from Bombay in
the west to Nalbari,Assam in the east, today Asha Silicon Valley projects span the
breadth and diversity of India. Projects are delivering transformational services from
basic education to rescuing the children of abused women. The scope of our efforts has
expanded immensely. We now support education projects in over 30 different rural
and tribal communities. In conjunction with the broader Asha for Education organization
both in the US as well as in India, we have been able to work with grass roots organizations
to effect real changes in the literacy condition of many an underprivileged
child.
Blessed with the support of numerous Silicon valley professionals, today Asha
Silicon Valley has carved a niche both in raising funds as well as in the commitment of
its core volunteers. Today, our chapter exemplifies the core values that Asha for Education
champions. Despite our growth and increased administrative overhead, we have
been successful in ensuring that every dollar donated continues to be spent on activities
that directly impact the education of children in India. The school building we
helped build in for Vanavasi in Kerala, the Tribal Education center we are supporting
in remote Karnataka forests, the rescued women we are helping educate in Mysore
and the infant-care we are providing for in Assam, all are testaments to the services
facilitated by our donors and the dedication of our project partners in India.
While significant improvements are being made in pockets throughout India, India still
has the largest number of non-school-going working children in the world. Nationwide
literacy rates show improving trends but the rate is still very low in rural populations.
Enrollments in primary schools have improved considerably. However,
dropout rates are still very high in middle and higher-secondary schools. (See
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Charts I & II) This fact stills stands out as the most significant challenge our chapter aims
to eradicate. With your support, this task, while daunting can still be tamed and ultimately
completed.
This report outlines our key activities over the past year and delineates the chapter's accomplishments.
The financial section provides details of our funding sources and fund
disbursement for the year. Subsequent sections outline our project characteristics, our
fundraising and volunteering activities. The report ends with a preview of some of the key
initiatives for the future.
We hope that you enjoy reading this report. We enjoyed putting it together, please feel
free to let us know your comments, feedback and questions. There are several ways you
can become involved in our efforts either with your time or with monetary contributions,
all you need to do is contact us and we can find you something that interests you. A donation
form is included with the report if you would like to contribute to the cause.
As we look back on the year gone by and prepare
for the year ahead there is no doubt in our minds
that we could not have made a difference in lives
of almost 20,000 children without the ever present
commitment of our donors and volunteers
and the dedication of our project partners in India.
Our heartfelt thanks goes out to every donor, volunteer
and project for becoming the change they
wish to see in India.
Census
yr Persons Males Females Gender Ga
1951 18.33 27.16 8.86 18.3
1961 28.3 40.4 15.35 25.05
1971 34.45 45.96 21.97 23.98
1981 43.57 56.38 29.76 26.62
1991 52.21 64.13 39.29 24.84
2001 65.38 75.85 54.16 21.69
Cheers!
Asha Coordination Team
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70
60
Persons
Males
Females
Chart II:
School Enrollment of
Children
(Source: the 2001
Census, Govt. of In-
50
%
40
Chart I: India Literacy Rates
(Source: the 2001 Census,
Govt. of India)
30
20
10
1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
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Our Projects
Numerous projects that are being run by dedicated individuals at the grass root
level, continue to be the reason Asha Silicon Valley exists. In 2003, the chapter was
able to fund 17 different projects and disbursed over $125,000 . Every project we encounter,
evaluate and fund is as unique as the community in which the project operates.
From tribal villages to urban slums and from infant care to women empowerment
the projects we fund address a variety of human and social issues.
Projects spanned many states and reached over 20,000 underprivileged children.
A listing of the projects, amount funded and number of children reached by the
project is provided in Table (II) Most of the projects that received our support in 2003
have been associated with the chapter for several years. Thanks to our fundraising successes
we have been able to keep our commitments to the projects over several years.
Last year we also collaborated with Asha chapters in India to support projects identified
and evaluated by them. The projects team has dedicated immense resources for
the proper and thorough evaluation of every new project proposal and has been able to
cope with the complexity of our current projects. Key characteristics of the projects
last year are outlined below:
Table I: 2003 Project
Needs Served
School Construction
Books and Stationary
Teacher Salaries
Child health care and Nutrition
Computer Technology
Residential Services
Teacher Training
Education Trips and excursions
Clothing and Footwear
Conveyance and Transportation
Vocational Training
Micro-Credit Schemes
After School Programs
• Urban, rural and tribal regions were well represented in the geographic
regions we aimed to serve. This distribution has been the
natural result of careful project evaluation and assessment of the
needs of populations from different regions.
