GOLD2023

SIDDHARTHA SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

Committed to Ladakhi youth since 1995.

aka SSP   |   Portland, ME   |  www.siddharthaschool.org

Mission

The mission of Siddhartha School Partnership is to provide operating funds and other financial support to the Siddhartha School, a thriving school for poor children in the Leh-Ladakh region of northernmost India. No child is denied admission to Siddhartha School on the basis of financial need.

Ruling year info

2006

Board President

Sydney Young

Main address

PO Box 3405

Portland, ME 04104 USA

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Formerly known as

SIDDHARTHA SCHOOL PROJECT

EIN

20-2643361

NTEE code info

Single Organization Support (B11)

Elementary, Secondary Ed (B20)

Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution (S12)

IRS filing requirement

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

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Communication

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Since our inception in 1995, our work focuses on bringing a modern education to the culturally significant people of Ladakh, India. This region high in the Himalayas still suffers from a significantly high illiteracy rates. Each year, we graduate students who achieve high passing rates in the Indian government mandated tests and go on to schooling in India and the U.S.

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?

Raise operating funds

To provide 100% of the operating funds required annually by Siddhartha School

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Indigenous peoples

Siddhartha School requires a dining hall and kitchen that will serve as the children residing at the school. Currently, the children have to eat their meals in an older youth dormitory space. The current kitchen is outdated. The kitchen also serves as a place for the 40 teachers at the school is prepare a communal lunch meal shared with students.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

Siddhartha School's accreditation with Jammu & Kashmir state is conditional based on timely and necessary infrastructure maintenance. These improvements include:

Repair to the Kindergarten roof.

Replacement of old desks.

Repair to floor in the upper classroom located on floor two.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Economically disadvantaged people

To ensure its ongoing operation in an uncertain economic future with a fluctuating exchange rate, Siddhartha School Partnership has created a Sustainability Fund. Its purpose is to finance the school in perpetuity, by enabling the organization that runs the school (Siddhartha Welfare Society) to make income-generating investments locally that will cover the school's operating costs.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Families

The Heroes Elevate Empathy Project was designed by our project's founder to forge meaningful conversations between Siddhartha School and partnering schools in the USA. We aim to encourage young people to identify people who inspire them, draw their portraits, and share why they admire them. All art travels in an international exhibition to draw attention to new generations seeking to create a better world.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Families

As the flagship school in India, Siddhartha School was the first to adopt the Dalai Lama’s new educational initiatives which are gaining global attention. His Holiness the Dalai Lama is emphasizing the need for schools to adopt a curriculum that includes a firm foundation in Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning. SSP supports this effort in our SEL program, to exemplify Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning and empower our children to study the first-hand effects of acting with compassion and altruism, leading them to realize that working for the happiness of more than just themselves, will ultimately bring a more happy self. This new movement has sister programs starting in Europe, the USA, and Canada, with
Siddhartha School being the first to teach the program in India.

Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Caregivers

A new bus to transport children from Leh to the school in Stok Village.

Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Indigenous peoples

Where we work

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

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.

The goals of Siddhartha School Partnership is to provide operating funds and other financial support to the Siddhartha School, a thriving school for poor children in the Leh-Ladakh region of northernmost India. No child is denied admission to Siddhartha School on the basis of financial need.

Siddhartha School Partnership fundraises all over the US and beyond by creating sustainable relationships and offering clear, concise communications about the activities and progress of the school on a regular basis.

SSP has two employees, a few fully committed sub-contractors, a dedicated board of directors and many passionate volunteers. Our capabilities lie in the people who help make this organization run, day in and day out. The mission and goals of the school are forefront as we move into a sustainability fund for the future of the students of Ladakh.

Since the inception of Siddhartha School as a small school in a rented room, Siddhartha School has acquired property, built many free standing buildings and now has a student body of 425 students. In the past 5 years, we have had many capital campaigns for the campus to provide running water, new toilet blocks, washrooms, a computer lab, boys’ and girls’ dormitories, and the highly anticipated multipurpose hall. Annual donors to SSP have increased fivefold since 2014, we have focused on building meaningful donor relationships.

Financials

SIDDHARTHA SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
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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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  • 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.

SIDDHARTHA SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP

Board of directors
as of 03/07/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Sydney Young

BrandedSAC

Term: 2020 -

Sara Crisp

Sir Eshay Tondup

Sydney Young

Mona Pearl

David Gardiner

Matthew Gerald

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? Not applicable
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 3/7/2023
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
Decline to state
Gender identity
Female
Sexual orientation
Decline to state
Disability status
Decline to state

Race & ethnicity

No data

Gender identity

No data

 

No data

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/22/2020

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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • 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.