On a quiet Sunday noon, Amit was glancing through the latest news on his phone. A few articles later, he came across a rather distressing article about children in India. It said, ‘almost half of India’s children are chronically malnourished and hunger is the main cause for illness among children.’ This led Amit to make a resolution — to donate to schools to ensure students are served hot and nutritious meals on every school day.
The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a Bengaluru-based NGO, gives you the chance to sponsor mid-day meals of children for an entire academic year. As a choice, you can also sponsor kitchen equipment or donate a vehicle to help strengthen the operations. Because meals are prepared for over 1.5 million children across India every day, the organisation ensures that the kitchen operations are efficient and food is delivered to schools on time.
Here’s a quick guide to all of Akshaya Patra’s donation options!
Donate online
Your contribution of Rs 750 can help in feeding nutritious mid-day meals to a child for an entire academic year. You can donate online by choosing the number of children you would like to sponsor for a year.
Donate a vehicle
With the help of Akshaya Patra’s blue bus, beneficiary schools receive their mid-day meals on time. You can donate a vehicle to the organisation and have you name or company logo displayed on the vehicle.
Sponsor kitchen equipment
Every morning, Akshaya Patra’s kitchens cook more than 1 lakh meals. While we focus on feeding more children, you can help us increase productivity by sponsoring a kitchen equipment.
Sponsor a school for a year
The organisation caters to over 10,948 government schools in India. You can now sponsor a government school’s mid-day meals for a year and help the students enjoy fresh and nutritious meals.
Donate in honour of someone
The organisation gives you the opportunity to make a thoughtful contribution—donating in honour of someone you admire. Through this, not only will you honour an individual, but also support the cause.
Donate in memory of someone
To cherish memories and to express love and respect, you can donate in memory of someone you love. Your donation to help sustain the mid-day meal programme will be valuable and appreciated for its thoughtfulness.
Donate for a special occasion
How do you wish to celebrate your birthday? Share your joy with Akshaya Patra beneficiaries by donating on your special day. Be it anniversary or birthday, you can make it more special by supporting a cause.
Donate through cheque/DD
You can write a Cheque or Demand Draft in the name of The Akshaya Patra Foundation. Since this is an offline donation, we can arrange a pick-up service or you send the cheque through post.
Make a donation via wire transfer
You can donate to Akshaya Patra through wire transfer. Once you submit your information on the website, one of Akshaya Patra’s representatives will get in touch with you to further the process.
Set ECS donation
You can transfer funds on a periodical basis by setting up an Electronic Clearance Service to make ECS donation. This is an easy and hassle-free mode of transferring funds.
For the organisation to continue operating on a large scale, you can make a contribution of your choice and help the Foundation achieve its mission of feeding 5 million children by 2020. With support from the Government and many philanthropists, The Foundation continues its school lunch operations across the country, running the world’s largest NGO-driven mid-day meal programme.
How will you benefit?
Donations to Akshaya Patra are eligible for 100% deduction under Section 35 AC / 80 GGA of the Indian Income Tax Act. When you make a donation, you will be given a receipt and a 100% Tax Exemption Certificate along with a ‘thank you’ letter via courier or post. The certificate and receipt which will reach you within 10 days of making the donation and can be used to avail 100% tax exemption for the respective financial year.