|
Statement on Anti-AID smear campaigns
Relief and Rehabilitation : Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)
-
Why are the funds being raised?
-
Can you tell me more about AID?
-
Can you establish the legal credibility of AID as a 501c(3) non-profit group in the US?
-
Are any of AID projects are affected?
-
How will the funds be used in the relief and rehabilitation work?
-
Has any money already been sent to India for immediate relief operations?
-
Is all money collected at the AID web page being used for Tsunami relief and rehabilitation?
-
Are the donations tax deductible?
-
Can donations be made directly to AID India?
-
Where can I get regular updates on the relief and rehabilitation work currently in progress in India?
-
How can I donate to the relief and rehabilitation efforts?
-
Is there a tax receipt available for Canadian donors?
-
What is AID's contact information in the USA?
-
What is the Sulekha-AID collaboration for Tsunami relief?
-
Can I make a donation 'in kind'?
-
How can I help with the relief efforts besides donating?
-
How does AID work with other groups on the field? Is AID associated with DYFI?
-
The Indian government has rejected foreign aid, so can AID collect money,
Why does AID need the money and where does the money go?
-
Can AID raise money for relief work?
-
Why does AID need the money and where does it go?
-
What is AID's experience in Relief and Rehab projects?
Q. Why are the funds being raised ?
On the morning of December 26th, tidal waves set off by a massive
earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale near western Indonesia,
unleashed death and destruction in South and South East Asia. The death
toll is estimated at 30,000, including over 9,200 in India alone. Tens
of thousands are homeless. Initial estimates indicate close to 3000
people in Tamil Nadu have lost their lives to nature's fury, and many
more are feared to have lost their homes. Hundreds of deaths have also
been reported in the Indian states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and the
Andaman and Nicobar islands. The funds are being raised to provide both
immediate and long-term relief and rehabilitation to the victims of the
tragedy.
Q. Can you tell me more about AID ?
Association for India's Development, Inc. (AID), is a US-based
voluntary non-profit development organization with over 40 chapters
across the US, made up of student and professionals as volunteers. AID
supports and initiates efforts in various interconnected spheres such
as education, livelihood, natural resources, health, women's
empowerment and social justice. We have no salaried employees and more
than 95% of the donations received by AID are used to support grassroot
programs and services in India. We recently received the highest
possible 4-star rating from an independent organization based in the US
that assesses non-profit groups - Charity Navigator.
More information on AID's rating by this group is available here.
More information on AID is available on our website.
Q. Can you establish the legal credibility of AID as a 501c(3) non-profit group in the US?
AID, Inc. is registered with the US Federal Government as a non-profit
charitable corporation under the category 501(C)(3). Its federal Tax-ID
is 04-3652609. AID accounts are audited by an independent Certified
Public Accountant, as per IRS regulations. Documents and information
pertaining to AID will be provided on request, or can be obtained from
the Secretary of State for the cost of copies and postage.
Our organization's article of incorporation as well as other legal documents pertaining to our function may be accessed at:
Article
of Incorporation
AID
990-Tax Form 2002
AID 2003 Annual Report
Board of Directors: Prof.Mohan Bhagat, Kiran Kumar Vissa, and Sudhakar Adivikolanu. To send them an email, please click here
Q. Are any of AID projects are affected?
AID has 32 projects in Tamil Nadu, 24 projects in Andhra Pradesh
and 4 projects in Kerala. We are currently in the process of calling up
all our projects. We have not yet managed to reach all of them on the
phone. We will be posting more updates regarding this on our relief webpage.
Q. How will the funds be used in the relief and rehabilitation work?
We are fortunate to have AID-India volunteers and close partner
organizations who are active in some of the worst affected areas
including Chennai, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu. They
anticipate immediate need for shelter, food, clothing and medicines for
people who are rendered homeless or expected to be evacuated from
affected areas. Considering the massive scale of the disaster, which
has wiped out entire costal villages or fishing communities, it is
expected that long-term rehabilitation will require significant
resources.
Volunteers from AID India (a registered FCRA approved, non-profit group
in India) have taken the lead in forming a coalition of trusted
grassroot NGO's such as the Tamil Nadu Science Forum, Vidyarambam, KPN,
and other groups in many parts of TamilNadu. TNSF as a group works with
commmunities throughout Tamilnadu and hence we will be working on
relief efforts with many communities across tamilnadu, including the
most disadvantaged communities - who in our experience often do not
have access to government relief.
The funds we collect will be used for:
1. Immediate Relief - food, clothing,
blankets, temporary shelter, medicines and health camps for emergencies and
epidemics.
