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ANNUAL REPORTASHWINI CHARITABLE TRUST

2014 -15

www.ashwinitrust.org

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INDEX

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Trustee Information 4

Message from the Managing Trustee 5

ACT: The Beginning 6

ACT: Mission and Vision 7

ACT: Philosophy and Methodology 8 - 9

ACT Overview: Centres, Activities 10 - 13

ACT: Mothers, Alumni, Volunteers Speak 14 - 19

Key Accomplishments 2014-15 20 - 25

Acknowledgements 26 - 30

A Call to Action 31

Financial Analysis 32 - 36

Financial Statements 37 - 40

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At ACT Also...Managing Trustee

Sujata Mukherjee (Operations) Social Worker

Secretary

Dr.J Bhavani Ramesh (Counselling) Family Counsellor

Treasurer

Priyanktha Iyengar (Design) Fashion Designer

Trustees

Radhika Aravindam (Fund Raising) Social Worker

Aarthi Muralidharan (Educational Strategy) Educational Specialist

Dr. Hemlatha (Healthcare) Paediatric Surgeon

Shobha Jaidev (Healthcare) Homeopathic Healer

TRUSTEE INFORMATION

Credibility Alliance Norms Compliance Report

ACT is registered under:Income Tax Department under Section 80-GIncome Tax Department under 12 A (a)FCRA Registration 094421447Registration No - DOCUMENT No.434 of Book IV 2000-01

BankersState Bank of India, M G Road, Bangalore - 560001Vijaya Bank, Cambridge Road, Bangalore - 560008

AuditorRadhakrishna Upadhya & Co.Chartered Accountants,No. 1378/5, South End Main Road,9th Block East, Jayanagar - 560069

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One more year has gone past us with the speed of a whirlwind, and I have a few significant milestones to share with you. All five ACT children who sat for the SSLC Boards passed the exam creditably. The four children who sat for the PU Boards cleared the exam with flying colours, and are now studying in St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore.

Warm Regards,Sujata Mukherjee

The achievement of these children is all the more significant because they are all first generation learners. They come from extremely poor households, and their parents are daily wage earners. These families who live in large urban slums are extremely vulnerable because they do not have steady incomes. Anything from a viral fever, death of a grandparent, family wedding or even inclement weather can render them income-less in no time.

I have noticed that the urban poor are an isolated lot. The mass migration from the villages to the cities in search of livelihoods, the vast distances that one has to commute for work, the spiraling inflation,the increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots and the sheer indifference of the metropolis, have all pushed the poor to leading lonely and miserable lives. There is usually no place or person they can reach out to, for help, and more than the adults, it is the children who are the worst affected.

ACT has reached out to such families living in the 9 slums in and around the Ulsoor area in Bangalore asking them to send their children to us, so that you, dear volunteer, and we, together can ensure that these children get an education and are able to make use of the opportunities available. Giving all the 300 ACT children a love for learning, getting them to go to school/college regularly, and creating in them the confidence that they can aspire for and achieve their dreams – is all what you and we want. Thank you for being with us on this journey. I seek your support in all our future endeavours, because without you, there is no ACT.

Dear Friend,

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• ACTwasstartedwithanintenttoeducateandempowerunderprivileged children of Ulsoor slums in Bangalore

• Registeredon15thDecember,2000

• Parentwhotypicallyworkashousemaids,vendors,painters,tailorsarefrom the lower-income group

• Mostchildrenarefirstgenerationliterates

• Thetrustsponsorshardworkinganddedicatedchildrenfromsemi-government and government aided private schools.

ACT - THE BEGINNING

New Centre @ RG Halli Govt School, Whitefield

2000

2008

2011

20122013

2014

Board of 7 Trustees, all women

New Learning Centre @ Ulsoor

Started with 1 child, Ashwini, 1 Resource

Centre @ Ulsoor

New Centre @ Indiranagarashraya

143 children, New centre @ Govt Tamil Higher

Primary School GTHPS170 children,

70+ Volunteers

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To educate and empower underprivileged children and support them till they are gainfully employed.

