Letter from Shakeel 28 August , 2009

Shakeel is our awesome National Director of India.  Starting a few months ago, he has switched to running World Faith India full-time.  He sent me a letter explaining the work they are doing, so far with only $1,000 and I wanted to share it with all of you:

Dear Frank,

Just wanted to update you on recent events in India.

The funds has been transferred. that;s a great relief bcos my team was not able to go on streets for street contacts bcos of lack of money plus the non-formal education center we started was also in danger closing down. BIG THANKS for sending the funds. With this money we were able to buy some books and stationery for the children ( from ragpicking community) attending this education center.

Now we are having 7 members working actively for world faith India Chapter- Haq A Campaign for the rights of Homeless. Nobody is paid salary we all are working for it for free. the names are shakeel, akbar, nandlal, radheshyam, jaiprakash, zenab and lalit. we also have a working group of 21 members which met once a month.

That’s some update. Please let me know any developments from your side on the funding thing. The Indian Chapter is really growing in a very short time. Without any institutional support it will be difficult to sustain it for longer period.Now we need a office, a helpline to deal with crisis, some staff to handle emergencies arising at night, So there are many things where we are not able to intervene due to lack of funds.

Do keep me posted on any development.

thanks and regards,
Shakeel

Photos from informal school:

Days of Interfaith Youth Service 2009 12 April , 2009

As this time of year rolls again, World Faith is glad to announce that we are continuing to expand.  We have several chapters in development in India, and we are expecting new locations to take part in the Days of Interfaith Youth Service this year.

I know that I am hardly blogging these days, and that my posts have been infrequent, short, and more of a World Faith update system than a blog about relevant issues in the interfaith movement.  Give me some time and I will remedy the situation.  I just moved, am working several jobs while still developing World Faith, and find little time to keep up some of the small things.  Thank you to those of you who still read these!

An Interesting Topic: Accounting 14 November , 2008

Wait, don’t run away! I know it sounds incredibly boring… but it’s… ok well it is boring.

For those of you who are wondering why I haven’t written in a while, it is because I have been focusing on the less glamorous side of non-profit work: accounting and fundraising.  Between going back and forth with Citibank about our new account, setting up Paypal Donations and Facebook Causes, I have been applying to endless lists of grants from various foundations.

While having money in the bank for the first time in nearly a year is a good thing, we have only raised about $6,000 we need to go towards the $200,000 budget that we’d like for 2009.  Step by step, I hope we can come up with enough to at least mantain infrastructure for the growth we have had, which right now we are not able to do.  We are at a point where the lack of employees has began limiting our effectiveness, which is why I am focusing so much on fundraising.

So this is why I am writing less… I figure that banking strategies and grant proposals are less interesting than touring Sudan or being adopted by Syrian Druze (see previous posts).  I will be going to India for three weeks in January for the Humari Dunya project, and I am looking forward to that!

The Lunge: The Conviction becomes a Life Sentence 29 February , 2008

So the big question everyone is asking me:

“Frank, What’s next?”

Other than praying that I don’t fail my final two classes and working hard at the Italian culture organization, I have reached an epiphany. I will work full-time on World Faith after I graduate. I will take the Lunge

If finding a job isn’t intimidating, most people think it is crazy to attempt to be self-employed. However I am going a step further and doing so with a non-profit. I also run a record label, but I very well may close it during the summer if it does not progress profitably. So I will begin working to secure funding for the project between now and graduation. If by graduation we have not raised sufficient funds for full-time support, I will continue with my summer plans of developing and building our projects in India, Lebanon, and Egypt.

In the meantime we are considering adding a new program to the World Faith network which will essentially be a music camp for Palestinian and Israeli children in Israel. We are exploring logistically how that association would take form. Our programming team at NYU has grown to over 10 as begin planning for our WEEK of Interfaith Service, coming this April. This will be my last event as Chapter President of World Faith NYU, and begin my journey of realizing the worthy ideal of World Faith.

That’s all for now. I wish I had more to write, but as the opportunities abound, ambiguity resides. In the next 6 weeks I will be in conferences in Boston, the CGI in New Orleans, Chicago, and on a panel at the Q Conference in NYC. I see that my past two posts, over a month old each, are still on the top list, so its nice to know someone else out there is reading. As long as that’s the case I will try to keep writing…