Foundation For Excellence

Last updated
Foundation For Excellence
Founded1994
Founder Prabhu Goel
Poonam Goel
TypeNon-profit
FocusProvide funds for higher education to students in India who are academically gifted and come from very low income families
Location
Area served
Education
ProductScholarships
Key people
Prabhu Goel
Poonam Goel
Kanwal Rekhi
Romesh Wadhwani
Volunteers
700
Website ffe.org

The Foundation for Excellence is a publicly supported non-profit organization. [1] The FFE's focus is to provide funds for higher education to students in India who are academically gifted and from low-income families.

Contents

Since its inception, the foundation has provided over $11.4 million in over 81,590 scholarships to 28,782 deserving students across 28 states in India.

Objective

The objective driving the programs is "No Scholar Left Behind." FFE believes that these young people will be a significant part of a socially and economically stronger India in the near future.

With the help of donors and volunteers, FFE plans to keep on with its efforts until every deserving student in India gets the education that she or he deserves.

Mission

The mission of Foundation For Excellence (FFE) is to help exceptionally talented but economically underprivileged students in India to pursue their higher education in Engineering, medicine, Pharmacy and Law. FFE awards scholarships to recent high school students who have overcome the adversity of their family's circumstances to be among the top ranked in national/state level common entrance tests, based on their secured admissions to quality engineering and medical colleges. In addition to the financial help FFE provides employability skills and mentoring for the complete development of Scholarship awardees.

History

Since its inception in 1994 to the end of 2015, the Foundation has provided around 38,168 scholarships to 14,895 students for an amount of $11.4 million USD.

The Foundation is exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (a) as an organization described in section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is also exempt from state franchise or income tax under Section 23710d of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California. The Foundation's employment identification number is 77-0474749.

FFE's principal office is located in Sunnyvale, California, while another office is located in Bangalore City in India.

The Scholarship Program

The Foundation offers scholarships to students who have a proven financial need to enable them to pursue their studies at the high school or graduate level for studies in India. The scholarships are awarded on an annual basis with renewal dependent on continued academic excellence and financial need.

Scholars are selected based on a set of eligibility requirements. The requirements are based on approved courses of study, eligible institutions, academic standards and financial need.

The applicants are qualified by volunteers called "Facilitators" who perform background verification on students. More than 500 volunteer Facilitators are part of the program's network spread across the country in 25 states. The entire process, from application to decision making typically takes 2–4 months. No discrimination is made on the basis of caste, religion, region and gender during the process of awarding the scholarships.

Scholarships are awarded on an annual basis. Renewal of a scholarship is dependent on continued academic excellence and financial need.

The program so far has awarded more than 38,168 scholarships. Students who have graduated with these scholarships have had a positive effect on their careers and personal lives.

The India Trust

FFE has established an organization in India called the Foundation For Excellence India Trust (FFEIT). The organization is recognized as a charitable trust under Section 12A(a) of the Indian Income-Tax Act of 1961. Donations to the Trust are eligible for tax deduction under Section 80G of the Indian Income Tax Act of 1961.

FFEIT has the same mission as that of the Foundation For Excellence (FFE), that is, to bring about a transformation in the lives of economically underprivileged and academically brilliant students in India. This mission is accomplished providing scholarships and other forms of assistance to students pursuing higher education at the higher secondary school, college degree and professional course levels in India. The Trust’s program is open to any student in India and there is no discrimination on the basis of caste, community, gender, religion, region or state.

FFEIT is a member of Credibility Alliance, [2] Mumbai. Credibility Alliance is an initiative of voluntary organizations in India that seeks to enhance accountability, transparency, and good governance within the voluntary sector.

A Board of Trustees under the overall guidance of the FFE India Advisory Board manages the Trust.

The Trust’s registered and administrative office is located in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Adopt a Scholar Program (ASP)

Various fund-raising programs and activities are under development to meet the growing needs of the Scholarship Program. One of these is Sponsor A Student/Adopt a Student Program (ASP).

