We're happy to inform you that we have begun sending out SMSes to our Indian donors when the feedback report for their donation is mailed across to them. So, if you've made a donation on www.GiveIndia.org and your mobile number is available with us, you’ll get an SMS from “TD GIVEIN” informing you of the delivery of your feedback report. 


In accordance with TRAI ( Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) regulations, the SMS alert is purely transactional; and helps us reach donors who may have changed email IDs or those who may have simply missed the email update about the same.


If you're an Indian donor with us and would like to avail of this feature, simply log into your GiveIndia account and update your profile with your mobile number. 

Our Annual Review for the financial year 2011-12 was held in mid-April. The entire GiveIndia family headed out to Khandala, a picturesque hill station nestled in the Sahayadri mountain range, located approximately 110 kilometres from Mumbai. We were hosted by the Duke’s retreat, which offered us a panoramic view of Khandala and the Bhor Ghat.

The review was a two day event comprising of various interactive sessions and multiple team building games. It started off with the CEO, Mr. Dhaval Udani’s, summarization of the year gone by, followed by presentations from the various SBUs. The SBU heads discussed their performance in the last financial year in terms of learnings, challenges faced, achievements and most importantly the steps taken by them to overcome problems and meet objectives.

This two day event was a perfect blend of work and fun. Work in terms of presentations by the SBUs followed by Q & A and brainstorming sessions and fun in terms of the exciting team building games. These games were a judicious mix of indoor and outdoor activities with a moral implication. Every game taught us something new, which, if implemented in our day to day life could lead to higher efficiency and greater output thus helping the organization achieve its goal. It taught us the power of thinking together and working as a team as opposed to thinking and working in isolation.

This review provided outstation employees with an excellent opportunity to mix around with other teams and build good relations with them. We also had a reward and recognition ceremony where the employees who successfully completed 3 years in GiveIndia were recognised by the management and awarded a certificate by our CEO. Also, the Employee of the Year award was given to Mr.Vivek Raghavapudi [Management choice] from Online and Retail Giving team and to Mr.Sambhaji Kesarker [Popular choice] from Back office team.

Finally this exciting and memorable event concluded with the CEO’s summarization and discussion on future plans for the new financial year. The highly enthusiastic and motivated GiveIndia family then drove back to Mumbai with unforgettable memories and the determination to do much better this year by creating a greater impact on society and making India a better place to live in.

HDFC Life, one of India's leading private life insurance companies, has been a partner for GiveIndia’s Payroll Giving programme since 2007. Much recently, we interacted with the company’s HR & CSR spokesperson, Ms. Gazala Shaikh on the various elements which shape up Giving at HDFC Life. 

Here’s what we learnt...
 
Tell us about CSR at HDFC Life and your role as part of the team.
Gazala : Including myself, we are a two member team. My role is to develop the road map, framework, policies, and strategies for CSR in consultation with our senior management. I synchronize business goals with CSR objectives; identify opportunities, and monitor implementation. All in all, I serve as the custodian of all CSR initiatives.

How would you define the giving culture at HDFC Life ? 
Gazala : Giving for us happens largely through our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative – Swabhimaan. Swabhimaan’s objective is to contribute towards enhancing the quality of life of various communities. The CSR framework has been designed to fit our vision and brand values. Keeping with our motto "Sar Utha Ke Jiyo", we focus on ensuring that we are able to restore dignity and respect among the underprivileged. Employee volunteering and Swabhimaan activities run by CSR Champions create an internal ethical pride and amplify employee and stakeholder engagement. We measure our contribution to society with specific measurable targets, such as the number of volunteering hours and amount of payroll funds contributed. Hence, Giving for us is a commitment to continue being a responsible corporate citizen.

Given that employees at any insurance company are largely preoccupied with targets, sales and numbers, how easy or difficult does it become for you to get employees engaged at CSR initiatives? 
Gazala:  We plan our activities in tandem with the employee work cycle. For example, we keep minimal activities during January, February and March as those months are the busiest business months for an insurance company such as us. An internal survey revealed that 93% of our employees are interested in supporting a cause and 52% are already contributing to social causes in association with Non-profit organizations. So, the key is to understand behaviors and attitudes and plan activities in accordance to get maximum engagement.
 
Are there any specific 'must do' activities that Swabhimaan does every year ?
Gazala :We try to bring variety in the range of activities that we do. Having said that, we repeat activities based on past employee response and interest. Activities such as Blood Donation drive and the Joy of Giving week celebrations last year had earned us a lot of employee interest. So, we will continue with those this year too!