• Project needs varying from teaching materials to bicycles were
funded by the chapter. A listing of some of the critical project
needs that received funding are presented in the Table (I) alongside.
• Education was the critical focus of all our projects. The mode and
type of education imparted to children was based primarily on contextual
relevance and specific community needs.
• A great majority of our projects reach small communities and cater
to less than 500 children per project. While we have funded projects
that are larger in reach, these projects are currently a minority.
The following pages aim to provide a snapshot of how donations and the funds raised
were used. Eight representative projects have been highlighted for the report. For
more info on our projects visit http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/projects.html
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Table II: Project Funding in 2003
Project Name
Amount
Collaboration Projects
$19,018.05
(with other Asha India chapters)
Bharatiya Jan Seva Ashram $885.00
CDDP $14,070.50
Irula Project $17,498.00
Jagriti $7,364.00
kondh $2,625.00
Kuno $5,140.00
Kuvempu $2,795.00
Pathri $5,168.00
Room to Read $6,000.00
Sanskriti O Samaj Unnayan Parishad $2,205.00
SET-WIN $2,742.00
Sowbhagya $10,208.00
Urmul Jyothi $6,722.00
Varun $457.00
Viveka $19,208.00
Vasundhara Public Charitable Trust $5,000.00
Totals $127,105.55
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Center For Development Disadvantaged People, Tamil Nadu
Center For Development Disadvantaged People (CDDP) is a women's voluntary organization
working for the uplifting of the most disadvantaged people in the villages of Thiruvalangadu block of
Thiruvallur district of TamilNadu. The target population constitutes small and marginal farmers, landless
agricultural laborers, women and children. The organization runs various programs to benefit the
target community. CDDP currently runs 4 evening schools in the villages of Nedumbaram, Arungulam,
Nallatur and Nemili, situated about 70 kms from Chennai. These schools provide literacy/life education
for the children, and prepare them for primary and middle
school level exams. The children are sons and daughters
of mostly landless laborers. The children are currently engaged
in cattle rearing, petty works in agricultural land,
household works, looking after young children etc. Most
of the children have never attended school or have
dropped out early. The goal is to enable each of the children
to go to regular schools after 4-5 years.
Children with teachers at a CDDP school
Pathri, Dehradun
The Pathri project is being managed by the Friends of Doon (FOD) Society. FOD is an environment
protection NGO that believes that interests of local communities have to be safeguarded for a sustainable
environment protection movement. The society was founded in 1986 to safeguard the environment
of the Doon valley which has been adversely affected by limestone mining in the area. When Rajaji
National Park was proposed to protect the forests in the area, FOD was approached by the forest
department responsible for the relocation of Gujjars (a nomadic pastoral tribe) from Rajaji National
Park to a new settlement in Pathri. FOD mitigated the impact of the resettlement by working with the
Gujjars to run a school in Pathri. The organization aims to ensure
all-round development of the displaced community. Their priority
areas of work are education, nutrition, health care and income enhancement.
Through a gradual process of community awareness and
empowerment, FOD will encourage the Gujjar community in Pathri
to take on the responsibility for education and growth and rejoin
mainstream rural life.
Amused children during a site visit to Pathri
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Silicon Valley Chapter Financials
Asha had a good fiscal year during 2003. Despite the tough economic circumstances
Asha Silicon Valley is happy to report that the chapter raised over $260,000
dollars. However, there has not been an increase in the revenues from last year. This
can be attributed to the decrease in the general donations that the chapter received. The
chapter disbursed only $127,000 this year compared to the $194,000 from 2002. This
can be attributed to the stringent checks the chapter now has for project approval.
Among them is a mandatory site visit before a project is approved. Such checks can be
very time consuming. Another aspect we had to deal with in 2003 was the shortage of
volunteers in the projects team.
Income for the chapter came from a variety of sources. As is evident from the
fund sources chart alongside, individual donations account for about 8% and the
marathon program brings in about 72% of the chapter’s entire funds. One aspect that
reduced the general donations this year was the car donation program because we are
sharing this revenue with the other asha chapters. The chapter continues to operate
with no salaried employees and with 100% volunteer time and resources. In 2003, administrative
expenses accounted for less than 0.3% of our over-all income. It is to be
noted that all funds used for administrative purpose were raised through contributions
from our dedicated volunteers.
The chapter finished the 2003 fiscal year with net assets of $314,280 and is
well prepared for our funding
commitments in 2004.
Funding Sources for 2003
Tables (III) and (IV) outline
our balance sheet and statement
of financial condition.
