- What is IIMPACT?
- What is IIMPACT’s core objective and why?
- Why the emphasis on “Rural girl child”?
- What is the scope of this education initiative?
- Why is this only a primary school initiative?
- What is IIMPACT’s methodology?
- How does a donor benefit?
- How much does IIMPACT charge for its services?
- Can I visit the learning centres myself?
- Where are the learning centres?
- What is the minimum contribution for IIMPACT?
- Who are the other major donors that are partnering IIMPACT?
- How can I get my Company involved?
- Will IIMPACT give me a certificate for Income Tax exemption?
- How can I send my donation to IIMPACT if I am residing in USA?
- Can I sponsor a learning centre? If yes, what does it cost?
- Can I pay in instalments?
What is IIMPACT?
IIMPACT is a registered Non-Government Organisation (NGO) committed to
educating and thereby empowering the rural girl child between the ages of 6 &
14years in an attempt to reduce the levels of illiteracy prevailing in India.
IIMPACT is run by a committed group of senior industry professionals, most of
whom have graduated from the Indian Institute Management, Class of 1978.
What is IIMPACT’s core objective and why?
We focus on primary education of underprivileged girls who have never gone to
school because of the prevailing village norms. Typically, their parents prevent
them from going to school, preferring they help with farming chores, housework
and mind the younger siblings while working towards getting them married at an
early age.
Why the emphasis on “Rural girl child”?
We believe that every remote region needs to share in the development
and prosperity India is experiencing post-liberalization. In many parts of
India, boys are still favoured while girls are left behind. Their illiteracy
levels are shocking.
Our experience shows that educating the girl child helps transform her gait and
confidence level. Her mental agility percolates into the home and family. She
becomes an agent for change. Later, in her turn, as a mother, she ensures the
education of her children and objects to child marriages and other social ills!
What is the scope of this education initiative?
Over 5 years we teach girls how to read, write and calculate. Our
system of teaching takes them from Junior Kindergarten levels to the 5th
Standard level in achievable stages. The subjects taught are Hindi, Mathematics,
Environment Science and English.
Why is this only a primary school initiative?
This is a matter of urgency and priority. The money we would spend on
secondary education is benefiting many more girls at the primary school level.
These are girls that would not have got any education whatsoever! Our program,
therefore, focuses on extending the reach of primary education.
What do you do for girls who want to continue their
education beyond the primary school level?
We encourage them to take the State Board Examination for the 5th
standard. In the year 2008, 97% of the girls who appeared for this examination
passed with 1st Division and the remaining 3% passed with 2nd Division. For
those who want to join secondary schools we try and provide them with money for
school clothes. For those girls that are exceptionally bright, we go the extra
mile and get them bicycles so they can get to school, which is often quite a
distance from their home.
What is IIMPACT’s methodology?
IIMPACT selects sites in highly disadvantaged areas, sets up schools, monitors
their functioning, trains and retrains teachers and helps garner funding so that
more and more girl children have a chance to get educated. IIMPACT ensures that
donor funds go directly, in their entirety, for running the schools, paying the
teachers and for school supplies. The administration costs and overheads are NOT
charged to donor accounts. These are borne entirely by the promoters themselves.
IIMPACT provides management know-how and capacity building. They partner local
NGOs that are well-run and well-established and use their services to develop a
grass-roots organization for teaching.
IIMPACT monitors the performance of the girls and grades the education provided
at every level. All along, objective criteria are used and regular reporting is
done.
We have a proven model consisting of learning centres, curriculum and teachers
training. We screen local NGOs, establish our teaching modules and ensure
successful implementation. With this model, our geographical reach extends over
many districts in India.
How does a donor benefit?
A donor interested in education of the rural masses, especially the
girls, will find in IIMPACT an established organization with proven skills and
facilities to run rural learning centres in a very cost-effective manner. The
donor’s money is being optimally spent since the education model is proven and
the results are monitored objectively at each stage. Regular reports are sent to
donors so they can track the progress of IIMPACT. In the final analysis, the
performance of the girls in the Class 5 exams speaks for itself.
How much does IIMPACT charge for its services?
IIMPACT members are committed to the cause of education. We are
passionate about its benefits. This is our way of giving-back to society.
Therefore, all office-bearers and steering committee members bear their own
expenses personally for travel, stay, meetings, etc. undertaken for IIMPACT
activities, coordination and monitoring. Now that we are educating over 9,000
children our reach has extended considerably as have our monitoring
requirements. Additional administrative expenses have arisen for which we are
receiving dedicated support from committed donors who have generously financed
our growth over the past few years. This is their way of acknowledging that
IIMPACT is delivering results at the grass-root levels. Hence, 100% of donor
funds go towards educating girls.
Can I visit the learning centres myself?
Yes, please get in touch with our coordinators at the office in Gurgaon and they
will arrange a visit. You can then see for yourself the improvement in mental
agility and the new-found self-confidence displayed by our girls.
Where are the learning centres?
Currently, we have learning centres in Rajasthan (Alwar), U.P. (Sitapur),
Jharkhand (Ranchi), Karnataka (Raichur) and Haryana (Mewat).
We are now waiting to open centres in Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Bihar.
From the aspect of low female literacy levels, prevalence of high female
infanticide and child marriages, the northern states of India are most in need
of more IIMPACT learning centres. In fact, we have chalked out plans for running
a total of 2,000 schools three years hence to educate 60,000 girls. We would
like to reach out to large-hearted donors to help us fulfil our mission..
What is the minimum contribution for IIMPACT?
There is no minimum or maximum contribution. Any amount is welcome either as a
one-time contribution or as a regular annual commitment. Regular commitments
would be used to fund new learning centres. These funds should be committed for
a minimum period of 5 years as that is the time it takes for a batch to reach
the level of the standard 5 class.
Who are the other major donors that are partnering
IIMPACT?
We have reputed well-known organisations like the Sar-La trust, Jhunjhunwala
Foundation, Cognizant Foundation, ING-Vysya Foundation, Henkel, Dow, Mainetti
among others that are actively partnering us.
How can I get my Company involved?
Introduce IIMPACT and its workings to your company and its employees. If your
company has offices or factories in outlying parts of India, your company could
partner us in setting up dedicated, rural learning centres. Otherwise your
company could participate as a general donor.
Will IIMPACT give me a certificate for Income Tax
exemption?
Yes, IIMPACT is registered under section 80G of the Income Tax Act. Our
stamped receipt will allow you to claim this exemption.
How can I send my donation to IIMPACT if I am
residing in USA?
Please send your cheque to the American India foundation (AIF) in New
York and they will send you a receipt valid for tax purposes. The cheque should
be drawn on “American India Foundation” and sub-scribed for”IIMPACT”.
Can I sponsor a learning centre? If yes, what does
it cost?
The current cost per learning centre is Rs 75,000 (USD 1,600) per
annum. This includes everything – teacher’s salary, books, place, training,
supervision, audit and reporting. It works out to Rs 2,660 (USD 60) per child,
per year.
Can I pay in installments?
Yes, quarterly or half-yearly payments could be factored into our
schedule.
Please inform our office in advance.
Special Sponsors who have partnered us over many years and are pleased with our
progress have praised our working and achievements. Now that we have spread our
reach and are educating over 9,000 children, they have seen our need for an
increasingly formal set-up and greater controls. One of our Special Sponsors has
now stepped in to cover our administrative costs. Therefore, all donations we
receive will continue to go directly to educating more girls and setting up more
schools and not to defray administrative costs.