Sewa International Usa Faq_ver 1.1

8/3/2019 Sewa International Usa Faq_ver 1.1

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Sewa International FAQ of 5

FAQ – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT SEWA INTERNATIONAL

BACKGROUND

What is Sewa International?

SEWA International is a 501(c)(3) Hindu Faith-

based nonprofit charity run by dedicated

volunteers, from all sections of the community.

Where are all your Chapters?

38 Chapters in 20 Metro areas of 22 US States. STA

TECHAPTER

STA

TECHAPTER

1 CA Sacramento 21 NY Rochester

2 CASan Francisco

(Bay Area)22 OH Akron

3 CA San Diego 23 OH Cincinnati

4 CO Denver 24 OH Columbus

5 FL Ft. Lauderdale 25 OH Cleveland

6 FL Miami 26 OH Columbus

7 FL Tampa 27 OR Portland

8 GA Atlanta 28 PAHarrisburg

9 IL Bloomington 29 PA Philadelphi

a10 IL Chicago 30 PA Pittsburgh

11 ILQuad Cities/

Davenport IA31 TN Memphis

12 KY Louisville 32 TX Austin

13 MA Boston 33 TXFort

Worth/Dal

las

14 MD Greenbelt 34 TX Houston

15 NC Raleigh 35 TXSan

Antonio

16 NC Greensboro 36 VATysons

Corner

17 NJ Trenton 37 VT Burlington

18 NY Albany 38 WA Seattle

19 NY Long Island

20 NYNew York City -

Queens

When was Sewa International started in theUSA?

Sewa International was started in India in 1989.

Outside of India, the Sewa movement took root in

UK in 1991 and ever since has spread over 17

countries.

Sewa International in the USA was started in

2003 and is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) nonprofit

charity since 2004.

Where is Sewa Office in the US?

As a modern nonprofit, Sewa has developed a

unique model of a geographically distributed,

volunteer-based management approach. Using

the Internet creatively with fluid groups and

social networking tools, Sewa leverages Web

resources (online conferences/ meetings, Skype,

Facebook, Twitter, etc), and manages with only

two physical meetings per year.

Sewa Executive team is volunteer based. We hire

for key positions (accounting,

Physical Sewa Offices:

Houston, TX: Accounting Office (donor receipts/

reimbursements):

Donor Relations Office: Bloomington IL.

Grants Development Office: Washington, DC

Back Office: Bangalore and Bhagyanagar

(Hyderabad), India.

FINANCES

What is your Administrative overhead?

Very nominal - 4% including credit card

processing fees and other administrative work

fees.

What was Sewa’s Revenue?

See Annual Reports.




Can I see your Annual Report to know how

you raise and disburse resources?

“Annual Reports" are at:

http://sewausa.org/annual-reports

Or request a copy by e-mailing [email protected]

MANAGEMENT

Who are your Board of Directors/Trustees?

See Annual Report. Are Sewa Board of Directors/Trustees paid?

No. They volunteer their time. Who is President/VP/Executive Team?

See Annual Report.

Are President/VP/Executive Team paid?

No. They volunteer their time. This way we keep

the overheads low.

Are Sewa employees paid for their work?

Sewa is a volunteer based, volunteer run

organization and hires minimal employees based

on specific project need. Even its Executive Team(Board of Directors, President, VP, etc.) is

volunteer based. BENEFICIARIES OF SEWA FUNDING/PROJECTS

Who are the beneficiaries?

Who does Sewa provide funding to?

NGOs that have a good track record will be the

beneficiaries of the funds collected by Sewa.

What percentage of funds raised by Sewa go to

US and International projects?

Sewa ‘goal’ for a funding distribution is 30% US

to 70% International projects annually.

Disasters by definition are unpredictable. Hence,

it is not possible to predict beforehand such

distribution since in a particular year disaster

relief/rehab forms a significant portion of fundsdisbursed.

How does Sewa choose the projects it

supports?

Sewa has a wide network of partner charities in

the needy areas, to assist causes that have an

immediate need for assistance, such as: natural

calamities, uprooted/estranged groups of people

and/or health/education related issues.

Our selection process is based on the values of

trust, transparency, partnership and

accountability. These standards help our Sewa

team choose wisely when investing our efforts

towards any cause.

How does Sewa evaluate the projects it

supports?

Sewa has developed standards recently that each

project that it supports should confirm to for

evaluation. Sewa budgets 3-7% of the Programfunds for evaluation.

DONATION AND FUNDING

Does Sewa receive government funding?

As an NGO (non-government organization), Sewa

does not receive any direct government funding

allowing us to remain independent, making

unbiased evaluations of government policies and

programs. Our Donors fund all our programs.

The government has extended certain tax and

duty exemptions, enabling minimize costs.

In that case, how does Sewa raise resources?

Through two main routes:

mailto:[email protected]







- Individual and organizational Donations in Cash

and / Or Kind.

- Some may sponsor the costs of educationand/or health inputs to a child or group or family.