300
250
200
150
100
Disbursement and Income
(In 1000s)
Disbursements
Income
8%
7%
8% 5%
72%
Marathon
Car Donation
Support A Child
General Donation
Events
50
0
2001 2002 2003
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Table III: Consolidated Statement of Financial Condition (FY 2003)
End of 2003 Begin of 2003
Assets
Cash - non-interest bearing $214,280.84 $135,071.04
Savings and temporary cash investments $100,000.00 $100,000.00
Land and building $0.00 $0.00
Other assets $0.00 $0.00
Total Assets $314,280.84* $235,071.04
Liabilities
Accounts payable $0.00 $0.00
Grants payable $0.00 $0.00
Other liabilities $0.00 $0.00
Total Liabilities $0.00 $0.00
Net Assets or Fund Balance $314,280.84* $235,071.04
Table IV: Consolidated Statement of Income (FY 2003)
Revenues
Total Donations for 2003 $47,204.31
Interest Income $1,535.66
Gross revenue through special events and activities $212,627.36
Income from sale of merchandise $254.00
Other Revenues $0.00
Total Revenues $261,621.33
Expenses
Total disbursed to Asha Projects $127,105.55
Total Event Expenses $54,686.63
Merchandise Expenses $500.00
Administrative Expenses $619.71
Other expenses $0.00
Total Expenses $182,411.89
Net Income $79,209.44
* All numbers are based on 2003 bank receipts which include matching donations for 2002 marathon and 2002 concert proceeds
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Fundraising
Table IV: Harbingers of Hope 2003
Statistics
Funds Raised $161,000
Number of Participants 52
Marathon Locations Victoria, Canada
Long Beach, CA
Coach
Tony Fong, Rajeev
Patel
Asha Runners at a Track Workout
Asha’s marathoners have collectively logged over
100,000 miles in training and raised close to $500,000
Most people participating in this program did not have
prior running experience !
Harbingers of Hope Marathon Training 2003
The 2003 marathon season concluded triumphantly on October 12, when 52 Asha
road warriors took on the Royal Victoria and Long Beach marathons. Despite tough
weather conditions, all the Asha runners finished with élan, speaking volumes about the
rigorous training that they completed prior to the marathon. The Asha team made their
presence felt in the races that they competed in, even earning a mention in the local Victoria
newspaper.
The team also came through in a stellar way with fundraising, and to date have raised a
record $177K. Many runners went well over their minimum amount, with the top fundraiser,
Surendra Gannamaneedi, raising over $10K.
Anuradha Singh is a first-time marathoner
who found the Asha marathon program to
be the perfect vehicle to put into practice
her resolution to do something significant
for others. In September, Anu’s twin
nieces, Antara and Meghana Rao, turned 9
and had a birthday bash. Entirely of their
own accord, they decided that instead of
gifts, they would ask their guests to donate
to Asha on their “Anuma’s” behalf. They
told Anu that since she was doing so much
for kids, and since their soccer kept them
too busy to run themselves, they wanted to
help in some other way. The twins raised
$775 for Asha, and inspired Anu’s kids,
ages 6 and 8, to donate their entire piggy bank to Asha.
The 2003 Marathon Team from Harbinger of Hope
Such is the stuff that Asha marathon dreams are made
of - courage, commitment, a desire to give back, and the compassion of 2 young girls
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Prithvi Concert
On April 19, Asha –SV joined hands
with Prithvi- a group of 7 musicians
based in the Bay Area to present a foottapping
light music concert of songs
from Bollywood films. The show was
held at Smithwick theatre of Foothill
College. The band, Prithvi kept the
audience dancing late into the night
with a mix of oldies, popular hits and
original compositions. All profits
from the show went towards
supporting Asha-SV sponsored projects.
550 people enjoyed the show and helped
raise $3700 !
Victor Wooten, Guitar Prasanna: Classical Jazz Concert
Asha-SV collaborated with Room-To-Read (http://www.roomtoread.com) to present an Indian
Classical-Jazz concert at the Smithwick theatre of Foothill College combining the talents of Guitarist
Prasanna and multiple grammy winning Bassist Victor Wooten.
The concert attracted a diverse
crowd of Indian and non-Indian population.
The show drew enthusiastic reviews from
one and all. Profits from the concert went
towards building 7 libraries by Room-To-
Read in projects supported by Asha.
750 people attended this concert and
Asha raised $7000 !