The Sponsor/Adopt a Student Program provides an opportunity to donors to make contributions directed towards students with characteristics meeting the donor's preference. For example, the donor could indicate that the student to be sponsored be studying at a specified educational level, or be of a particular gender, or be studying for a particular course of study, or hail from a particular state/district/town in India. The Foundation will periodically provide donors with information on the students funded from out of the donor's contributions. The program:

Related Research Articles

School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools. It is the subject of fierce debate in various state legislatures across the United States.

A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organization, also known as a non-business entity, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in contrary with an entity that operates as a business aiming to generate a profit for its owners. A nonprofit is subject to the non-distribution constraint: any revenues that exceed expenses must be committed to the organization's purpose, not taken by private parties. An array of organizations are nonprofit, including some political organizations, schools, business associations, churches, social clubs, and consumer cooperatives. Nonprofit entities may seek approval from governments to be tax-exempt, and some may also qualify to receive tax-deductible contributions, but an entity may incorporate as a nonprofit entity without securing tax-exempt status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charitable trust</span> Irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes

A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes. In some jurisdictions, it is a more specific term than "charitable organization". A charitable trust enjoys varying degrees of tax benefits in most countries and also generates goodwill. Some important terminology in charitable trusts includes the term "corpus", referring to the assets with which the trust is funded, and the term "donor," which is the person donating assets to a charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gates Cambridge Scholarship</span> Scholarship program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Cambridge. The scholarship is one of the most competitive and prestigious in the world, with around 1.3% of applicants receiving an award in recent years.

A 529 plan, also called a Qualified Tuition Program, is a tax-advantaged investment vehicle in the United States designed to encourage saving for the future higher education expenses of a designated beneficiary. In 2017, K–12 public, private, and religious school tuition were included as qualified expenses for 529 plans along with post-secondary education costs after passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B.M.S. College of Engineering</span> Engineering college in Bangalore, Karnataka, India

B.M.S. College of Engineering or Bhusanayana Mukundadas Sreenivasaiah College of Engineering (BMSCE) is a private engineering college in Basavanagudi, Bangalore, India. It was started in 1946 by Bhusanayana Mukundadas Sreenivasaiah and is run by the B.M.S. Educational Trust. It is affiliated with Visvesvaraya Technological University and became autonomous in 2008. BMSCE is located on Bull Temple Road, Basavanagudi, diagonally opposite to the famous Bull Temple. Though a private college, it is partially funded by the Government of Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charitable organization</span> Nonprofit organization with charitable purpose

A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial endowment</span> Legal structure for managing investments

A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are often structured so that the inflation-adjusted principal or "corpus" value is kept intact, while a portion of the fund can be spent each year, utilizing a prudent spending policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajiv Gandhi Foundation</span>

The Rajiv Gandhi Foundation was established on 21 June 1991. The foundation works on a range of issues including development of knowledge, health, disability, authorization of the destitute, livelihoods and natural resource management. Its current focus areas are community welfare, literacy, health and special programmes for children and women. All donations to the foundation are tax deductible to the extent of 50 percent under section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code and is one of over 29 types of nonprofit organizations exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set out the requirements for obtaining such exemptions. Many states refer to Section 501(c) for definitions of organizations exempt from state taxation as well. 501(c) organizations can receive unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, and unions.

In the United States, a donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. To participate in a donor-advised fund, a donating individual or organization opens an account in the fund and deposits cash, securities, or other financial instruments. They surrender ownership of anything they put in the fund, but retain advisory privileges over how their account is invested, and how it distributes money to charities.

A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the US.

The California State Student Association (CSSA), also known as the Cal State Student Association, is an "unincorporated income tax-exempt association". CSSA is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code and it is exempt from state franchise or income tax under California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 23701d. CSSA is registered with the California Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts.

Until 1969, the term private foundation was not defined in the United States Internal Revenue Code. Since then, every U.S. charity that qualifies under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code as tax-exempt is a "private foundation" unless it demonstrates to the IRS that it falls into another category such as public charity. Unlike nonprofit corporations classified as a public charity, private foundations in the United States are subject to a 1.39% excise tax or endowment tax on any net investment income.