GiveIndia : Coming to Employee Payroll Giving, you currently have 456 employees actively contributing close to Rs.9.9 lacs a year. Do you think Payroll Giving adds a new dimension to the host of engagement activities ? If so, how is Payroll Giving working out for your employees? 
Gazala : Payroll Giving is definitely one of the strong facets of employee engagement for us. Currently, about 15 % – 20% of our employees have been volunteering their time and skills. From the rest 75 % - 80 % of employees, approximately 50% of employees would like to contribute but don’t have the time and about 25 % - 30 % employees require to get familiarized with the concept of giving to ‘credible’ NGOs. So, while it’s heartening to know that at least 70% of our employees are the appropriate audience for payroll giving, challenge is to get the remaining 25% - 30% of employees to start giving. Also, employees like to participate in initiatives that can give them a ‘touch and feel’ of the impact they’ve created. Through payroll giving, they receive a firsthand feedback on that impact at their desks. So, yes, the concept suits our employees very well though the participation does need betterment.

You also participated in the India Giving Challenge in 2010  and 2011 and raised Rs.1.82 lacs over 3 weeks’ time. That is quite an achievement.  What worked at those times? 
Gazala : Fund raising was our primary goal but we thought about ways of aligning activities around that to gain maximum leverage. Alternately, we planned parallel activities region wise, keeping employee behavior in purview. So, along with the regular online fund raising campaign, we tried innovative campaigns such as Corporate Auction by senior management, Dance for a Cause and Food Grain Donation drives. 

Last but not the least, what’s the future of giving at HDFC Life ?
Gazala : We started our structured CSR wing last year and received tremendous amount of support and participation from our leaders, employees and champions. This year we will gain more ground and set benchmarks for ourselves. I think that any impact is hard earned and we have a long way to go to really achieve that hard earned impact.


In FY 11-12, Swabhimaan have touched approximately 26,000 lives through projects  & activities with help from 1856 Employee volunteers who dedicated 4070 Man hours of volunteering.

We understand that there would be mixed responses but isn’t this a question you ask before donating? Based on our experience, education and instinct, we tend to prefer a particular cause over another. Some may choose to support education, others the elderly, or maybe even the disabled.

Every cause is important and they all need their due attention. However, to answer the question accurately, it is vital for donors to have all the required information. What exactly is the problem? How many people are affected by it? What can be done to help? What can one do to alleviate this problem?

To address these relevant issues, GiveIndia will launch a campaign every month dedicated to a particular cause. Every month, we will attempt to raise a predetermined amount of funds, for a particular cause and in the process spread awareness.
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In April 2012, our mission is to raise enough funds to support 200 cataract surgeries. Cataract as you may know, is common among the aged and in some cases also affects children. In India, over 7 million people suffer from this condition, some of whom are incapacitated labourers. Without their eyesight, many of them are rendered helpless.

Cataract, however, is a curable condition and the affected don’t need to suffer. A delicate but simple surgical procedure is all that’s required to cure it. So why is it still a problem for so many people? Well, there are plenty of reasons; distance, fear, lack of service awareness, lack of support etc. Some people are also completely oblivious to the fact that their diminishing vision could be a result of cataract.

But the prime reason why they are denied timely aid is lack of financial resources. The cost of a cataract surgery in India falls anywhere between Rs. 8,000 to Rs. 15.000, however, prices may get higher depending on the city and the hospital one chooses to get the surgery done. These costs are unaffordable to some unfortunate people, which forces them to live with their disability.

The good news is that some NGOs are able to offer these surgeries at subsidized rates that are under Rs. 2,500. This has made the treatment more accessible and goes a long way in alleviating the problem. However, as you are aware, some citizens of this country live on minimum wages and cannot afford the surgery even at these subsidized rates.

Our mission in April is to help at least 200 such people get their sight back and leave their disability behind. We plan to achieve this by educating donors and spreading awareness about this cause. All through the month we will update our progress on our website and we hope to hit our target well before 30th April, 2012. Wish us luck!

Click here to support us now: http://www.giveindia.org/t-cataract-surgeries.aspx

Hunger is probably one of the primary causes of illiteracy in this country. If children attend school, they cannot earn which denies them their basic necessities. Their parents carry out menial jobs and are in no position to support them either. Recognising this issue, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, began their initiative with only one vision in mind, ‘No child in India should be deprived of education because of hunger.’


