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Aarohi Finds Herself And Her Future

Posted on October 11, 2020December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

Aarohi Finds Herself And Her Future

This drawing is an expression of a 17-year old girl, Aarohi at My Choices Foundation’s Safe Home. SCARED AND WITHDRAWN Aarohi* couldn’t bring herself to talk about what happened to her when our Safe home social worker met her. She was dressed as a boy and refused to identify herself as a girl due to […]

This drawing is an expression of a 17-year old girl, Aarohi at My Choices Foundation’s Safe Home.

SCARED AND WITHDRAWN

Aarohi* couldn’t bring herself to talk about what happened to her when our Safe home social worker met her. She was dressed as a boy and refused to identify herself as a girl due to the constant fear of abuse.

Her eyes were filled with fear and her scars ran deep – she was constantly sexually abused and molested by her family members. She was too young to understand the complexity of the kind of violence when she experienced it for the first time. She felt utterly powerless and the constant abuse forced her to run away from home. Police found her at Hyderabad (in South India) railway station one early morning and approached My Choices Foundation for help.

FEELS VALUED AND LIBERATED

Her journey of recovery at our Safe Home was long and challenging. After concerted efforts from our counsellors, she listened. Coping mechanisms taught during the counseling sessions helped her to come out of the garb as a boy – she felt liberated to be called herself as a young girl. We continued to work with her through intensive counseling sessions and one day, she opened up. She spoke. She cried relentlessly. She started to express herself through art.

But the deep-rooted cultural, societal and gender norms made her feel unclean. We adopted positive interventions to build her self-worth and self-esteem.

Guidance worksheets to understand self-worth

Healthy emotional expressions

Sessions on safe and unsafe touch

Laws against child abuse

Overcoming trauma and strengthening mental health

Currency notes activity (INR 100 note doesn’t lose its value though it is crushed and similarly, her value hasn’t changed or diminished because of the abuse)

Aarohi boldly testified against her family to get the justice she deserves.

She continues to outpour her emotions through creative expression – but with bold and bright colours. She still receives counseling and finds our Safe Home as a safe space where she is heard and felt.

Aarohi’s drawing on her experience living at our Safe Home.

BE PART OF THE JOURNEY

Aarohi raised her voice for justice. She inspires us. She leads a new life because of your actions and donations.

Aarohi was fearless and got justice against all her odds. We encourage you to be fearless and join the fight against sex trafficking in India. Your contribution can help thousands of children like Aarohi. Play your part and support our work by donating now.

*Name changed for protecting the identity of a young girl

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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Domestic Violence Awareness Month – October 2020

Posted on October 1, 2020December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

Each NetBall Goal is a heavy blow at the heart and the head of the traffickers

October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was initiated with the purpose of changing the attitudes of society to a zero-tolerance approach to domestic violence, to create policy changes, increase the understanding of the impact of domestic violence on the victims, and to provide programs and education that will facilitate this change. The […]

October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was initiated with the purpose of changing the attitudes of society to a zero-tolerance approach to domestic violence, to create policy changes, increase the understanding of the impact of domestic violence on the victims, and to provide programs and education that will facilitate this change.

The Domestic Violence Awareness Month originated in the 1980s in the USA when a day in October was celebrated as the “Day of Unity” by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The Day of Unity eventually became an entire week of awareness activities that were conducted at various levels of the state. In October 1987, the first Domestic Violence Awareness Month was observed. The focus of this month was to mourn those who had lost their lives due to domestic violence, celebrating those who survived, and connecting those who need help to organizations and individuals who can provide support.

In India, we have witnessed a rise in Domestic Violence as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. According to the National Commission for Women (NCW) India, there has been a 100% increase in domestic violence against women after the nationwide lockdown was imposed in March 2020. This twofold increase has pushed NCW to announce Mental Health Helplines for those witnessing any form of domestic violence. My Choices Foundation also introduced its toll-free helpline 1800-212-9131 to make help accessible to women in distress.

Domestic Violence was a grave concern even before the onset of the nationwide lockdown. Isolating at home has resulted in an increase in abuse. Having nowhere to go and no one to ask for help can be debilitating. The impact of COVID-19 has made the need for support and services for those experiencing abuse more critical than ever. Join us throughout the month of October to raise awareness by sharing information that can help those who are experiencing violence in their home. Because for them, home isn’t the safe space it ought to be.