How does Sewa cover its own costs

(overheads)

Sewa’s organizational costs are covered by:

- Raising Donations

- Majority Workers are Volunteers

- Infrastructure, Office Supplies and Other

necessities are made available by donations

in kind and/or fiscal contributions.

We do have an on-going need for your support

and contributions for equipment, corpus funds,

skills and services. It is support of this nature that

enables us to focus on our activities in the field

rather than on our own viability. Every

contribution in these areas frees resources and

enhances our capacities.

The need is HUGE! Will my small contribution

make a difference?

Sure it will. In fact, we estimate that something as

small as the purchase of a T-shirt and having

donation drives with friends helps various

projects including Bhutanese Empowerment,

Diwali Food Drive.

SEWA FUNDED/INVOLVED PROJECTS

What projects is Sewa involved in?

What does Sewa do/fund?

Sewa’s projects fall under t wo categories:

US Domestic o Bhutanese Refugee Empowerment (BRE)

Project (provide funding/ volunteers)

o Disaster Relief (provide volunteers)

o Community projects

International Projects (provide funding)

o Disaster relief/rehab

o Development projects in

Child Welfare

Education

Health (slum/rural/tribal)

Women empowerment

Tribal Welfare Environment

Microenterprise

What are examples of Sewa Projects?

See Brochure and Annual Reports.

How are resources used?

Resources are distributed based on the need of

the projects undertaken by Sewa at the time. The

level of emergency will dictate where funds are

distributed first.

Currently resources are being used for:

1. Infrastructure –building, equipment, etc.

2. Education Programs – Social workers,

Supplies and Infrastructure.

3. Awareness Outreach Efforts.

4. General Supplies, Health Drives and Office

Costs.

How does Sewa work with refugees in the US?

What is Bhutanese Refugee Project in the US?

Sewa adopted the Bhutanese Refugee

Empowerment (BRE) project as its Flagship

project in the US in 2008.

Under the BRE project, all Sewa Chapters focuses

their energies on assisting children and families

through education programs such as ESOL classes

for adults and State and National Exam

preparation for teens (SAT/ACT), College Prep,

Financial Aid (FAFSA), Income Tax Returns

Assistance, etc.

Pesticide free vegetable farming, hand-loomcarpet microenterprise, sewing and nutrition

clubs are some of the other projects.

SEWA is continuously evolving to meet the needs

of this growing community.

What other projects that Sewa Chapters do?




Sewa chapters are involved in projects such as

Health fairs, Food drives, Adopt-a-highway,

Cricket-for Charity, Talent-for-Charity, Habitat for

Humanity, Inner City Tuition, SAT prep for theneedy, Temple/Synagogue/Church cleaning, and

other local projects.

For more information see Hinduism Today Jan

2010 article (on Sewa Website in Press Room).

HOW CAN I HELP?

Financial support

In-kind donations (car and van donation,

furs, clothes, jewelry, furs, etc.)

I. To Donate Cash

I.A. Single Time Donation

Online donations (credit card, PayPal, Google

Checkout)

http://www.sewausa.org/contribute-sewa-

usa

Mail Your Contribution: Donation by

personal check, payable to "Sewa

International" and mail it to:

Sewa International

3908 Westhollow Parkway

Houston TX 77082

Tel: (708) USA SEWA

(708) 872-7392

I.B. Periodic Withdrawal

Donor can now sign up so that the

contribution is transferred from your

donation from your bank on periodic basis,

i.e. every month. Form can be found at

http://sewausa.org/contribute-sewa-usa

Send completed form to address above or fax

to 1-510-405-8654.

I.C. Can I donate in Indian Rupees?

Yes you can! To donate in Indian Rupees,

please send your contribution to:

Sewa International49, Deendayal Upadhyaya Marg,

New Delhi -110002 India

Tel: +91 11 23232850

+91 11 23232850

+91 11 23232850 or 23684445

Email: sewainternationaldelhi {at] gmail

(dot) com

II. To Donate in Kind

II.A. Used Car, Boat or RV

It is simple. All you have to do is contact Donation Line and provide them

Sewa USA client code 2066. Donation Line

accepts used cars (working or not), RVs, boats

or other vehicles.

Donation Line Contact Information

Donation Line, LLC

Toll free phone: (888) 448-3345

Fax: (860) 228-9037

E-Mail: [email protected]

II.B. Clothes, Fur, Jewelry, etcThese donations are accepted only by Sewa

Chapters. Please contact the nearest Sewa

Chapter or call (708) USA-SEWA [ (708) 872-

7392].

III. To Donate Time/Talent

Become a Volunteer.

o Contact your local Chapter

o Spread the word by referring your

friends, family members, co-workers toSewa International.

o Contact temples and local community

organizations and inform them about the

service activities of Sewa International.

o Start a chapter in your region to create

awareness and raise funds for the

various service projects of Sewa

http://www.sewausa.org/contribute-sewa-usa

















International in India and other

countries. Contact VP Organization

Darshan at 574- 432-4238 or

email [email protected] on how to start a chapter.

o Become a volunteer with an existing

chapter in your region and participate in

meetings and fundraising events.





Sewa International Usa Faq_ver 1.1

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