For the past 11 years, they have worked to transform this vision into reality by providing meals to children at school. This scheme ensures that these kids stay in school and give enough importance to their studies. Akshaya Patra have come a long way since their inception and currently reach out to 1.3 million children.


However, they still have a long way to go before they can achieve their dream and can use all the support they can get. To help them reach their goal, an anonymous donorhas decided to match every donation to The Akshaya Patra Foundation. This means forevery child you decide to feed, we’ll feed another.


Now, twice the number of children will go to school and twice the number won’t experience hunger. So if you wish to make the most of your donation, then donate now and double the number of children you help.

The third edition of the India Tax Saving Challenge – an annual online fundraising event - has begun. This is a special opportunity for NGOs to make the most of their year-end donations; as they may receive additional funds for the donations that they receive as part of the challenge.

NGOs need to simply request their donors to make donations through their iGive page for the event. Leading NGOs of the day shall receive additional funds, as prizes for their fundraising. An NGO can win upto Rs. 3.3 lacs of the daily prizes (Rs. 15,000 daily X 22 days of the challenge) plus upto Rs. 5.25 lacs from the overall prizes, not to forget the surprise prizes that will be offered during the course of the event - helping you make March a very impactful month!

3 good reasons for an NGO to participate:
1. With the end of the financial year soon approaching, people are looking to make donations to save on their taxes. So, you can help them maximize the impact of their donation.
2. It is a smaller event than the India Giving Challenge, so there is a better chance of winning one of the many prizes and experiencing the thrill of the same.
3. To help you broaden or build upon a base of retail fundraisers. Even if your NGO does depend on retail donors for donation, the challenge is a good opportunity to use to build such a base. It will give you a good experience of retail fundraising. 

Total Prizes to be Won: Rs. 30 lacs ( See point number 13 on http://www.giveindia.org/t-india-tax-saving-challenge-2012-terms.aspx for details)
Dates: Tuesday February 21st – Thursday March 22nd , 2012
Next Steps: GiveIndia Tier 1& 2 NGOs: Set up an iGive page by following these steps
India Giving Challenge 2011 registered NGOs who wish to renew:
(a) Send across a demand draft for Rs. 2,000
(b) Send an iGive Reimbursement Report for funds to be raised
(c) Sign this undertaking
Others: Get registered by filling up and sending across this form

Important Links: India Tax Saving Challenge Terms & Conditions
Contact: Allan (allan@giveindia.org) OR Tarika (tarika@giveindia.org)

We came across a very interesting article in the Times of India on Jan 23, 2012 which we have reproduced below. So many times we hear about some rich industrialist or professional giving away crores of rupees or we read a lot about how little we give as a nation. We found this to be a powerful example of giving even if it was giving amongst the community. Giving indeed starts with feeling of "family" and the family always extends gradually- from self to direct, then relatives, then "kinsmen" and then state & eventually nation. The idea that a donor will give to anyone without any relationship is difficult and rarely practised except in Europe. For example, even today Americans donate >90% of their money within the country (these numbers may have changed with the large efforts of Bill & Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet), as compared to Europe which donates >70% overseas into Africa.

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Rural hundis bankroll emigration dream

When young people in Mehsana's Sarsav village dream of pursuing a post-graduate degree in the US, their parents don't have to put at stake their life's savings or approach a bank for an exorbitant loan. Help is available at the local Shiv temple, through which the entire Diaspora of Sarsav residents in the US takes care of the funding. This unique community network supporting migration has caught the eye of researchers who say it is rare to find such systems outside Gujarat. They have found a similar system in Nandasan, another village of Mehsana where each family living abroad makes a tiny donation - a 'chandlo' - to fund migration of other villagers.

Dr Neerja Arun, the director of Gujarat University's study abroad programme, said: "We are documenting this modern-day hundi system, which supports young graduates from rural areas."

Arun says when someone decides to go abroad, the entire village donates money to the temple. The temple in turn informs NRGs from the village who provide the same amount to an aspiring migrant in dollars when he arrives in the US. The temple then refunds the NRGs.

Among the migrants is Gopal Ramprasad, who gathered nearly Rs 12 lakh from villagers which was entrusted to the temple authorities. When he reached the US to study for a professional course he was given the same amount by NRGs living there.

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So tell us what you think about this form of giving. Should giving be done irrespective of who the beneficiary is? How do you give? Do you give more to people within your family, community? Do you prefer giving to your maid, driver or watchmen? Or do you prefer just giving to anyone as long as there is a beneficiary?


Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Rural-hundis-bankroll-emigration-dream/articleshow/11594224.cms