If you are a victim of Domestic Violence, please know that you are NOT alone.

If you are experiencing domestic violence or are in an abusive relationship please call- 1800 212 9131, if it is unsafe to call leave us a message on WhatsApp- 9333 40 4141

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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Our COVID-19 Response

Posted on September 9, 2020December 13, 2023 by Shirley Bobby shirley

Our COVID-19 Response

When the COVID-19 lockdown was announced in mid-March 2020 in India, millions were placed at high risk and in desperate need. My Choices Foundation stepped forward to provide for vulnerable communities across India.

Overnight, communities of people across the country found themselves cut off from food, medicines and health and hygiene essentials. Many were unaware of the impact and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to care for their families while staying safe.

Before the lockdown, our grassroots outreaches involved engaging with local communities to conduct programs addressing domestic violence and child trafficking among other related issues.

COVID-19 RELIEF DISTRIBUTION

In keeping with the advisories and directives of the Government of India regarding the COVID-19 lockdown, we paused our awareness programs and began to focus on the urgent needs of people across the country.

With an estimated 283.8 million people living below the poverty line (of USD 1.90 a day) in India, the sudden loss of employment for India’s most vulnerable communities, especially migrant laborers, cut off millions of families from food and even shelter resulting from the lack of public transport making it impossible for migrant laborers to travel to their home states.

We quickly coordinated with our NGO network to purchase and distribute staple foods and health and hygiene items to over 4,890+ families from mid-March 2020. Our relief supplies included rice, pulses, mustard oil, wheat flour, potatoes, salt, sugar, soap and face masks.

In addition to the supplies, our on-ground teams spent sufficient time providing families with information on the COVID-19 virus and how to contain its spread through frequent and proper use of masks, hand washing and physical distancing. In some areas, we were permitted to attach megaphones to auto-rickshaws to reach more people with these messages.

USING TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The sharp increase in the number of people cut off from food, employment and shelter was not the only rise we witnessed during the COVID-19 lockdown.

There was a also sharp increase in the number of traffickers using technology including social media platforms to lure and trap unsuspecting victims, an increase in the number of people accessing child pornography from India, and an increase in the reported cases of domestic violence, rape and attempted rape since the COVID-19 lockdown began.

My Choices Foundation used technology to reach colleges through webinars, students and community women through WhatsApp, and the general public through radio programs and partnerships with organizations such as Breakthrough India, Invisible Scars, HerRights, Pankhi and more.

Using WhatsApp and Zoom to reach people and conduct our programs virtually, enabled My Choices Foundation to continue focusing on the rising number of crimes against women and children during the COVID-19 lockdown and how we can proactively work toward ending it.

As the COVID-19 lockdown lifts in India, My Choices Foundation is equipped with the on-ground field teams to continue the relief distribution to families who will still be in a state of desperate need. For more information on our COVID-19 relief distribution please click here for the full COVID-19 report. To find out how you can contribute to our fundraiser from India or overseas to reach more families with essential supplies, please click here to donate on our website or through Global Giving and help us reach our fundraising goal!

Shirley Bobby

Shirley Bobby heads Marketing, Communications and Fundraising at My Choices Foundation, and is passionate about creating change in the world - for good. Shirley Bobby has spent over a decade using her writing skills in the development sector. She can be found on Twitter: @shirleybobby82

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Helping Abuse Survivors During Social Distancing and COVID19

Posted on March 24, 2020December 13, 2023 by Usha Kiran ushakiran

Helping Abuse Survivors During Social Distancing and COVID19

While most of India is observing a lockdown to prevent COVID-19, what about the victims of abuse locked inside the house with their perpetrator? What must they be going through?

Victims of domestic abuse are at bigger risk of isolation and abuse while stuck at home during curfew and lockdowns. Here are 8 things you can do to help.

While most of India is observing a lockdown to prevent COVID-19, I have also been cooped up inside my house with my partner all day. We managed to buy some groceries, milk beforehand ensuring that we were able to practice isolation and social distancing. We also made some treats for ourselves, created workspaces in different rooms of the house and kept going.

Amongst all this, an inevitable thought kept gnawing at me: what about the victims of abuse locked inside the house with their perpetrator? What must they be going through? For most women and children facing abuse at home, their work or school is an escape from abuse and abuser. It is a place safer than home, where they do not have to face their abuser. Or just a place where they get to be themselves.

