At some point of time in your life you would feel thankful to the God for whatever you have got in your life, your parents, your family, your school, your friends, your spouse, your children, your education as well as opportunities you got along with your achievements. You develop an understanding that even your failures were for your own good. Then you marvel at the scheme of the Creator, sense his power and feel humble. A realization occurs that you must do something for those people who are not so lucky as you are. In many cases, it may not be feasible to get directly associated with any chosen cause/s. The next best thing that you can do, is to give. Giving is good, because it feels good to give. When we donate, we do not expect returns in any form and that is true giving. It is a pure act of helping. So, if you can - be generous.

Indians staying abroad have the oppotunity of giving to organizations in the country of residence as well to those working in the homeland. Fortunately, there are sources on the Internet which guide you in making a wise decision.

Effective Giving

We expect that those who are in the profession of helping others should be honest, trustworthy and credible. But some are not. Wise giving therefore, is very important. Find below a link to the web site titled "Hearts and Mind". The site provides links to wathdog organizations in the USA whose job it is, to study the non-profits, they are - National Charities Information Bureau, the Philanthropic Advisory Service of the Council of Better Business Bureau, American Institute of Philanthropy and National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Also find some other links for those who are interested in knowing more about the non-profit sector in the United States.

Giving in India: some considerations

If you are considering a contribution to an agency working primarily for the Indian population, you can either directly send the money to the organization or channel it through agencies like Maharashtra Foundation, which then forwards it to the organizations by observing some guidelines, thus keeping some sort of check. On the other hand there are organizations like Badrikashram in Bay area which collects money in the USA specifically for their community development programs in rural Karnatak. There may be some other bodies e.g. Indo-American Community service Center catering to Indians in the Bay area or other agencies working in the area of Domestic Violence throughout the USA.

Currently, there are not enough resources on the Internet which guide you in your decision on giving in India unlike the watchdog bodies in the USA as pointed out above. First of all, it is difficult to have a complete directory of agencies of Non profit organizations working in India, because there are literally hundreds of thousands of such agencies. It is a matter of pride for our country that the voluntary agencies are leading the way in catering to the under privileged sections of our country, in their own innovative ways.

Secondly, the Indian agencies are still not running themselves as commercial entities and organizing the fund-raising ad campaigns. And I am really happy about that.

Thirdly, the number of agencies itself makes it difficult to arrive at an informed decision because, there are agencies which are doing commendable work and lack the resources to expand their operation. There are agencies which are satisfied with what they are doing and do not want to take up any further challenges. There are agencies which bow to the pressures of the political groups. There are agencies which undertake programs just to satisfy the elated souls of their Board members sitting in their own ivory towers. There are agencies which exist to reap the benefit of their Non-Profit status. Then there are some other heads of organizations who consider themselves as the executives of private enterprises and treat themselves as such. There are some very popular organizations doing good work which are flooded with donations. Then there are very dire causes which are neglected because of the lack of resources and so on and so forth.

Are you confused? So am I. The only promise I can give is to keep bringing you information on Indian agencies which will guide you in helping them and the causes that are considered important for improving the quality of life of the masses in India.

Until then the only word of advice I can give you is that consider donations to such agencies and causes which you care about. If you know the agencies so much better. If you have made a considerable contribution, make it a point to reserve some time to visit the agencies you are helping, when you visit India. Apart from getting some first hand experience, believe me it not only makes you feel good but you develop a binding with the organization and the cause. Ask questions, look at their annual report, their financial statements. Find out if the agency employs professional social workers or those who have direct knowledge and/or experience in the area of agency's operation. Is the same thing also true about the head of the organization? If you are sponsoring a child, visit his/her family , see if the Social Worker is aware of the overall development needs of the child and the family. Can the Social Worker give enough attention amidst the case load being handled by him/her and so on.