The Commission on Private Philanthropy and Public Needs, better known as the Filer Commission, was formed in 1973 to study philanthropy, the role of the private sector in American society, and then to recommend measures to increase voluntary giving. Organized as a privately supported citizen's board, the Commission came into being through the efforts of John D. Rockefeller III, Wilbur D. Mills, George P. Shultz, and William E. Simon. The selection of participants on the Commission reflected a desire for diversity of experience and opinions and included heads of religious and labor groups, former cabinet secretaries, corporate and fd Foreign Securities Corporation and President of Metropolitan Museum of Art.

  1. Edwin D. Etherington, Former President of Wesleyan University and Trustee of Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
  2. Bayard Ewing, Tillinghast, Collins and Graham and Vice Chairman of United Way of America.
  3. Frances Tarlton Farenthold, Past Chairperson of National Women's Political Caucus.
  4. Max M. Fisher, Chairman of United Brands Company and Honorary Chairman of United Foundations.
  5. Reverend Raymond J. Gallagher, Bishop of Lafayette-in-Indiana.
  6. Earl G. Graves, Publisher of Black Enterprise and Commissioner of Boy Scouts of America.
  7. Paul R. Haas, President and Chairman of Corpus Christi Oil and Gas Company and Trustee of Paul and Mary Haas Foundation.
  8. Walter A. Haas Jr., Chairman of Levi Strauss and Company and Trustee of the Ford Foundation.
  9. Philip M. Klutznick, Klutznick Investments and Chairman of Research and Policy Committee and Trustee of Committee for Economic Development.
  10. Ralph Lazarus, Chairman of Federated Department Stores, Inc. and Former National Chairman of United Way of America.
  11. Herbert E. Longenecker, President Emeritus of Tulane University and Director of United Student Aid Funds.
  12. Elizabeth J. McCormack, Special Assistant to the President of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Inc.
  13. Walter J. McNerney, President of Blue Cross Association.
  14. William H. Morton, Trustee of Dartmouth College.
  15. John M. Musser, President and Director of General Service Foundation.
  16. Jon O. Newman, Judge, U.S. District Court and Chairman of Hartford Institute of Criminal and Social Justice.
  17. Graciela Olivarez, State Planning Officer and Director of Council on Foundations, Inc.
  18. Alan Pifer, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York.
  19. George Romney, Chairman of the National Center for Voluntary Action.
  20. William Matson Roth, Regent of University of California and Chairman of San Francisco Museum of Art.
  21. Althea T. L. Simmons, Director for Education Programs of the NAACP Special Contribution Fund.
  22. Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, Pastor of Zion Baptist Church, Philadelphia.
  23. David B. Truman, President of Mount Holyoke College.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of the People</span> Online university

The University of the People (UoPeople) is a non-profit private, distance education university.

White-Williams Scholars is an education charity that assists underprivileged children in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. It is one of the oldest charitable organizations in the United States. In 2011, White-Williams Scholars merged with Philadelphia Futures, another education organization in the area.

The US–China Education Trust is a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. Founded in 1998 by Ambassador Julia Chang Bloch, the first Chinese-American U.S. Ambassador, USCET seeks to promote China–United States relations through a series of education and exchange programs. The organization sponsors a variety of fellowships, conferences, workshops and exchanges, focused primarily on strengthening Chinese academic institutions related to the fields of American Studies, Media and Journalism, American Governance, and International Relations.

The National Society of Public Accountants (NSPA), later shortened to National Society of Accountants (NSA), is a professional association for tax and accounting professionals; NSA and its state affiliates represent more than 30,000 independent practitioners who provide accounting, tax, auditing, financial and estate planning, and management services to 19 million individuals and businesses. NSA's mission is to provide national leadership in the profession of accountancy and taxation through the advocacy of practice rights, and by the establishment and promotion of high standards in ethics, education, and professional excellence.

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation which provides scholarship programs to gifted students in the U.S. who have financial need. It offers academic advising and other support services to students from 8th grade to graduate school. Since 2000, it has awarded over $175 million in scholarships to nearly 2,300 students and more than $97 million in grants to organizations that serve gifted low-income students.

References

  1. "FFE.org".
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-12. Retrieved 2019-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

FFE In The News