Looking to the future
Asha for Education has been growing steadily over the past 5 years and has been able to
make a difference in the lives of many Indian children. However, there are millions of children
that need the chapter’s help. Among key initiatives that the chapter will embark on in the
coming year, are the following:
• Broaden our efforts on publicity and increase awareness for our cause. Operating with no
publicity-budget, while certainly a constraint, needs a more creative use of alternative free
media for publicizing the Asha cause. An effort to unify and focus the chapter’s publicity
campaigns, collateral and methods is underway. In addition, proactive campaign efforts to
find sponsors for all our fundraisers will be pursued.
• Reach out to New Volunteers. Asha Silicon Valley relies on the dedication of its volunteers
to reach out and make a difference. 2003 saw a decline in new volunteers at the chapter
which led to fewer projects being reviewed and funds disbursed. In 2004 we hope to reach
out to new people and motivate our volunteers to perform better.
• Strengthening corporate relationships. Almost all of our donations from corporate entities
are in the form of matching contributions. These are primarily from marathon donations by
individuals, which are matched by the companies the donors work for. While this has been
an important source of income, an opportunity exists to tap into the donations of corporate
philanthropic and grant giving organizations. In 2004, a vigorous effort to explore and secure
corporate grants will be undertaken.
• Improve the IT infrastructure. A lot of work has been directed towards this over the past
year. However Asha Silicon Valley’s growth has resulted in increased number of donors
and projects. Establishment of a robust, scalable and data-relationship based infrastructure
is critical to automating a number of manual and repetitive tasks. A technology team, with
the charter of integrating the project, donor and volunteer process will continue to spearhead
the development and deployment of a technology system to support the chapter’s
needs.
The coordination team is confident that the above initiatives will go a long way in preparing
the chapter for growth. The above initiatives will also enable the chapter to increase assets
and hence reach more children in India.
As we look into the future, a huge challenge awaits us. India with all its human, intellectual
and natural resources, is still home to some of the world’s poorest and most downtrodden
population. We still believe that education is the key to broad socio economic change and
that Asha’s focus and vision has not blurred. In the coming years we hope the enthusiastic support
of our donors continues.
Let us together, make this dream of a vibrant India, a reality !
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Asha 2004 Programs
Work An Hour—2004
.
Asha-SV will be hosting the Work An Hour program for the year 2004. Work An
Hour is an Asha wide find raiser where we ask donors to pledge one hour towards
the education of underprivileged children ! Last year Work An Hour raised
$134,000 and supported 4 projects.
More information at http://www.workanhour.com/
Support A Child
The Support A Child program gives donors the unique opportunity to contribute to
the complete well-being of an underprivileged child. Through monthly or semiannual
contributions you can provide for education, health, nutrition and clothing
for a child. Children for the program are chosen by the chapter from the projects
we support and donors are found for them. You will receive frequent progress reports
and letters from the children you support. The Asha team will work with the
project in India and make sure that you funds are utilized well and that the child’s
progress is monitored.
More information at http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/sac/
Harbingers of Hope-Marathon Training
Want to get/stay in shape and help the cause-our marathon program effectively
combines both. Whether you are a first time runner or a seasoned athlete, Asha
provides world class coaching and training to help you achieve the cherished goal
of completing a marathon (26.2 miles). In return you commit to raise $2620 ($100
for every marathon mile) for the Asha Cause. Come feel the unbridled joy that
over 150 individuals have felt by running for the Asha cause.
More information at http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/marathon/
Concerts
Asha Silicon Valley will organize two cultural events for this year. Please check
the following webpage for more details. You can also sign up to receive email information.
Yahoogroups: ashasv
More information at http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/
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Name
Address
Asha Donation Form
On the back Cover
Children from the Sarvodaya Parivar Trust
project in Gujarat.
City/State/Zip
Phone
Email
I want to make a difference in a child’s life through
Support a Child
$144 $72 Other
Support a Project
$100 $50 Other
Method of Payment
Check
Credit Card
Visa
Master
Cash
Amex
Credit Card #
Exp. date
Send me information on how Asha uses my donation
Send me information about Asha events and newsletter
Signature
All donations in the US are fully tax deductible under Section
501(c)3 of the IRS code
Asha For Education
S i l i c o n V a l l e y C h a p t e r
Phone: 408 844 8209
Fax: 4084543423
Email: donor-relations@ashanet.org
Web: http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/
Contact person: Naren Ravula

Asha for Education
Silicon Valley
P.O Box 641741
San Jose, CA 95164-1741
Http://www.ashanet.org/siliconvalley/