Ekya
Past Projects
Since Inception, Ekya has provided close to $15,000 to development projects in South Asia and Chicago
Adopt A Family
During the holiday season 2009, Ekya partnered with the United Way of Chicagoland to support 5 local families. Ekya members bought presents for the members of these families, and provided them with some necessities to help get them through some difficult times. Ekya's grant was approximately $500.
Ekya partnered with Unltd India to support a social entrepreneur, Vinaykumar G. Unltd India is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mumbai, that seeks out and supports social entrepreneurs. In this case, Ekya has forged a unique partnership to directly fund one of their fellows, Vinay. The Villagestore is Vinay's brainchild, and seeks to create market opportunities for rural artisans. The Villagestore sells ecologically friendly, sustainable artisan goods that are made solely by the working poor in rural India. So far, Vinay has shown great potential, and has provided countless income-generating opportunities for those that need it most. Ekya's support was $2,700.
Greater Chicago Food Depository
The recent financial crisis has put significant pressure on food pantries throughout the Chicagoland area. For the first time in recent history, the Greater Chicago Food Depository believes that it will not be able to successfully meet demand - leaving thousands hungry. Ekya decided to help support the local institution by asking members to fast for 24 hours and raise money. Together, we raised $3,500, which will be used by the GCFD to help distribute food to Chicago's hungry.
A low-cost, high-impact program aimed at reducing mother mortality rates during childbirth. This project is in conjunction with Dr. Shiban Ganju, a well-known and respected Public Health advocate. Ekya donated $3200 to the project in March 2009 to help the new organization fund a metrics and impact analysis that could be used to determine how successful their project was. Here are some of their most up-to-date figures and analytics.
Ekya had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. Sandeep Ahuja and Dr. Shelly Batra and learning more about their organization, Operation Asha, a group dedicated to eradicating Tuberculousis in India. Operation Asha stands out as an accountable and transparent NGO - their dedication to measurement and impact is unparalleled and have found successful ways to bring down the cost of treating those that are affected by TB. While other organizations spend nearly $300/patient, Operation Asha spends $15. Ekya donated $500 to Operation Asha in Jan 2009 and have since also linked them up with other donor groups in hopes of continual support.
Manav Sadhna, is an NGO based at Gandhi Ashram in Ahmedabad. Manav Sadhna is a registered trust in India and a 501(c)3 non-profit in the USA. The organization is comprised of a young group of dedicated individuals working for the upliftment of poor and needy children. Ekya helped Manav Sadhna market their handmade greeting cards during the 2008 holiday season
In late 2007, a devastating cyclone destroyed portions of the Bangladeshi coastline, leaving many victims in its wake. At the time, Ekya was still in its infancy, and trying to get a better understanding of how we could make a difference. We decided to do some research and find the most effective disaster relief agency in Bangladesh and provide them with immediate funding so they could make a direct impact to those most affected. Amongst all of the organizations that we looked at, only BRAC consistently showed high levels of disaster relief success. We donated $3800 in Feb 2008.
2009 ekya Incorporated
Ekya is a 501(c)3 Charity