To do our best so that the current generation of underprivileged children living below the poverty line integrate seamlessly within mainstream society and that they are productive from the first day in their jobs.

To impart quality education, including skill building and matching children with employment opportunities that are suited to their dominant intelligence and strengths.

ACT - MISSION

ACT - VISION

FOODSP

ORT

S & KARATEFI

NA

NCI

AL

INCLUSION

HOBBY CLASSES

HEA

LTH & ABUSE SENSITIV

ITY

COMMUNICATION

LIFE

SKILLS

NOT JUST ACADEMICS

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Work is done through Community Participation; focus is on all three critical aspects of the child's development

As per the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, by Howard Gardner, the identification of the dominant intelligence of each child is done. The child is then encouraged and enabled to hone the identified intelligence and later take an occupation complimenting the same for greater success.

ACT - PHILOSOPHYAND METHODOLOGY

PHYSICAL

INTELLECTUAL

EMOTIONAL

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2008 - The II Step - Our numbers grew. We rented our first Learning Centre.

2012 – The III Step - Ashraya, Indira Nagar, invited us to hold after school programmes for the kids of neighbouring schools there.

ACT - CENTERS

INDIRNAGAR CENTRE (ASHRAYA) 2012

RESOURCE CENTER (RC) 2000

LEARNING CENTER (LC) 2008

2013 – The IV Step - WE reached out to the community where we started ACT – MV Garden – so that our model could reach the children of the government schools.

GOVERNMENT TAMIL HIGHER PRIMARY SCHOOL (GTHPS), 2013

2000 – The I Step - In the year 2004, thanks to the NM Trust, we got free space to open our Resource Centre. It still houses the admin office, library, lab and supplies.

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Volunteers take classes and provide academic support to our students throughout the year. Many volunteers also take non academic classes including dance, singing, karate, and crafts.

Senior students of ACT also take classes and serve as mentors to younger students in the trust. This helps develop leadership skills and emotional intelligence.

ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS2014 - 15

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Mothers and children attend classes on physical wellness. Children are vaccinated and have access to doctor visits. Mothers are provided with protein mix and taught how to administer this to their children. And all students receive a healthy snack daily.

Health & Physical Wellness is critical for a child’s success. A sick child cannot attend school or ACT classes, and a malnourished child is at a developmental disadvantage.

ACT provides employability training with the help of our volunteers and organisations.

Students learn computer skills and have access to our computer lab. They also learn about resume writing, interview skills, and how to work within a team. These are paramount to achieving the goal of employability for all of our students.

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Celebrations are an important part of life in ACT. Children are encouraged to celebrate and enjoy life.

Birthdays are celebrated monthly with cake for everyone. Holidays were celebrated with singing, a rangoli competition and magic shows

This year our children have learned to make short films and participated in the Adobe Youth Voices competition, learned to read for pleasure in our library, enjoyed gardening with volunteers and participated in activities like sports days and kite flying.

And, of course,

FUN is an important part in any child’s life!

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MOTHERS' EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM

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ACT ALUMNI

VOLUNTEERS SPEAK

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VOLUNTEERS SPEAK

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MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

He came to us in class 6. He was shy then, he is shy now. He always had a dream. To be a computer engineer. We have seen him grow into a very determined young man. But there was one unique thing about Harikrishnan. He was always late for everything. We had to leave for a trip to Mysore. He arrived half an hour late. 'Sorry I woke up late. Next time I will be on time.'Ten years with us. He was never on time. Always the last to board the bus with a sheepish grin. He could not get good scores in class X. Had to take up Humanities. But after class XII, he was determined to do Diploma in Computer Engineering from NTTF.

He really had to work extremely hard. That's when he showed his real character. It was tough but he did not give it up. He was very fortunate to have extremely dedicated volunteers help him through this .One of the most fulfilling moments in our lives is when we see a child grow into an adult: Taking up responsibilities; Being accountable for their actions.