Being able to go to an office is a welcome change for at least one in three women facing abuse. It is partial relief from an abusive partner and such lockdowns force them to be victims 24 hours a day.

Let us be allies!

We as a country pulled our socks up to prevent Corona. Similarly, as compassionate people, allies and bystanders it is imperative that we support victims of violence during these difficult times.

I am assuming anyone who is reading this is doing so on their smartphones or on their laptop. Let us begin by identifying our privilege in resources and education that is enabling us to communicate this way. We should use the resources and privilege to choose to help someone in need.

You can start by checking on your immediate circle of friends, family and colleagues or neighbours, be it children or women. Some people might have already shared their story of abuse with you. Or some you might know of and some you really have to look at the signs carefully.

We all know of victims of abuse in our circle who have been tolerating it for years, for various reasons. Practising isolation with family while being in an abusive relationship is a nightmare.

If you would like to help, keep an eye out for such people in your lives. And here are a few things you can for your neighbours, friends or even family members.

How can you help someone who is a victim of abuse?

First of all, do not blame them for not taking action before. Most victims have to deal with a lot of stigma, social and financial situations to come out of abuse. Keep aside the thought that “if they would have acted before, they would not have been in this situation.”

1. Since social distancing to contain coronavirus spread is mandatory, try and message them or give them a call once in a while. Have a general, friendly conversation. Ask them if they are okay. Reassure them that you are always there for them- conversations or otherwise.
2. If you are availing services of domestic help who lives in an abusive home, ask her to stay longer than necessary. Offer her tea and a meal – the meal and your time are a welcome change for her. Help her stay out of her house for a little longer and get some rest from the constant worry and abuse.
3. Offer your vehicle, or offer company to your neighbour who is undergoing violence to go to the grocery store for weekly groceries and vegetables. It will help them get a time out from abusive partners.
4. If you hear loud noises that seem like someone is being physically abused, practice “Bell Bajao” in such situations. When you hear a commotion that you recognise as abusive behaviour, just go and ring their bell.
5. Ask for a cup of sugar or milk. This will tell the abuser that someone is watching them. It may put a brake on the violent behaviour at least for a while. All the while, make sure that you are self-distancing. Call the police immediately if you feel the need.
6. It is a known fact that women carry the burden of most household chores. If it is a working woman, she would be managing the demands of an abusive husband, children while working from home. Try and offer the family a portion of your meal, maybe a dal or curry. Reduce her burden a little.
7. Victims of domestic violence may not have access to health care as required. If you come to know that a woman undergoing abuse is showing symptoms of Corona or any other illness, call ambulance services or the police.
8. There are children undergoing sexual abuse by their family members. In these situations, their symptoms and behavioural patterns will become extreme due to the pressure of being in a confined space with their abuser. Children, may not be ready to open up, keep an eye out for irrational behaviour, mood swings, unexplained injuries, discomfort to be alone with a particular adult or child. While this could probably be the most challenging issue to deal with, it is necessary for the safety and well being of the child. Do not hesitate to call the police immediately in such situations.

Most importantly, do not think of abusive behaviour in your vicinity as a “family issue” or “not my problem.” Remember that people do not choose to be victims, they happen to be.

Help them be survivors.

This is a list of phone numbers to call in case of emergency

*Name changed to protect the identity of a young girl.

Usha Kiran T

Usha Kiran is the Communication Manager and Program Officer at My Choices Foundation. Usha is a dreamer of change - a world free from violence and equal opportunities for all. Her professional and academic interests include gender, patriarchy, identity-based violence, and laws related to women and children.

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International Women’s Day 2019

Posted on March 8, 2019December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation [email protected]

International Women’s Day 2019

This past week, we have been asking our social media followers what is that #OneChange that they will start doing from today to improve gender equality.

In the days leading up to #InternationalWomensDay on March 8, 2019, we have been asking you what is that one change you will implement in your lives to promote gender equality.

On International Women’s Day, women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions – whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.

We all have different ways of marking the day. Some of us attend seminars at our workplaces while others share interesting videos and articles on social media. Some even attend protests carried out on the day to address important issues.