2. Second Level Relief - Construction of huts and houses and
health needs.
3. Third Level Relief - Livelihood needs for the families
affected - forming cooperatives and providing livelihood support like boats,
nets etc.
Please visit our website for continuous updates on ground relief work being carried out by AID India in colloboration with other NGOs.
Q. Has any money already been sent to India for immediate relief operations?
AID has disbursed more than $650,000 for immediate relief work in
Tamil Nadu and other affected areas. We are constantly in touch with
our on-site team and will be disbursing the funds through them. Project
proposal review meetings are slated for almost every evening. Updates
will be posted on the main page as each review proceeds to a decision.
Q. Is all money collected at the AID web page being used for Tsunami relief and rehabilitation?
All project proposals approved by AID for Tsunami relief and
rehabilitation will be funded from this corpus fund. The corpus fund
itself is AID's fund for relief and rehabilitation.
Q. Are the donations tax deductible?
All cash, credit card, check donations made to AID, Inc. are 100% tax
deductible. You can print the online receipt that you get after you
make an online donation, for your records. In addition, AID will send
you a tax exemption receipt at the end of the fiscal year, that you
will be able to use for claim tax exemption on your 2004 filing.
Q. Can donations be made directly to AID India?
AID, Inc. in the US will be sending funds collected here to AID
India in support of the relief and rehabilitation work at the
grassroots. If however, you wish to send a check directly to AID India
or know of someone who would like to donate in Indian Rupees they may
do so by sending a check to:
AID-India
Old No 132, New No 242, Avvai Shanmugam Road
Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600 086
Ph: 044- 28350403, 28115058
Donations in India, are 50% deductible under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.
Q. Where can I get regular updates on the relief and rehabilitation work currently in progress in India?
Please visit http://survivors.aidindia.org
for regular updates from our co-ordination cell in Chennai, India. This
website carries updates provided by the cell from all the affected
districts throughout TamilNadu, where AID India volunteers and their
partner groups are working.
Q. How can I donate to the relief and rehabilitation efforts?
You can make a 100% tax exempt donation in US dollars online by visiting our secure website.
You can make a donation by check in US dollars, (this is also 100% tax
exempt), please fill in the form at the link below and send the check
to the address mentioned in this form.
You can also make an electronic transfer of funds from your bank
account to AID, Inc. by filling in the form at the link below, and
mailing it the the address specified in this form.
Q. Is there a tax receipt available for Canadian donors?
As of now we do not have a facility for donation in Canadian dollars.
Q. What is AID's contact information in the USA?
AID,
P.O. Box ‘F',
College Park,
MD 20741-3005
AID Zone 3,
P.O. Box 4801
Mountain View, CA 94040-0801
For additional information
Call: 1-888-TALK-2AID or (240) 393 4368 or (301) 422-4441
Email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Fax #: 301-314-9465.
Please say Attn: AID
Q. What is the Sulekha-AID collaboration for Tsunami relief?
Sulekha is collecting donations on their website for AID's relief
efforts. They have set up a Matching Fund arrangement by soliciting
funds from their supporters. Sulekha will regularly transfer funds
collected through this drive to AID. AID thanks Sulekha for their
efforts to raise funds for AID's Relief and Rehabilitation Fund.
The details of the Matching Fund arrangement are handled completely by
Sulekha, and any questions should be directed to Sulekha at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
';
document.write( '' );
document.write( addy_text96173 );
document.write( '<\/a>' );
//-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Q. Can I make a donation 'in kind'?
Yes, you may do so. There is an urgent need for blankets, and
medicines right now. The needs change dynamically. Please follow the
donating materials and volunteering link.
However, at thispoint its
not possible for us to collect in kind donations in the US and ship
them to India. Instead, we would urge you to send all in kind
contribution directly to:
AID-India
Old No 132, New No 242, Avvai Shanmugam Road
Gopalapuram, Chennai - 600 086
Ph: 044- 28350403, 28115058
Q. How can I help with the relief efforts besides donating?
Please help us publicize the drive. Let your friends and family
know about this drive. Every little bit counts. If you have relatives
and friends in India who can work with the AID volunteers at the
grassroots, please have them call Ravi Arunachalam at: 94440-84910. In
addition, please publicize the drive using these posters.
In addition, you can use these template emails to send a note to your friends and colleagues: http://twiki.aidindia.org/cgi-bin/view.pl/NECell/Tsunami
This link also has a template email that you can send to the Matching
Gifts program of your company asking them to match donations made by
you and your colleagues.
Q. How does AID work with other groups on the field? Is AID associated with
DYFI?
