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Projects::Highlights
The United Nation grants Special Consultative Status to Maharashtra Foundation
We are very happy to report here that the Foundation has been granted .Special ConsultativeStatus. by the United Nations. This status enables the representative of MF to attend the United Nations meetings and conferences open to participation by or of special interests to NGOs in consultative status. This will be an opportunity to interact with other NGOs in the similar status, increase MF's visibility, and seek collaborations to expand our activities and programs. This affiliation also brings some responsibilities. MF will be required to maintain detailed records of its activities and submit quadrennial report to the Committee.
Projects and activities supported through 2004
Through the generous contributions of the MF donors and well wishers, the Foundation was able to raise and disburse $ 681,000 through 60 non-profit organizations in India for multiple causes such as women empowerment, education, health, and environment. In addition, the Foundation also implemented its own projects such as Bare Foot Doctors (Bharat Vaidya) in partnership with Halo Medical Foundation, Maytrin (An Empathetic Listener), One Village One Computer . IT for Social Change, Child Sponsorship, and contributed to three major disasters, Asian Tsunami, Katrina, and Floods in Maharashtra. The Foundation also provided forum and fiscal sponsorship for fund raising: Dr. Anil Awachat who heads Muktangan, a Pune based organization working on drug addiction was hosted by the Foundation. Dr. Awachat traveled to select cities in the United States where friends of the Foundation and Maharashtra Mandals organized meetings to introduce the organization.s work.
A total of $ 25,000 was raised for the cause. A group of Indian-Americans got together under the banner of Mahad Flood Relief in the wake of Floods in Maharashtra. The group raised $ 24,000 to provide relief to flood affected people in and around Mahad area. This amount will be used to deliver help through Janseva Foundation, a Pune based NGO.
Emergency Relief
In the wake of unprecedented natural disasters that occurred from the beginning of 2004 the Foundation came forward to raise funds for immediate and longer term relief of the victims. An amount of $ 40,000 was raised through the appeal to donors for Tsunami Relief. The funds were disbursed through four carefully selected organizations actively working on the ground: Save the Children, MS Swaminathan Foundation, AID, and Give Foundation. $ 23,000 was raised for the Flood Relief in Maharashtra/Mumbai. These funds are being used through grass roots organizations such as CORO. The amount will be used for providing the immediate medical assistance to the slum dwellers. A contribution of $ 5000 was received for Katrina Relief. This amount will be disbursed through an appropriate organization.
Outreach
At the time of donor appreciation day last year, we made a promise to increase the outreach of the foundation by reaching out to the community and increasing collaborations and partnerships. On this count the Foundation made good progress during the year: The Foundation collaborated with the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal on the occasion of their biennial convention in Atlanta; for the first time, the Foundation participated in the New York India Day Parade; and a joint fund raising drives were organized with the New York Maharashtra Mandal, Marathi Vishwa and the Brihan Maharashtra Mandal for Katrina and Maharashtra flood relief.
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