THE KIRAN ANJALI PROJECT

The Kiran Anjali Project(KAP) seeks to partner with grassroots organization in India that educate some of the country's poorest and most marginalized children. In India girls from poor families are vulnerable and often seen as a burden. A girl's education is not valued; the belief is that she is an extra expense due to the cultural practice of dowry where the bride's family pays the groom's family to have her married. Families seek to have their daughters married at a very young age to shed the financial burden of caring for her and before her reputation is compromised. Sons are often given preferential treatment as they are expected to care for and financially provide for the parents in old age.

KAP's model of focusing on girls is informed by research. Numerous research studies from the World Bank and UNESCO have proved that educated girls from developing countries are healthier, delay marriage, and have fewer children. Educated mothers have healthier children and they make sure their children are in school. In India, 40% of girls drop out of school by age 10 and 70% by age 15. Fifty percent of girls marry before age 18 and 30% before age 15. If the most vulnerable girls are given the opportunity of a quality education all the way through 12th grade, then her life is transformed and she can be the first person in her family to leave poverty and achieve a better quality of life.

KAP believes that there are many wonderful grassroots programs that are operating in India serving very needy children. However, they lack resources and infrastructure to fully accomplish their task. KAP seeks to partner with vetted organizations that meet KAP's quality standards and offer annual financial grants and administrative advice to achieve a sustainable future.

The KAP board has connections in both India and the US. Three board members lived as ex pats in India, one was born and raised in India, and all make frequent trips to India. We have also made it priority to network with nonprofits in the US and India that share our mission. It is through these connections that have identified grassroots organizations. . KAP is limited to awarding grants to NGO's in India that have an FCRA, the permit from the federal government in India that allows foreign contributions. Once an organization has been recommended and we verify the FCRA, we invite the organizational leaders to complete a Pre Grant Questionnaire. The quality of the program is evaluated through a site visit and recommendations. KAP board reviews the information and then a vote is called to proceed with inviting the prospective organization to submit a full grant application. A site visit by one of the KAP board members is scheduled as part of the vetting process. Once the full application is received along with supporting documentation the KAP board votes to offer the NGO a grant. We have a industry standard grant contract that is signed by all parties.

Our model is multi year financial and administrative support. KAP aims to develop long-term relationships with the sponsored programs. In addition to the financial award KAP invites sponsored organizations the option to enroll in KAP Catapult. KAP Catapult helps NGO's obtain additional permits necessary to be eligible for other domestic and international funding. The program also assists the sponsored organizations in making applications to other grant and corporate social responsibility funding, makes recommendations to improve quality assurance outcome measures, and helps with implementing a marketing strategy for domestic donors.

KAP raises funds in the United States by conducting fundraising and awareness activities in California, Washington, and Illinois. The flagship fundraiser is a luncheon held annually in Seattle, WA where 50-80% of revenue is generated. The events in California and Illinois are smaller home-based events that have promise of scaling up over time. In 2013, Teen KAP was rolled out to engage youth in becoming advocates and supporters for generations to come.

KAP is a small boutique organization that is run by passionate volunteers, no paid staff. The heart of the organization is enthusiastic volunteers and supporters.
The board members have a diverse set of talents and a donor/volunteer group that provides the knowledge and skills to help our sponsored organizations. Several donors have visited our current sponsored program and have offered to help with identifying and vetting new programs.

KAP is fortunate to have Mallika Kohli as our treasurer who is a certified accountant in India and the US, which gives us, increased ability to monitor financial transparency. KAP has a hired accountant based in Hyderabad, India who conducts the on the ground financial audits.

In a short amount of time KAP has successfully achieved a fundraising program primarily individual donors. The Seattle luncheon has expanded every year in both participation and proceeds. Due to our success in fundraising and helping our first sponsored program, Wings School, KAP is in the process of taking on new programs, which has been happily received by our supporters. Part of being a boutique nonprofit is personal connection with our sponsored programs therefore the organization will not take on more than a few organizations. The priority is to make a big impact with the programs and children supported rather than a small difference with a larger number of children.

KAP's first sponsored program is Wings School for Girls located in a village outside of Hyderabad, India. Wings provides a free education and two meals a day for 150 girls from some of the poorest families in the region. The school has the CBSE curriculum through 6th grade and supplemented state curriculum through 10th grade. There is a rich extracurricular program of music, dance, art, and Tae Kwon Do. The Tae Kwon Do program is compulsory for all Wings students as the director of the school wanted the students to learn how to defend themselves “just in case". Over the years the Tae Kwon do program has produced several gold medal winners at India's National Tae Kwon Do championships.

KAP has been the sole financial support for Wings since 2011. Through KAP's administrative support the school has obtained additional permits to be able to approach corporates for funding in India and instituted standardized testing for third through 9th grades. Other metrics like health markers, and retention rates have been maintained. The most meaningful measurement of success occurred in Spring 2015 when the 10th grade class sat for the state exams. Wings had a 100% pass rate, higher than any other school in the area, Seventy-seven percent went on to some of the area's best intermediate colleges and plans are being made to go onto university. These girls are the first to go to college in their families.