Today Harikrishnan is happy working in a networking company. His mother has stopped working as a maid. It was a memorable day when he served a meal to all the children with his hard earned money. Today he is a hero for all the youngsters in ACT. I remember the day when he got his first salary. He just donated the entire money to ACT. I was totally speechless. He stood very shyly and said “Thank you for scolding me. Today I am always on time for work.”

Story of one of our children who makes us incredibly proud.

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KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS 2014-15• InkeepingwithACT’sChildProtectionPolicy,SexEducationandPersonalSafetyclasseswereheld for all the children over 5 workshop days. The youngest participant was 4 years old and the oldest, in college. The classes helped the children learn about their rights and the ways in which they could protect themselves from abuse of any kind. The classes were interactive and had lots of audio-visual aids. As a continuum of the policy, we have installed CCTVs both in the Resource Center and the Learning Center as part of our many efforts to safeguard the children of the Trust.

• ACT has collaboratedwith theHippocampus LearningCenters Pvt.Ltd to improve the basicMaths and English skills in our children who are first generation literates. This is in continuation with our Foundational Maths and English Programs. The Hippocampus Basic English and Basic Maths program is going full steam ahead five days a week, one hour a day, wherein the children read to improve their comprehension, vocabulary, conversational skills and ability to use the dictionary.

In the second hour, they work out Maths problems around the four basic applications. Our efforts to build a sound foundation in basic Maths and fluency in Reading and comprehension of English were extended to the new batch of joinees to the Trust. Currently 80 children between Classes IV and IX undergo an hour of English and Maths 5 days a week. Nearly 35 volunteers take turns to conduct this program.

• ACT has spent time, money and effort toimprove the infrastructure and facilities at the Murphy Town Government Tamil School, which we have adopted. The toilets have been repaired finally. There are overhead water tanks along with flat bed water storage cement tubs for hot summer days. The toilets have doors. The walls and floors are neatly tiled. The walkway to the row of toilets have cement block marking the way. There is a separate water distribution unit so that children can wash the plates and this area also has the filtered drinking water facility so that all the children can drink safe potable water. ACT also maintains the flower and fruit garden in the school.

• AYV final movie screening at the ChowdiahMemorial Hall. While ACT students created 5 entries one was unanimously voted by all the children of the Trust as this year’s final entry in the competition. The movie highlighted the need for self- defence training especially for girls. Two of our students were also interviewed by a Bangalore

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daily since this year’s entry from ACT received a lot of excitement and applause at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall.Educators’ Workshop at AYV: In our third year of participation, 30 new children from Class VIII upwards have enrolled in American India Foundation’s “Create with Purpose” program. 2 senior girls have been chosen to be the Educators. The workshop taught them the finer elements of making movies: shooting, angles, editing and doing all this with a social focus.AYV Summer Camp: A Movie making workshop was conducted by Mentor Satyanarayana of America India Foundation. The 30 hours’ workshop inspired our high school and college going children to write scripts, learn camera techniques, act, edit and more…

• MajjaRun:ACTchildrenalongwithFossilourcorporateCareSupporterparticipatedintheTCS World 10k Run.

• Presentation by ACT Students at CGI: In aunique fund raising event organized by CGI our senior children spoke about their lives, Dreams, and association with ACT to several groups of employees of CGI.

• 124 volunteers from Synopsis spent 8 hourseach,totalling almost 1000 volunteering hours.

• Mentoring Program: 12 senior children arecurrently undergoing one-on-one Mentoring with executives and managers from PWC. The mentors provide a safe environment where the children can ask and answer questions, make presentations, attend mock interviews and participate in Group Discussions.

• SingingstudentscelebratingChristmaswithDitiAkka & Sujata Aunty:The ACT choir consisting of 7 girls kept the guests of Taj Vivanta enthralled with their rendition of popular Yule tide carols. The guests tapped their feet in tune with our choristers and there was many an encore!

