India has an estimated 165M people who live on less than 2.15 USD a day. While part of India is developing, there is another part that continues to struggle leading to an uneven development across the nation.
Based on our past experience, we believe that Development Entrepreneurs are the key to shaping an inclusive and progressive India. We therefore identify, nurture, and help scale entrepreneurs who are directly working with the poor
Your donation will go towards supporting development entrepreneurs as they grow their business, and directly benefit the poor by providing them livelihood, employment, and improving their overall wellbeing
As of 2023, Buddha Institute has inducted 22 fellows. Out of these 3 are women. Our entrepreneurs work in sectors as diverse as farm produce, forest produce, handicrafts, climate mitigation, among others. They hail from 10 states of India and are directly working with the poor in rural or semi-rural locations.
We invest time capital in growing and nurturing each one of our Fellows. Each Fellow is assigned an anchor and a dedicated mentor to guide them on business, financial, or social impact. In addition we provide them funding linked with achievement milestones, as well as access to government and private networks. We are committed to support development entrepreneurs till they scale and are successful in meeting both their business as well as social impact.
Buddha Fellows work in a range of businesses ranging from farm produce, to handicrafts, climate mitigation, and waste management. The common aspects across all Buddha Fellows’ enterprises are – they are for-profit enterprises, they directly impact the lives of poor, they demonstrate an ability to impact at least 25,000 lives in 5 years, and they track their business as well as social impact.
We track their impact on three parameters – Number of people uplifted, number of jobs created, and average annual increase in income of the poor. Collectively in less than two years, our Buddha Fellows have so far impacted over 125,000 lives, created 130 jobs, and have doubled the average annual income of their beneficiaries to approximately $4000 or $10.9 per day.
We invest $30,000 per Buddha Fellow. Out of this USD 15,000 goes directly to the Buddha Fellow on achieving their set milestones. A bulk of the remaining amount (40% or USD 6,000) goes towards the various activities and support we provide to nurture or mentor Buddha Fellows.
Yes whether contributing from India or the USA, your contribution will eligible for tax deduction. In the USA, FOBF, Inc is registered as a 501(c)(3) entity under IRS. In India, Education for Employability Foundation (E2F) has tax exemption under 80G and 12 A of Income Tax Act of India.
Yes! We invite people to contribute via tan, mann, or dhan towards our vision. You can join us as a mentor or as a friend/supporter. Please write to us on communications@thebuddhainstitute.org to find more ways of getting involved.
Friends of Buddha Fellowship, Inc,
Tax id 87-3774362,
and mail to 7842 Belknap Dr,
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Friends of Buddha Fellowship Inc.
Account at Middlesex Savings Bank
Routing Number: 211371227
Account Number: 167092023
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