The UN theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for Change. It calls for achieving a gender-equal world through social innovations that work for both women and men and leave no one behind.

This past week, we have been asking our social media followers what is that #OneChange that they will start doing from today to improve gender equality. Here are your thoughts:

Your diverse answers all spoke one message: working towards a more gender-balanced world by harnessing the power of both women and men to create homes, workplaces, communities and countries that celebrate and honour the achievements of all.

Your innovative ideas provide a solution that each of us is applying to our everyday scenarios to ensure that we can play our part in creating a better world for the next generation.

Happy International Women’s Day from My Choices Foundation!

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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Quantium Partner

Posted on April 9, 2018December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

Quantium Partner

coming soon…

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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The end of poverty demands the end of violence against women

Posted on November 9, 2017December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

The end of poverty demands the end of violence against women

Similar to the analogy that you cannot expect a starving child to study well, we cannot expect women facing violence and exploitation to make full use of financial empowerment.

Modern analysis of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and of human rights affirm control over bodily safety as basic human necessity and right. It is a requisite of human advancement.

Sandhya’s Story

In 2015, Sandhya was much more than a wife and mother of two beautiful girls. She was also the manager of her family’s kirana shop, including the cash flow and budgets. Kirana shops typically sell groceries and basic household items, but Sandhya was industrious and also sold petrol and collected and recycled liquor bottles. She did this without any support from her husband. She used to tell her mother I literally take care of my husband as a child. Yet, Sandhya did not control any financial decisions at home or have access to the money she helped earn. While she managed the shop, her husband was in complete control of her life. She suffered 14 years of life-threatening violence at the hands of her husband. Access to financial resources and business skills did not empower her enough to take control of her life to keep her and her daughters safe.

Sandhya finally raised the courage to save money and plan her midnight escape, only after sessions with a counsellor helped her build an empowered perspective of self. Now, in 2017, she and her daughters live free of violence. Sandhya rents an apartment, sends her daughters to a private school and even pays the salary of an assistant who works in her new shop. She is capable of working hard, but none of that mattered before she was empowered to take control of her life and put an end to the daily abuse she suffered.

It is stories like Sandhya’s that led My Choices Foundation Founder and Director, Elca Grobler, to work in the space of gender based violence rather than economic empowerment. Elca’s combined educational and work background of 23 years was spent entirely in financial services. Her most formative years were those spent working in microfinance. Yet, when she moved to India and listened to what women really needed help with, she was compelled to leave her expertise behind and build a non government organisation providing services to women desperate to escape domestic abuse.

Praseeda Kunam of Samhita Microfinance in India, who serves over 62,000 women in Madhya Pradesh with economic opportunities, found that women who do not have access to knowledge about their rights are not fully empowered. These women, although provided with economic opportunity, were still often powerless at home and over their own safety. Praseeda now works to make sure each of her clients are educated about their right to safety.

Gary Haugen, Founder and CEO of global anti-trafficking NGO International Justice Mission (IJM) stated:

Far below the headlines, a plague of hidden, everyday violence – like rape, trafficking, and police brutality – is devastating the developing world and undermining our efforts to end poverty.
A world free of poverty will not be realized until it is a world free from violence.

Unfortunately, violence around the world is distinctly gendered. Women and girls are the worst affected in any crisis, cause or issue. Violence, abuse and exploitation hinder and bar our dream of equal opportunity becoming a reality.

Women’s access to financial services is on the rise, and definitely a critical part of both women empowerment as well as the global end of poverty. However, statistics tell us that it is not addressing the root problems of inequality. An Indian woman is 100 times more likely to die of child-bearing related causes than a woman anywhere else in the world. This tells us that family resources are not being directed to her care. Around 50% of Indian women face domestic abuse. This tells us that while their education, employment and leadership is being encouraged, they are still not respected as equals at home.

To address inequality and achieve an end to poverty, we must address women’s control over their own safety. As Sandhya and thousands of other women’s stories demonstrate, ending violence in women’s lives is a precursor to taking advantage of economic empowerment. If this is true, then ending (gender-based) violence is a requisite to ending poverty.

Hannah Surabhi

Hannah heads up marketing and communications for My Choices Foundation. Hope is her favourite concept. Her passion is working to help every person understand their role in making this world better, for everyone.