• Ultimate Frisbee starts training our children:Volunteers from the NGO Ultimate Frisbee have started weekend classes to create a team that will be ready to participate seriously with other similar teams. The game encourages both boys and girls to play in the spirit of camaraderie where they iron out issues also as a team.

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ALUMNI SPEAK

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MOTHERS' SPEAK

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INDIVIDUAL DONATIONS 2014-2015

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

NAMEAbhijit MukherjeeAdarsh S LAdvaith RaoAjanta DebAjay KhatriAmitava DattaAnant Jeet SinghAnil GuptaAnil K GopalanAnil KamarajuAnish JosephAnisha SabharwalAnita PujariAnitha ManjappaiahAnkita RathAnusha GowrisankarArpita DattaArundhati MitterAshish PuravankaraAshok Balaji RAshutosh GautamAshutosh VaidyaAvinash GiridharAvinash P Hegde, Axel VogelsangB. ThiagarajanB.Anila RaniB.R. PrasannaBadari PrasadBalaji RanganathanBhargava GantiBhavna SamtaniBhuvan SarwateBinesh Andhitharayil SomarajanBuddhadeb DattaC.R.RaghunandanCapt Rajan RamkumarChaitanya Yadav B VChandrika GururajCharit MenonChavakula Naga Venkata Vijaya KrishnaChiranth SubbaramuDarshan Parag ShahDeepa RaghavanDeepthi K Nair

Dhanya SukumaranDinesh SethiyaDitipriya dasDr J Bhavani RameshDr.Sudha TinaikarG RaghupathyGanapathy NallasivanGanesan KittuGanesh Babu KGauri Jayant SahaGautam DattaGeetha SubramanianGopal Ananthanarayanan IyerGurudutt KalambiHema HattangadyHimadri GuptaI S N PrasadIndu BhandiaJagan Mohan RJalma JanakiramanJaspreet Singh VirdeeJatin PatelJhanaarthanan GopalanJigishkumar Jitendrakumar ThakkarJoju K VargheseJoseph Kurian ThengumpalliKaruna SivasailamKiran N DonniKrishna Prasad U VKrishnamurthy KrishnanLakshmi HarishLokesh Ganesh MurthyLovepreet Singh KheraMahendran SathiyamoorthiMahesh J MurthyManishKumarManmeet SinghMark SilgardoMinal PrabhuMythrreeyi KrishnamoorthyN SivaSailamN Vijai KumarNagaraja Rao SulakeNagaraju MangalaNagesh Pai

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Nageswara Raju MNamita GuptaNamitha Krishnan VimalaNaveen RajasekjaranNeena JoshiNeeta KurianNiroopkumar MohanakumarNK JainPradipta BanerjeePramila SrinivasPravash SwainPriyanka RaghunandanPurushotham BalaramanRadhika ArvindamRaghavendra AnipakalaRaghavendra NavadRajesh S NairRakesh JainRakesh SrivastavaRamanathan MeyyappanRamesh Babu BandiRamprakash ShankaraRavi AdhikarlaRavikumar MariappaRavindra Mukund AthalyeRavindra YerramilliReshmi GhoshRitu GoyalRobert Dinakaran JobSadanand PatilSampathkumar VemulaSamsudeen Abdul AzeezSaravana MohanSatish ReddySharadaShilpi ChhabraShyam KeswariShyam SunderShyamala ValluriSimon PritishSivadas E PSmitha AshokSnehal JainSohaila MallapurSomashekar Seetharamaiah

Sri SathishChandra R TrasiSridhar RamamurthySridhar RanganathanSrinivasan TrSubashChandraDattaSubhashini KrishnaswamySudhakarSudhir SubbaramanSundeep YerapotinaSunil NairSuresh KotteSusan ThomasSwetaleena BaxlaT.C.Meenakshi SundaramTapas ChatoopadhayaTushar Shripad NarlawarVandita SharmaVarsha Veerendra PatilVeeramare GowdaVenkatakrishnan GMVenkatesha K RamaiyerVibha NahataViswanathan RajeswaranVivek KrishnamoorthyYalakanti Mahesh Kumar

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe following individuals provided in-kind donations to ACT, from sweets to school supplies, storybooks to cameras, and many other gifts!

