theculturalconnect.com | Sunanda Mane

Lend-A-Hand India

Ever wondered if there was a recipe for non profit success? Well, we're here to tell you that there are plenty and we'd like to share one with you this week. The "Lend-A-Hand India" recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of an unmet cause (in this case the poor of India), 6 cups of young professional determination and drive, mix in strategic partnerships and sprinkle on top some grassroots initiatives and you have yourself a bonafide non profit. The Lend-A-Hand Indian organization, founded in 2003, made sure they had all the ingredients of success before they launched so that they could successfully fulfill their mission to the fullest - to help the poor have better access to education, counseling, employement and overall development. The recipe is no good unless you can put it to use and reap from what you learned - so continue on and learn more about their initiatives and accomplishements in this week's Non-Profit Spotlight.

Non-Profit

Lend-A-Hand India

Month & year founded

December 2003

Website

www.lend-a-hand-india.org

Name

Sunanda Mane, President and Co-Founder
Rajesh Gilda, Co-Founder

Hometown

SM: Satara
RG: Panvel

Current residence

SM: New York, NY
RG: New York, NY

Education

SM: M.A. Economics (Fergusson College, Pune), Mia (International Development) Sipa, Columbia University, New York
RG: MBA (Finance), University Of Texas At Austin, Bachelor Of Engineering, Univeristy Of Poona, Chartered Financial Analyst

Past companies

SM: Society For Service To Voluntary Agencies, Care India, Undp, World Bank
RG: Citigroup, Deloitte Consulting, National Stock Exchange, Il&Fs

Ethnicity

Indian, Maharashtra, Pune

About the Non-profit

Lend-A-Hand India is a non-profit organization established in 2003 by young professionals. It is based in New York City and its mission is to make a difference in the lives of the poor through self help. Lend-A-Hand India is a tax-exempt 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization with chapters in India and Dubai.

By partnering with dynamic grassroots non-profit organizations, community groups, and local governments, we develop innovative projects which create better access to education, vocational training, career development, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Our goal is to help the poor realize their full potential to meet their aspirations for a better life.

Most notable achievements

We did not need any lead time to launch the projects. Close network with NGOs at the grassroots level enabled us to achieve impressive results at the end of the first year itself. We launched aptitude testing, career counseling, and referral and sponsorship for vocational training in five villages and in two urban communities for 750 young boys and girls.

We are also proud that in the first year itself as many as 130 young professionals extended their support and the number is growing.

What's the niche?

Good understanding of the ground realities, practical experience of development sector, and extensive network with grassroots NGOs provides Lend-A-Hand a unique niche to identify issues and find innovative but practical solutions.

Our ability to undertake programs in urban as well as rural regions.

We are among the few non-profit foundations who exclusively work for the cause of youth.

What's in store for the future?

Our goal is to help the poor realize their full potential to meet their aspirations for a better life by raising awareness of their environment, rights and responsibilities, and empower them to seize opportunities beyond what is usually assumed to be out of reach.

We see engaged and creative youth striving to meet their own aspirations and the aspirations of communities around them.

Who would you like to be contacted by?

All those who believe in the cause of human rights and that of youth in particular.

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Guiding principle of the organization

Change is always challenging.

Incremental change is always the way to go -- one step at a time!

Never loose faith in yourself and the goodness in people.

Yardstick of success

Reduced poverty, reduced conflict, and reduced human rights abuse.

Goal yet to be achieved

Lend-a-hand - a pre-eminent and innovative organization working for the cause of Youth.

Best practical advice

Be persistent, don't give up, do your best.

Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture

Always supportive and competitive to keep the lend-a-hand team on its toes.

Mentor

Searching for one.

What motivated the people who started the organization?

Lend-A-Hand India is an outcome of an idea, nurtured over five years. The motivation behind it is to give back to the community and to contribute to confronting challenge of the poverty wherever it exists. The personal journey and experiences of Sunanda Mane and Raj Gilda, the founders of Lend-A-Hand, go a long way in this motivation.

What keeps your organization motivated today?

Hope for better a tomorrow and knowing that change is possible.

What do people in the organization like best about it?

Innovativeness, genuinity, sincerity of the team.

What do people in the organization like least about it?

Haven't come across anything so far.

Biggest pastime outside of work for most people in your organization

I don't think all of us who are involved in Lend-A-Hand consider it as work. Even when we are not physically doing any particular activity, mentally we are always thinking about it. It's a way of life for us.

Person most interested in meeting that would be beneficial for your organization

All those who have similar vision and objectives. Would like to meet Kofi Annan, Bill Clinton to seek advice.

Leader in business most interested in meeting that would be beneficial

Bill Gates, Narayan Murty, Azim Premji to share our vision and seek their support.

Three interesting facts about the organization

One of the few organizations executively focusing on the cause of YOUTH.

In short period of two and half years, we have impressive achievements and geographic spread.

Diversity -- our supporters come from very diverse backgrounds, ethnicity, nationalities.

Three characteristics that best describe the organization

Persistent
Unambiguous
Full of ideas and possibilities

Favorite cause (outside of yours)

Human Rights

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Lend-A-Hand India

Also this week

Don't forget!