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Run for a Reason – Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2017

Posted on July 24, 2017December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

Run for a Reason – Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2017

We are proud to announce that My Choices Foundation is an NGO partner for the upcoming Airtel Hyderabad Marathon to be held on August 20th, 2017. We would love it if you could run for us, campaign for us and cheer us!

My Choices Foundation is very proud to kickstart the “Run For a Reason” Campaign and invite you to sign up for Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2017 and #Runforareason.

Before cruising into this year’s marathon, we would like to go back to our previous year’s #Run2Respect Campaign. We had over 200 runners running and raising funds for us. We thank them with all our hearts and look forward to some of them partnering with us again this year!

Here are a few glimpses from last year….

Why should you Run for a Reason?

Running is fun, but when you #Runforareason, it is pride.

Running a marathon can be extremely gruelling, but the thing that gets you through, is knowing that if you just put one foot in front of the other, you will eventually make it to the finish line.

For many women experiencing abuse or exploitation, there is no finish line. Day after day, they endure violent physical and sexual abuse, often with no help from friends, family or police.

Why Campaign for us?

You may or may not be a runner in Airtel Hyderabad Marathon 2017, but you can support us, campaign for us and raise funds for us. My Choices Foundation lets you choose between two teams: Team Red and Team Orange.

Team Red: When you are in Team Red, you are running for every girl in the country who is vulnerable to be trafficked for sex slavery. You are running on behalf of Operation Red Alert of My Choices Foundation.

Did you know that Every 3 minutes an Indian girl is sold into sex slavery? The average age of these girls is 12, and only 1% of them are ever rescued. The road to rehabilitation, if she is rescued, is extremely difficult. Yet, there are very few NGOs working to prevent this from happening.

Operation Red Alert is leading the prevention movement in India through a groundbreaking 3 Pillar approach. We work at the grassroots level (which is what your run will affect), national response, and through mass media. We work to keep little girls in highly trafficking prone villages safe from traffickers, and with your help, we can do so much

With the money you help to raise for team Red, you will enable thousands of girls and women across various most vulnerable villages gain awareness about human trafficking, help them be on Red Alert against human traffickers and stay Safe. Rs.5,000 can sponsor one Safe Village Program that impacts around 500 stakeholders in an at-risk village. This covers the costs of 2 in-person visits to that village, and the delivery of our village toolkit into the hands of families and little girls who need it most.

Team Orange: Through Team Orange, you are not just running the marathon but providing solidarity and support to lakhs of victims of Domestic Violence in India. Nearly 50% of Indian women experience violence in their own homes. Over 50% of men, women, boys and girls believe that this is normal.

Operation PeaceMaker aims to reduce domestic violence in India through thousands of PeaceMakers who are trained in family and marriage counselling and all aspects of the Domestic Violence Act. Operation PeaceMaker provides counselling to victims of domestic violence and their families, provide legal aid to support survivors to take action, seek out and provide survivors with In field support.

The money you will raise for Team Orange will help Operation Peacemaker in supporting their counselling centres and PeaceMakers. Thousands of women benefit through our counselling, gaining support and strength to make a decision of their own, take legal support and take steps to end the violence in their life. If you raise between Rs.3000 to 5000, you will be providing a “Start Up Fund” to a victim of domestic violence, A start up fund can be used for any of the immediate, urgent needs a survivor and her family has. This may include smaller requirements like a few pots and pans for her new home after leaving a shelter, or paying her first 2 months rent while she accrues her first income. Or, it could be for something bigger like her children’s initial school fee instalment, or a sewing machine to get her own business set up. The start up fund is allocated to women who have been left destitute by the abuse they faced, and have no other option to move forward in life.

So choose your team, Buckle Up, Get Set Go!

How do you sign up and campaign on behalf of My Choices Foundation?

You can login to My Choices Foundation Page on Letzchange.org and create a campaign for us. We will be constantly co-campaigning with you, help you with content, images and lots of support for your social media campaign! You will be emailed more information through our “Fundraiser Pack” when you sign up!

For more information, please call Usha on +91-9100048849 or send an email to [email protected]

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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Social Good and Entrepreneurship: The best of both worlds

Posted on April 5, 2017December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

Social Good and Entrepreneurship: The best of both worlds

Increasingly, Social Entrepreneurship is being recognized for the fantastic dedication, skill, and innovation it takes to be successful. It takes all the business savvy and grit of running a successful start-up, plus the passion and dedication to overcome the obstacles unique to setting out to achieve “for good” outcomes.

