GOLD2024

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

Aspire. Achieve. Be the change.

New York, NY   |  http://akankshafund.org/

Mission

Akanksha Education Fund is a not-for-profit organization that works to raise support and awareness in the U.S. and funds educational opportunities for disadvantaged children in India. Our programs enable some of the most marginalized children in the world to maximize their potential and change their lives. The Fund works with The Akanksha Foundation (a registered Indian charity) to advise and fund the Foundation's innovative programs, which currently serve school-aged children in India and related charitable activities. Realizing that kids not only need good schools, but also strong teachers and principals, the Akanksha Fund also supports the India School Leadership Institute and Teach for India. These three organizations work hand in hand with each other to reform education in India.

Ruling year info

1998

Executive Director

Sejal Desai

Main address

PO Box 2038

New York, NY 10113 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

13-3976569

NTEE code info

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (Q12)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2023, 2022 and 2021.
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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

India's education system continues to operate in a crisis and deprives millions of children the opportunity to achieve their potential. For the last two decades, India's push to implement national education programs has dramatically increased access to education for India's 350 million students. The Right to Education Act, passed in 2010, made education a right for all children ages 6-14. Since then, national policy has successfully brought primary education to 20 million children over the last 16 years.

Yet the quality of education is still decades behind the curve. For example, only 44% of 16-year-olds finish 10th Grade and one child out of every four leaves 8th grade without basic reading skills.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Akanksha Foundation/The School Project

The Akanksha Foundation is a non-profit organization in India with a mission to provide children from low-income communities with a high-quality education, enabling them to maximize their potential and transform their lives. Akanksha works to initiate school reform through The School Project and providing a supplemental education through the Akanksha centers.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth

Where we work

Videos

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Total dollar amount of grants awarded

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Total dollars received in contributions

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

To raise support and awareness in the U.S. and fund educational opportunities for children living in low-income areas in India.

The Akanksha Education Fund aims to foster relationships with donors in the U.S. and provide them with opportunities to make an impact in India by connecting their passion for giving to vetted programs in education.

For over twenty five years, the Akanksha Education Fund has identified best in class organizations working on education in India. Our experience allows us to identify and connect donors to accountable and effective education programs making an impact.

For over twenty five years, the Fund has raised and granted several million dollars to the Akanksha Foundation to expand its innovative education programs in India. We have also supported Teach for India and the India School Leadership Institute as a fiscal sponsor, both of which was co-founded by the Akanksha Foundation. These organizations have worked hand-in-hand to promote education reform, train teachers and provide quality education to economically disadvantaged children in India.

The Indian government is now actively looking for ways to improve quality throughout it's one million schools. Looking forward, the Fund recognizes that now is the time to invest in key pilot programs and trigger their impact on the larger system.

To respond to this opportunity, we have set our goals high. Over the next three years, we aim to triple our support of the Akanksha Foundation's innovative programs. Our goal is to raise $3 million from donors in the U.S. who want to make a transformative impact and see education as the vehicle through which to create change.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

Financials

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

The Akanksha Education Fund Inc.

Board of directors
as of 08/07/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Shankar Iyer

Ramesh Srinivasan

Sarah Roberts

Fally Malkani

Shankar Iyer

Bharti Malkani

Kate Shoemaker

Nymrata Advani

Sachin Jindal

Ruyintan Mehta

Amir Mirza

Medha Vedaprakash

Srividya Prakash

Anjali Melwani

Pulkeshi Jape

Reena Batra

Monica Sheth

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 8/5/2024
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
Asian/Asian American
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

Transgender Identity

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/05/2024

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.