The US Giving Challenge

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Posted on Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 2:37 PM

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Following the grand success of the India Giving Challenge held a couple of months ago, we decided to hold another challenge, only for US donors to make their end-of-year giving go even further.


So, everyday between December 15 - 30, we are giving away a matching of US$250 to the NGO that raises the most funds that day. Check out our daily winners so far.

At the end of the 15 day period, there will be more prizes to the NGOs that have raised the most funds as well as the NGOs that have had the highest number of donations. In total, the US Challenge will be awarding US$15,000!

So, if you're a donor in the US, there's never been a better time to help your favorite cause/NGO through GiveIndia. Not only could you help them win matching funds, but you'll do it in time to claim a tax deduction for 2009.

The top eight NGOs to receive the most funds, between Dec 15th- 30th 2009, from US donors via Paypal on the GiveIndia site, will receive a matching grant up to:
NGO 1: $3,000
NGO 2: $2,000
NGO 3 to NGO 8: $1,000

And the top three NGOs to receive funds from the most number of US donors via Paypal on the GiveIndia site, between Dec 15th- 30th 2009, will receive a grant of:
NGO 1: $500
NGO 2: $300
NGO 3: $200

For more details, visit this page.

GiveIndia has WON!!

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Posted on Friday, December 18, 2009 at 11:21 AM

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We're soooo happy to tell you that thanks to the kind support of all our friends, GiveIndia has won US$25,000 as part of the Chase Community Giving event on Facebook.


This was a massive team effort and we'd like to say a big thank you to all those who voted, sent the link to their friends, wrote about in their blog, tweeted it and helped get the vote out!

Now we're on to the next round - one prize of US$1 MILLION and five runner-up prizes of US$100,000.

As always, we can't do it without you. So first off, please give your opinion -- how many votes do you think it will take to win one of the prizes? Leave your estimate as a comment to this post.

Voting starts January 15, so be ready!

GiveIndia volunteers & friends are meeting in Mumbai

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Posted on Monday, December 14, 2009 at 2:21 PM

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We're having a meeting of GiveIndia friends in Mumbai and we'd like you to come. You may be a donor, volunteer, employee, friend or subscriber to this blog :-) As long as you're interested in working together to build a culture of giving in India, you're welcome to attend.

It would be great to share any ideas or thoughts that you have and see how we can leverage our combined experiences of giving. At the end of our meeting we should be able to:

1. Create a forum for discussion on "culture of giving"
2. Form a core volunteer group that will form the Mumbai chapter
3. Plan activities that the Mumbai chapter will undertake in the next 1-2 months

The meeting is going to be held on Sunday Dec 20th from 3-5pm at a location somewhere between Dadar and Bandra.

Do RSVP and help us plan ahead. We'll let you know the location three days before we meet. Hope to see you there. If you have any questions then please leave a comment to this post.

Vote today! It's your last chance!

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Posted on Friday, December 11, 2009 at 10:46 AM

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The Chase Comunity Giving event on Facebook will end at midnight Friday PST, which is around 1pm Saturday IST. At last count, GiveIndia had 1853 votes and then Chase turned off the vote counters, presumably to prevent fraud. We're hoping the number has crossed 2000 now, but we'll only know once the results are announced on December 15.


This is a last appeal to get all our friends to vote. If you've already voted then paste the link into your status update box so that all your friends can vote too.

Thank you for your support and we hope we will be in the top 100 and get a prize of US$25,000.

The rickshaw story

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Posted on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 2:55 PM

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We enjoyed reading this true account of a how a humble rickshaw driver, someone who struggles everyday to earn a living, has decided to help others. These words were written by Suvendu Roy of Titan Industries who shares his inspirational encounter.

"Last Sunday, my wife, kid and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra. When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw, little did I expect that this ride would be any different.

As we set off, my eyes fell on a few magazines (kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver’s back rest. I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel. My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, Dettol and some medicines.

This was enough for me to realise that I was in a special vehicle. Then I looked around again, and discovered more -there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths – from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan. I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special.

I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished. I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer’s plastic company was shut down. He had two school-going children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. No break unless he was unwell. “Sahab, ghar mein baith ke TV dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega.” (Sir, what’s the use of simply sitting at home and watching TV? If I earn some income, then it will be useful in the future.)

We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai – the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time. He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates tooth brushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use. He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: “25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs50″.

My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a hero who deserves all our respect. I know that my son, once he grows up, will realise that we have met a genuine hero. He has put questions to me such as why should we help other people? I will try to keep this incident alive in his memory.

Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai – my temporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man."

1100 is closer!

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Posted on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 3:26 PM

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But we're still not there! The Chase Community Giving event will end in 7 days and you need to cast your vote for GiveIndia. From what we can see, we have a SOLID chance of getting 1 of the 100 grants of $25,000. There are just 15 - 20 non-profits that have more than 1000 votes but everyone is going to push hard in these last few days.


If you've already voted then that's great, now you can recruit at least 10 friends to do the same. If you've already recruited 10 friends, then recruit 10 more :-)). Post it on your blog, tweet it out loud, use it as your Facebook status update.

Let's win!!


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