AdityaAnil Gupta

Ashmita MukherjeeBhanumati Shivakumar

Deepak AgrawalDinesh

Divya Girish and Tanu BatraJessicaK.VijayaraghavanKanchan KeswaniManasa

Manisha KMeera Hegde

Nandini Gupta NithyaPallavi

Ramya Reinu Ojha

Resham SukhijaSahana Mukherjee

Sahja BegumSarja

Shajiah ShivaramakrishnanShyamala Velluri

Subash Chandra MaitraSwasti

Swetha ShettyVeena Raghunandan

Vibha NahataVivek Krishnamurthy

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CORPORATE ENGAGEMENTWe are grateful to the following companies and organisations for all they have done in the form of financial support, in kind donations, and volunteer time.

Adobe Youth VoicesAmerica India Foundation

AT&TBiocon Limited

Blooming Sepanouir & PecoleBook Pixie

CGI employeesCharities Aid Foundation America

CiscoCitrixCMR National Public SchoolCommunity Services of BangaloreDhampur Sugar

Dyuthi Charitable TrustFidelity Cares

Fit I AmFossil

Global Giving

HyattIDG Ventures India Advisors Pvt Ltd

Indian Tweels Co LtdKaybus India Pvt Ltd

Liverpool Football clubMallya Aditi Int. School

Menda FoundationNLSIU

Powers of 10Price Water House Coopers India Foundation

Satchidananda groupSynopsis

The Tooth FairyThomson Reuters

Ugly IndianUltimate FrisbeeUnmaad IIMB

VerizonVivanta By Taj MG Road

Vivanta By Taj Whitefield

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSVolunteers

ACT is a completely volunteer run organisation. Our volunteers teach dance, singing, karate, crafts and academics. They assist in our outings and events, and coordinate our Annual Day celebrations. We simply could not do what we do without our volunteers. This year, 108 volunteers gave innumerable hours to ACT.

We are very grateful to everyone who have taken time to help our children! We are happy to welcome the below new volunteers who joined us last year, as well as all of the U&I volunteers!