Two recent events have started us thinking about the increased recognition of and appreciation for social impact focussed entrepreneurship, where it is going, and how it is impacting the world.

First, My Choices Foundation Founder and Director Elca Grobler won the 50 Most Impactful Social Innovators Award by World CSR Day and Social Innovation in February

Second, Elca was privileged to be the MBA graduate and alumni out of 17,000 alumni to be honored for her work at the Australian Graduate School of Management’s (AGSM) 40th Anniversary Celebration that took place in Sydney, Australia in March. She received special recognition for her work with My Choices Foundation, and has been featured as an ambassador for the AGSM scholarship fund as an exemplar graduate.

Somehow the intersection of social impact and good business is indivisible. Around the world, the role of CSR Director is becoming more and more sought after and respected, CSR budgets are expanding, awards for social impact in business are becoming more and more popular, and there are even large global conferences and movements held to organize and award social impact by businesses. A quick look at Google Trend data shows that since 2004, searches for the term “CSR” have increased by an average of 21% globally.

While Social Entrepreneurship is not a new concept, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the first reports and books on topic were published. Popular academic interest in the topic only began around 2000. Now, in 2017, nearly every business school offers a degree or certificate in Social Entrepreneurship.

The rise of social entrepreneurship has made the marriage of business and social impact a powerful duo. Just ask Muhammad Yunus who has won a Nobel Peace Prize and teaches business leaders the world over due to his incredible work harnessing business principles for good.

Increasingly, Social Entrepreneurship is being recognized for the fantastic dedication, skill, and innovation it takes to be successful. It takes all the business savvy and grit of running a successful start-up, plus the passion and dedication to overcome the obstacles unique to setting out to achieve “for good” outcomes. Changing mindsets, creating culture, leading movements, and strategizing empowerment is not for the faint of heart. Moreover, measuring success is often not nearly as straightforward in social entrepreneurship as standard business. Businesses have a very clear performance measure: Profitability. Social enterprises need to look at a wider set of measurements. Success is measured in “for good” impact.

How do you quantify being able to stop violence in a woman’s life? How do you measure the impact of preventing a little girl from being trafficked? While the best social enterprises have created robust measurement and reporting systems, there is still a universal multiplier effect on every number. One girl kept in school doesn’t just mean one girl in school. It means one girl who will get married later and have fewer children, which means she is able to keep them healthier and educate them better. It means that a whole new future is created in her family, and therefore a whole new set of economic possibilities for her community. The ripple effect of doing good can be exponentially powerful. But that success is a very difficult thing to measure for social enterprises.

Yet, the world is waking up to the impact and potential of social good. Companies who used to focus on the bottom line of profits are now massively more concerned with the second bottom line – social impact. Not all of these companies with new found focus on the second bottom line are doing so because of compliance and reputation issues. Many realize that social impact affects everything from brand value to customer satisfaction to employee loyalty. Doing good does exponential good for their main bottom line of profits.

We are incredibly proud of being leaders in social entrepreneurship in India. We are thrilled that the incredible work it takes to bring constant creativity and dedication to effectively doing, measuring, and achieving “good” is now being recognized worldwide for its contribution not just to society, but also to business and business learning.

For the women and girls of India, we are hopeful that social entrepreneurship means that the best minds, practices, and investment will come to their aid to develop powerful enterprises for empowerment and development. We a proud to be among the social entrepreneurs of India, giving the cause our 120%.

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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Why getting onboard with crowdfunding platforms is a good idea

Posted on June 17, 2016December 13, 2023 by My Choices Foundation mychoices

Why getting onboard with crowdfunding platforms is a good idea

Long before digital fundraising platforms were invented (or the internet for that matter), Indians had their own systems of ‘giving’, from donating to temples, to organising food for the homeless or sharing spare coins with someone in need. So, you might be thinking, if we’re already good at ‘giving’, why do we need to get onboard with crowdfunding platforms?

While the concept of ‘crowdfunding’ is relatively new to India, generosity is certainly not.

Long before digital fundraising platforms were invented (or the internet for that matter), Indians had their own systems of ‘giving’, from donating to temples, to organising food for the homeless or sharing spare coins with someone in need.

