Q. Who are your targeted beneficiaries?
A. We provide education, nutrition, healthcare, and a variety of growth opportunities to economically disadvantaged youth, particularly girls. Geographically, we cover 41 villages in addition to Purkal Village, which lies on the outskirts of Dehradun. More recently, we have begun to focus on candidates from the extremely remote areas of Uttarakhand, as we are contemplating the building of hostel facilities.
Q. What are the benefits enjoyed by your beneficiaries?
A. They enjoy the benefit of an entire ecosystem where they can learn to whatever degree they may aspire to. This includes much above and beyond tutorship — travel opportunities; exchange programs; nutrition; healthcare of the highest order; an active STEM program; and, in the case of 150 children, hostel facilities. Furthermore, all students who qualify are also given post-12th support under our On-to-Life program.
Q. Is the Society affiliated with any religion or religious organization?
A. The Society maintains no affiliation with any religion or religious organization and is secular in nature.
Q. Are the governing body and the Secretary compensated for their services? How do they meet any expense incurred whilst acting for the society?
A. Neither the Governing Body, nor the Secretary are compensated for their services; they are honorary workers in the truest sense of the phrase. In addition, the Governing Body and the Secretary claim no reimbursement for travel or any such expenses. They are either professionals or retirees from various fields who live on their personal income and savings; they are also donors and benefactors to the society in their own right.
Q. What are the society’s sources of income?
A. We operate entirely on the strength of donations we receive from numerous benefactors — which includes individuals, foundations, organizations, and corporate entities. We also receive income in the form of interest on accumulated reserves, and membership fees from our directors. Additionally, an INR 500 transportation fee is collected from some children — with those financially incapable of making the payment being exempt.
Q. What are the criteria by which we select our beneficiaries?
A. The primary criterion by which the Society chooses its beneficiaries is that the child should have an economically disadvantaged background. The secondary criterion is the potential and competence required to take advantage of the exceptional learning opportunity we provide to our students.
Q. Are your beneficiaries required to make payments/fees?
A. No, a fundamental tenet of the Society is that our students must study entirely fee-free. This is consistently delivered on all fronts such as classroom learning, lab sessions, use of computers, sports facilities, uniforming, nutrition, and healthcare ; these are entirely fee-free.
However, as the society runs a fleet of buses which are utilized so that students can access the school regularly; go out on intra-state excursions; visit doctors; and also to help the teachers attend school. Since it is felt that those who can pay must be compelled to do so, a monthly contribution of INR 500 is taken from students who can afford it. Many of our students are exempted from this.
Q. What is the procedure followed to admit a student?
A. The process of admitting a student is an intricate one. We conduct a thorough examination of the prospect’s living conditions, economic background, and any other relevant aspect of the prospect’s life. Towards this end, a surveyor that the Society retains under its employ visits every prospect’s home. Apart from making photographs, he goes into details such as assets owned; the number of vessels, clothes; and responsibilities involving infants, elderly folk. Comparative poverty of prospects is established thusly. Even once selected, the status of the students is annually reaffirmed.
One other factor revolves around the parents’ ideals towards their child’s future. In the case of girls, especially, we often note that parents want little more than to marry them off at a conveniently early age. More generally, we see parents reserved or sometimes, simply unwilling, in encouraging and supporting their child in aspiring to the maximal. We do have workshops and awareness classes targeting the parents in such cases — but if this fails, we do not admit the child.
Q. Are volunteers paid?
A. Our past experience is that volunteers enjoy and prefer the joy of giving. However, in certain cases, we do pay a honorarium to volunteers.
Q. Are you eligible to receive donations from foreign nationals?
A. Yes, we have been granted approval for foreign funding under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, by the Government of India.
Q. I am an Indian national. what tax benefits would I be entitled to if I were to donate to your cause?
A. All donors will receive a certificate under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, which entitles you to a 50% write-off.
Q. I am living in a country other than India. How should I go about donating?
A. If you are in possession of an Indian Passport, you are considered an Indian national and you can donate to us as such while enjoying the applicable tax benefits.
If you are in possession of a non-Indian Passport, all donations will have to be made to our FCRA Account and you will be subject to the tax laws of the country you reside in. You can write to us for our banking credentials.
Q. I live in the U.S.A and I am a tax payer, here. How would I go about donating? What tax benefits would I be entitled to if I were to donate to your cause?
Q. Donations from US Nationals can be routed through The Youth Development Project Inc. — a 501(c)(3) organization and, as such, an organization eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. They are a public charity listed on the Publication 78 Data List; they have kindly chosen to help our cause. If you wish to take advantage of these benefits, you can write to us.
Q. I am a foreign national and I was unable to make a contribution through your payment gateway. What’s going on?
A. Owing to certain Governmental directives, the payment gateway accepts only credit cards; this may be why the transaction failed. Please ensure that you are using a credit card. However, you can credit it to our account by simply writing to us.