Abhishek Vijay Kumar

Adarsh

Aditya Patruni

Akansha Gupta

Akshay Paranjape

Amith Govind

Anita Shanker

Anagha Kulkarni

Anuradha Govind

Ashish Jugran

Ashwani Singh

Avinash S

Betsy Dye

Biju Menon

Dhara Bhatt

Divya Krishna

Dr.Kamini Jain

Francis Pinto

Guneet Singh Selhi

Habib Khan

Jagadeesh Uppalappa

Jaiprakash S

Jatin Patel

Jayashree Ravindranath

Kamala N

Kanishka Khaitan

Karthick

Kathakali Mukherjee

Kaushy Lal

Khushboo Gupta

Kritika Gupta

Kirthana N

Kiruthika Pandarinathan

Kuber V

Latika Menon

Madhumati Manjunath

Madhumita Chanda

Marianne Mulamottil Varghese

Marina Joseph

Mehta Divesh Bharat

Merlyn Paulose

Monisha K.S

Mrs.Sami Austin

Namrata

Neelprabha Barla

Nidhi Bhargav

Niharika Arora

Nisha Thadani

Nitya Chidambaram

Niveditha Sanjai

Niveditha Rai

Noorulain Saleem

Nupur Bhade

Pallavi Ayosla Balivada

Pallavi N Shetty

Paramajyoth SJ

Pranjali Deshpande

Prateek Sadhukhan

Prem Raj

Priya Singh

R.Pranav

Radha Siddhanti

Rae Zachariah

Ragini Menon

Rahul Murali Krishnan

Rashika Kaul

Rasika Priya Narayanan

Ravi Jaikumar

Rishika Gundi

Rohil Verma

Roshni Mandal

Sandhya Kunjur

Sanjiti Sharma

Shahshwati Da Lunha

Sherene Rao

Shrikar Amirisetty

Shruthi Chander

Siddharth Mundle

Smrithi Punnose

Sonali Anand Agarwal

Subhadra Unny

Suranjita Haldar

Sunaina Jaji

Supriya

Susanna Thomas

Tara Ramkumar

Theja Kaibulira

Umika Paul

V.Sudha

Vandana N D

Vanitha Mary

Varuna Jeetender

Veena Menon

Vibha Nahata

Zahra Fathima

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Change a life today!Donate your time - one hour makes a difference!Make a contribution - Rs. 14,000/- supports one child for a yearCheques to be drawn in favour of Ashwini Charitable Trust. Donations to ACT are exempt under Section 80-G

Description Amount (INR)

School Fees 5,500

Bag 400

Shoes 300

Birthday Cake 240

Socks 30

Snacks @10 for 360 days 3,600

Stationery 250

Special Meals @95 twice a month 2,280

Vaccines 600

Protein Mix @50 per month 600

Outings 200

Total 14,000

Donations:ashwinitrust.org/ACT_Contribute.html

Volunteers: info@ashwinitrust.org

International Donors:Global Giving: www.globalgiving.org

CAF America: www.cafamerica.org

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CORPORATE CSR - DAY LONG TEAM EVENTS• Teaching a craft

• Teaching / sharing their relevant skill set (tech, accounting, etc.)

• Field trip chaperone/assistants

• Employability skills workshops - resume writing, interview prep, computer training

• Soft skills training - team building, group discussions

• School upkeep - painting school classrooms, setting up computer labs & science lab, gardening

• Host medical camps

• Sponsor school supplies

• Teacher training for teachers at government schools

• Host students for a campus visit

• Gardening

Children’s activities• Academic classes

• Music

• Computers

• Dance

• Art

• Photography

• Sports

• Reading

• Counselling

• Birthdays

• Annual Day

• Diwali

Admin activities• Office administration work

• Fund raising

• Technology support

• Social media communications

• Maintenance of computers, tech equipment

• Librarian

• General communications

INDIVIDUALS (WEEKLY)

ACT - NOW

MONTHLY, ANNUALLY, PERIODIC• Christmas

• Kite flying

• Field trip chaperone/ assistant

• Mentoring

• Crafts

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This year, the organization has achieved a 18% increase in donations over the previous year, and recorded the highest level of donations to date.

ACT continues to maintain and grow a large active network of individual donors. Individual donors account for 41% of total funds received.

In FY 2015, Rs. 28.3 lakh was donated by 546 individuals. Donations of Rs. 5000/- or less were received from 408 individuals.

CONTRIBUTION FROM DONOR TOWARDS GENERAL FUND

INDIVIDUAL DONOR CONTRIBUTIONS

> 50000 - 9 donors

30%

<Rs 1000 - 248 donors

5%

Rs 10,001 - 20,000 - 31 donors

14%

Rs 20,001

- 50,000 - 12 donors

15%

Rs 1,001 - 5,000 - 160 donors

13%

Rs 5,001 - 10,000 - 86 donors

23%

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INCOME BREAKDOWN

EXPENSES

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The increase in donations has allowed ACT to increase both admissions and programming in FY 2015. Child Development activities funding increased compared to the past year. This meant both accepting additional children and increased the expenditure towards children development by 7.65% per child compared to last year.

AVERAGE SPEND PER CHILD

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CONTRIBUTION FROM FCRA

Total FCRA Donation - Rs. 14,52,677

3% 18%

11%

16%

8%

43%

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AN ODE TO THE VOLUNTEERS

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ACT is a volunteer run organisation. Thank you to our many volunteers who make our work at ACT possible!

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Ashwini Charitable TrustNo. 3, St. John's Road CrossNear Ulsoor Lake, Bangalore - 560 042Tel: +91 80 40924050, Mob: +91+9243198157 www.ashwinitrust.org