In Tamil Nadu, AID is sending funds through AID-India which has taken
up massive coordination work with several groups on the ground. This
includes reputed science movements such as Tamil Nadu Science Forum,
Pondicherry Science Forum, community health organizations involved in
the People's Health Movement, local women's and youth organizations,
advocacy groups such as India Together and Environment Support Group,
and individuals from various companies and groups.
The tremendous coordination work involved is described in the detailed
report written by Dr. Balaji Sampath, one of our chief full-time
organizers in India.
www.aidindia.org/updates/6.html
There have been questions about the mention of DYFI (Democratic Youth
Federation of India) in some of the reports, in light of their
political affiliations.
Firstly, note that DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or
AID-India. It is one of the youth organizations whose volunteers are
involved in the relief work.
Secondly, as described above, AID-India is working with a variety of
groups on the ground, and our approach is described in the report from
AID Jeevansaathi Dr. Balaji Sampath.
"At this point I would like to add that the enormity of the problem
is so much that one must try and work with every sincere group that is
doing work on the field, whether NGOs, Govt, local unions and
organizations, or other youth and women's organizations and even groups
that might have some political affiliations. One cannot afford to
be fussy about working with different groups (as long as they are
sincere and work efficiently). What matters now is reaching relief and
rehabilitation to all those who
need it."
Thirdly, people with questions about any particular group should
understand the entire context in which the work is going on, as
described in the above report. For example, AID-India organized about
350 volunteers to pick up unattended corpses and dispose them, while
noone was willing to do this work a couple of days earlier. In a
remarkable incident, FOUR days after the tsunami, volunteers rescued 3
people who were alive under the debris; AID-India volunteers worked
alongside DYFI volunteers to accomplish this.
We are in constant touch with our grassroots workers in AID Chennai,
who are developing and evaluating their interactions with various
groups in light of the dire need of volunteers at the grassroots.
To re-iterate, DYFI does not receive any funds either from AID or
AID-India. It is only that volunteers of DYFI are participating in the
immediate relief efforts, which are co-ordinated by AID Chennai.
Q. "India Government has rejected foreign aid, so can AID collect money,
why does AID need the money and where does the money go?"
India Government has indicated that the various Government Relief Funds
(PM Relief Fund, CM Relief Funds) have enough money for the relief and
rehabilitation of the Tsunami victims. The Government has said it does
not need foreign aid from other countries or organizations like UN,
Oxfam etc. at this point.
Q. Can AID raise money for relief work?
The Government of India has not objected to AID and other
NonGovernmental Organizations raising money for relief efforts. The
Government has asked countries and organizations (like UN, Oxfam,
Doctors without Borders etc) to defer aid to India, it has also
requested donations to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Mr. Ronen Sen,
the Indian Ambassador to the US, said in a recent interview that it is
up to individuals and each organization on how they want to help.
AID is also very different from many of the other organizations - AID
has had a strong involvement in development work in South India
(especially Tamil Nadu) for the last seven years through the Hundred
Block Plan (HBP). AID volunteers are going to be involved in the field
for the long term, building on our existing relationships.
Q. Why does AID need the money and where does it go?
Our focus in the HBP and other work has always been sustained
development. The Tsunami has greatly expanded the magnitude and scope
of our work and our investment in the both in money and material must
be greatly enhanced to rebuild the communities. AID wants to approach
the relief efforts in three phases that go from immediate relief to
long term rehabilitation. Your support is necessary and critically
needed for the following reasons.
First of all there are many areas where hardly any relief has reached
even a week after the tragedy. We need to get some immediate relief to
these areas. Secondly, it is not clear how the Government relief budget
will be used. All NGOs and peoples organizations and individuals
together will only have a small fraction of the government's relief
budget or scale. But AID and other NGOs have a critical role to play -
to work on immediate short term relief where it is not reaching and in
the medium and long term to develop models for rehabilitation that are
effective. If we can deliver what is needed and within a small budget,
then that will influence the government to also spend the relief budget
according to the models we set up. This is part of AID's medium
and long term strategy for the affected areas.
AID has already started working closely with the state and district
administrations in Tamil Nadu towards medium and long term relief.
Balaji Sampath has had meetings with State government officials and
AID-Chennai is working on a plan for low-cost shelters. AID volunteers like Dr. Balaji Sampath, Dr. Ravishankar
Arunachalam (Asst. Prof. at IIT - Madras) who are coordinating the
relief efforts are highly regarded in the local community and in the
Government.
Q. What is AID's experience in Relief and Rehab projects?
AID has worked on relief and rehabilitation projects following calamities in the past 6 years or so. Please see the links listed in this section for more information on these efforts
|
Home 
Campaign Resources 
