Help NEEV through Global Giving's Little by Little Campaign
Anurag Jain
Dear Friends,
Ten years ago, NEEV started with nothing but a vision - a yearning to find a way of existence that finds a harmony between self, people and environment. Though we had the wealth of the vision, we were penniless in our pockets.
We hit the road less travelled trusting our inner guidance, willing to learn, fail, break down, get ground to dust: but to never abandon the journey. It was clear that we could not do it alone, without the support of friends, because we were trying to create a different road.
Like any conventional NGO, we too started writing project reports, applying for projects and funds from various institutions. Over time we also started getting big projects. But then we soon realized that this way we were nothing but middlemen, or contractors for larger institutions who would draw us into their own agendas. We could easily foresee that gradually our organization would resemble any corporate venture - with departments, employees and all our energies mired in paperwork.
So, we took a decision to stop taking any institutional funding and work only with donations we received from individuals who would like to support our work from their heart. People, rather than institutions would be the agents of change. This decision meant a large sacrifice in terms of money for our organization. It also meant an uncertainty in the flow of funds. Nonetheless we took up the challenge of building NEEV only from the contributions of individuals because we firmly believed in the power of individuals to change the world.
A decade later, at NEEV, we can say that through the power of individuals, we laid the foundation of NEEV Vidyalaya - Hurlung : a small monument that stands as a testament for the change individuals can bring about when they come together.
Now that the basic school is getting ready we would like your support for our following future plans
1. Buy land behind NEEV Vidyalaya to function as a garden as well as playground for children
2. Build the first floor of NEEV Vidyalaya to house a library and hobby rooms
3. Buy tools and machines to teach handicrafts like carpentry, tailoring, spinning and weaving, bamboo craft etc.
A great opportunity to help NEEV has been materialized by the Global Giving Campaign. Please read on to know further………..
Global Giving, NEEV and Crowdfunding
NEEV was empaneled last year as one of the NGOs in the Global Giving due to the efforts of one of our great friends - Ankita Gupta Jain. Later on I was prodded to become active on this by the efforts of another friend - Ansuman Gupta who started a recurring donation to NEEV. Had it not been for these two individuals I would have not taken the power of Global Giving seriously. The beautiful thing about Global Giving, which I realized in due course of time is that it adopts the very same philosophy as NEEV in changing the world - CROWD FUNDING - which simply means that instead of going for large chunks of funds from institutions, we raise small funds from many individuals.
GlobalGiving is the first and largest global crowdfunding community that connects nonprofits, donors, and companies in nearly every country around the world. The organization make it possible for nonprofits from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe (and hundreds of places in between) to access the tools, training, and support they need to be more effective and make our world a better place.
To get a good brief on the work of Global Giving, you can see this short video GlobalGiving: Harnessing the true power of crowdfunding
To get empaneled in Global Giving, we had to go through an intensely thorough vetting process of which I have included a note below. *
Little by Little Matching Campaign of Global Giving Next Week
I got a mail from Global Giving yesterday about a new campaign they are launching next week especially for organizations who receive funding from individuals in small amounts.
Next week, from April 3rd through April 7th, GlobalGiving will match donations up to $50 at 50%, with $50,000 in matching funds available. This is the week to celebrate the power of the crowd and demonstrate that small donations add up to BIG change!
And that’s not all! Next week, GlobalGiving will match all new recurring donations up to $200 at 200%.
Recurring Donations: New recurring donations up to $200 per donor per project will have their initial donation matched at 200%.
o Recurring donations started during the Little by Little Matching Campaign will get an immediate 50% one-time match while funds remain. If the recurring donation remains active for three months, an additional 150% match will be made to the project.
o Once Little by Little matching funds have been exhausted, any new recurring donations will still be eligible for the 200% matching offer, but the matching funds will only be applied to recurring donations once they have completed three automatic payments.
o To put it simply, while Little by Little matching funds remain, new recurring donations get the 50% one-time match right away and your project will retain this match even if the recurring donation is cancelled. If the recurring donations remains active, it will be eligible for an additional 150% match, bringing the total up to 200% matching.
· Donation Modes: Only online donations made using credit card, debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, or a GlobalGiving gift card are eligible for matching. Online donations must be made by the account or credit card holder.
For the purposes of calculating matching amounts, donations made in other currencies will be converted to USD. The exchange rate will be estimated at the time of the donation, but may be subject to change until the donation settles with the donor's bank or credit card. Funds will be disbursed using the exchange rate based on the settlement value of each transaction.
· Tax Benefits: GlobalGiving is a registered nonprofit charity in the United States and England and Wales. Donations made by eligible donors in the United States can be claimed as tax deductible contributions on United States tax returns. Donations made by eligible donors in the United Kingdom can claim Gift Aid (an extra 25% added to eligible donations by the UK Government) when they donate in GBP.
Help NEEV by Setting Up a Recurring Donation through Global Giving Website
Since you have been a supporter of NEEV in it's journey so far, I kindly request you to join the Global Giving Little by Little Campaign and help us by setting a recurring monthly donation to NEEV's project. Following are the relevant links
Link for Global Giving Website : https://www.globalgiving.org/
Link for Little by Little Campaign details : http://tools.blog.globalgiving.org/2017/02/23/introducing-the-little-by-little-campaign/
Link for NEEV's Project on Global Giving - https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/help-create-a-revolution-in-education/
The support we receive from you shall help in the further development of NEEV Vidyalaya which are planned. As mentioned earlier, following are our plans for future
1. Buy land behind NEEV Vidyalaya to function as a garden as well as playground for children
2. Build the first floor of NEEV Vidyalaya to house a library and hobby rooms
3. Buy tools and machines to teach handicrafts like carpentry, tailoring, spinning and weaving, bamboo craft etc.
Please make sure that you set up the recurring donation for any amount up to 200 $ per month or it's equivalent in any other currency to NEEV in the week April 3rd to April 7th and to do it as early as possible before that the matching funds of Global Giving dry out.
* The Thorough Vetting Process of Global Giving
GlobalGiving performs rigorous due diligence on every organization in the GlobalGiving community in order to ensure they are performing charitable work in a transparent and accountable manner, and that they meet local requirements for registration with their local government.
It collects and reviews documentation for every organization, including its legal documents, financial records, program materials, and lists of senior staff and board members, in order to validate the organization that is running the project as described. It also evaluates the organization’s capacity to implement activities, and communicate about its work, and researches the organization’s relationship with previous funders. Finally, they ensure that the organization is compliant with anti-terror guidelines and international guidelines for philanthropy.
Once an organization has been vetted and added to the GlobalGiving community, each organization is required to submit quarterly project reports, including activities, accomplishments and results of the project to-date. These reports are emailed to donors and publicly available on the project page so supporters can see how their donation is being used and what progress has been made.