Why don’t we sit down and try to fill in the blanks?

We  the corrupt people?

We the emotional people?

We the strange people?

We the Indian people?

We the undisciplined people?

We the hard-working people?

We the rich people?

We the poor people?

We the sensitive people?

We the people who care?

I like to believe that we do care.. in some form or the other, and someone gets some benefit too! but our care at times is limited to that one week of inspired living right after we see a TV program like Satyamev Jayate!

Last month including yesterday, I’ve had some long conversations about what does it take for people to contribute to the welfare of society. My conversations were limited to mostly how a larger percentage of people in big corporates  are not willing to donate something as little as Rs. 100 a month to a cause.

Let’s look at the potential… for a company of about 5000 employees, I would assume that everyone is taking home atleast Rs. 10000 every month on an average. Rs. 100 would not be more than 1% of their monthly salary for atleast 60% of this population. Assuming they are ok with donating this 1% of their salary, we are looking at an average of Rs. 3,00,000 every month which can be donated to a cause. Let do some more maths.. how about looking at the annual potential for this 5000 people strong company? Going by the above calculations, this organization can donate Rs.  36,00,000 every year.

A couple of NGOs that I know need not more than Rs. 15000 per annum ensure one kid’s education all inclusive (including fee, uniform, books, and food). Time for another calculation… Rs. 36,00,000 could help sponsor 240 kids. and what does this take? Rs. 100 a month from every individual in a company of 5000 out of which only 60% people (3000) are willing to donate. The issue is that these 3000 individuals who are willing to give away Rs. 100 every month are extremely difficult to find!

There is enough information available with individuals and organizations about good NGOs, which are validated and audited against multiple parameters, and I am sure if we want we can find out atleast one NGO which is doing a good job on the ground. I know of a few personally, and I am in the process of finding out about more.

If you are reading this and wondering what can you do about it, here is what I think you can…

• Leave a comment on this post and if you are ok  a way for me to reach out to you
• Find atleast 1 person other than yourself who is willing to part with 100 bucks a month for an year

That’s it! I would work towards bringing the right information to the willing donors, and let them take a decision. I have been able to play an instrumental role in raising funds earlier with about 4 projects which were mostly individual driven, and am looking for support to start with another!

Let me know if you are willing to do what it takes!