The working poor in India cannot easily access health services. When this is coupled with a lack of rainy-day funds in an emergency, they often don’t know how to react.The lack of finances is an avenue that we can help with by partnering with an NGO that knows the family through a previous connection.Depending on the NGO, we have 2 approaches. For instance, a child could be enrolled in the NGO’s school. If the child were to fall down and fracture an arm, it is often the school that takes the child through the process of getting to the ER, getting the X-ray, plaster and the follow-ups. We have another approach where we provide the cash grant to someone to access the system, where they can continue to get more help through local donors.We bridge a gap in financing health care access and magnify local NGOs impact. We are able to make a big difference with a small amount of money. Through our micro-grants, we have a positive impact that extends beyond health.

The NGO partners in India are an important cornerstone for our grant-giving process. Money laundering and anti-terrorism laws make it really hard for money to cross borders. It’s far, far worse than going to the DMV!There are regulatory and accounting requirements for the NGO, which implies they have to have an organizational structure to execute on these requirements. Luckily, we benefit from this. We can be sure that the NGOs are complying with government requirements while meeting our own transparency and accountability requirements. In addition, recipients’ progress will be tracked and data will be provided to us at regular intervals.

The demographic we are giving money to is truly indigent. Most recipients come from families that make $3-$5 a day.The winners of the 2019 Noel Prize in Economics have researched that cash transfers are some of the most effective ways to decrease poverty and improve health and well-being. Soondra Foundation’s cash grants are an efficient and cost effective way to create immediate and life changing impact.Micro-loans do not have the same impact since we address a health crisis. There are no means for the individual to make money to pay it back. In fact, the reason they are getting the micro-grant is to prevent a slide in their financial future. Most importantly, however, micro-loans processes have shown to be easily corruptible through local predatory lending practices.

We are a 501c3 tax-exempt organization. We have are supported by family and friends. The next circle will include grants from private funding agencies, corporate and private donors, increasing it to larger, more well-funded and recognized names.

We are celebrating our 5th year operating! We have provided emergency medical access to ~600 working poor families & 30,000 students with health education resources. Our minimum grant was about $18, maximum $1500, but between $200-$400 is the most common amount. We have helped children get surgery for broken bones, and well as serious infections like pneumonia and dengue and food rations during Covid19. We have also been able to help people with blood cancer from all over India, especially rural areas get admitted to hospital for chemo and antibiotics.

During the Covid pandemic we have been resilient and been able to support many migrant and working poor families with food insecurity. Along with our partners in India, we have leaned in to the difficult circumstances and given food rations for 2500 families. These were sustenance rations of rice, daal (lentils), flour, sugar, oil, salt, along with essentials like soap & sanitary napkins.We have also helped Chicago’s vulnerable communities through our Masks Without Borders campaign with partners Chicago Fair Trade and Work Shelter. We raised ~$17,800 and have given away 5000 masks to people who need them to stay healthy and go to work or school during the pandemic.