So, you might be thinking, if we’re already good at ‘giving’, why do we need to get onboard with crowdfunding platforms?

I must admit, at first I was very sceptical of crowdfunding platforms, I thought it was like every other type of giving. But after running the Operation Peace Maker, Pavani and Pallavi crowdfunding campaign, I realise that they’re an extremely powerful tool for mobilizing support for causes that might otherwise be overlooked.

What is crowdfunding?

For those of you who don’t know, crowdfunding is a type of fundraising, which allows verified organisations or individuals to raise money online. It works on the premise that a broad donor base of individuals donating just a small amount of money each will reach large fundraising goals. It lets a community – or “crowd” – of individuals act collectively to make a really big difference. Crowdfunding has been used to finance some of the world’s coolest innovations (like those on Kickstarter) and support some of the world’s most life-changing non-profit initiatives.

They’re unique in that they provide giving opportunities on a large scale, with full transparency into how your money will be used and by whom. They’re becoming increasingly popular amongst millennials who know how to harness the power of online communities and bring people together to support an organisation, idea or cause. The power of crowdfunding is that it puts the the ability to make a BIG difference in our hands. No big donor machines, no long waiting times, no stale project reports. Just face to face interaction with the cause or project, and real-time support.

Pavani and Pallavi School Fund

The Pavani and Pallavi School Fund was developed in response to the need of one of our Operation PeaceMaker clients, Sandhya, who made the brave decision to leave her husband after 16 years of extreme abuse. Her main concern about leaving her husband was that she wouldn’t have enough money to send her two daughters to school while waiting for the court to grant her maintenance.

We knew that we would need approximately Rs. 100,000 to pay for the girls tuition text books, uniform and stationary, and we only had one month to get the money together. Our program budgets do not include funds for individual needs like this, but we knew we had to help. We chose the crowdfunding platform BitGiving because we wanted to support a local Indian company helping to pioneer crowd-based generosity in action in India. We loved how easy they made setting up our campaign, donating and spreading the word about our project. We were really comforted by the campaign application process, where each charity was required to submit a number of legal and financial documents to ensure their legitimacy.

In under one month we were able to raise 102 percent of our fundraising target, and extended our fantastic community of supporters in India. Last week, we were able to take the girls shopping for their school books and uniforms, we made a short video to keep our supporters in the loop.

Top five reasons to give through crowdfunding platforms:

1. No posers… You can be assured that the charity and campaign are legitimate because every organisation is put through a very strict vetting process where they are required to submit legal and financial documents as well a proposal for their campaign before they are allowed to use the platform. If you want to know more about how this is done, it’s easy to look into the process each site uses, or just contact the charity and ask them directly. You deserve to have all the facts.
2. Full transparency… You know exactly where your money is going. Sometimes when you give to a larger charity, you can’t be sure which project your money will be spent on. With crowdfunding platforms the charity has to specify in detail where and how the money will be spent. You decide if the story is compelling enough, and if you don’t have enough detail …. Again, just get in touch!
3. Stay in the loop… You become part of a community. We were so humbled by the community we built around the Pavani and Pallavi School Fund. Its exciting for us to share our successes with everyone who contributed to the campaign with videos and newsletters updates. We also keep our community in the loop about other giving opportunities. The best crowdfunders love every comment, email, tweet, post they get and interacting with supporters.
4. Commitment phobic? No worries… Unlike other types of giving, you are only required to give as much as you like when you like, no strings attached. So whether you want to really engage with the cause or just “do good” and move on, you can have it your way.
6. Make a real difference…The best part is, you get to choose what you want to support. The power is in your hands to made a decision about what campaigns you think will have the most impact or are of the most important to your community.

We really believe that India is entering a new phase of giving, which is being driven by our young and generous millennials! So if you’re feeling generous today, why not check out some of India’s leading crowdfunding platforms today and see what they’re all about.

Also, if you’re running the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon you can help us raise money for our anti- domestic violence and sex trafficking programs by creating your very own Ketto fundraising platform.

We love co-campaigning with you! So, if you have any questions just let us know in the comments section below, via email or through our Facebook page!

Happy crowdfunding to you!

My Choices Foundation

This post was authored by the My Choices Foundation communications team. Our mission is to keep you informed on the cause, and hopeful that transformation is possible one story at a time.

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