The Indian community is
one of the fastest growing immigrant communities, over 2
million strong today. Many of its members are affluent
professionals and business owners with nearly 50%
acting as managers, professors, engineers and doctors. However, there is a segment of the
Indian population that can use support to afford a college education; with over 30% being service workers and 6% are out-of work. Surprisingly to many, about 12.2% live
below the poverty line, according to various sources.
Upakar was founded in 1997
and was created to assist Indian Americans who require financial assistance to
pursue an undergraduate degree at a
In the
past, 75 scholarships have been awarded in 18 states for students to attend a
variety of private and public colleges and universities. In past scholarship cycle, we received
over 100 applications for 7 new scholarships. Applications are generally available in
February; the application deadline is the end of April with the awards being
announced by the end of July. To
qualify for a scholarship, the applicant must be a
For the first time in 2005, Upakar
included a mentoring component in its scholarship program. All scholars must
keep Upakar regularly advised of their progress in their educational
institution. This can be done by sending an email after each semester or by
having detailed conversations on their current status and career plans with an
Upakar mentor. Mentors will seek to aid students in their transition and adjustment
to college and to aid them in finding internships and make career choices.
In 2004, Upakar initiated the
Community Ambassador Award to recognize an Indo-American who inspired
community service programs to benefit the greater society. The Ambassador Award
honors an individual who plays a leadership role in service to their community
outside of their own career. Our past ambassadors have helped free wrongly
imprisoned individuals and start health awareness programs in inner cities. This program is currently not active.
Upakar is
a non-profit, tax-exempt organization (501c3).
Since Upakar does not
receive any financing from governmental or large agencies, scholarship awards
are based exclusively on the tax-deductible one-time, monthly or annual
donations from companies, foundations, business executives and private
citizens. Please send your cash or credit
card contribution today, to make a difference in a young person’s
life. Please email upakarfoundation@hotmail.com
with any questions or for more information.
To help provide a
substantial base for future scholarships, Upakar wants to create an endowment
fund with a target of $1 million dollars.
The interest generated from the trust will be used eventually to fund
and expand the number of scholarships in the future years. To that end, generous
past donations made by Sanju Bansal,
Executive Vice President and COO of MicroStrategy,
and Dr. Rajan Iyer, a
founding board member, have helped seed the trust but much more help and
donations are needed to reach the final target.
View the 2007
Income Statement.
The
Levels of Upakar Support
RAKSHAK-Guardians
·
Support
at the level of $75,000 or higher.
·
The
establishment of this level of commitment would be through a one-time gift or
in irrevocable installments.
·
This
would lead to a “Named Endowment.”
·
Special
invitations to all Upakar sponsored events.
SAATHI-Fellows
·
Support
at the level of $20,000 or higher.
·
The
establishment of this level of commitment would be through a one-time contribution
or historical support.
·
The
board may, at its discretion, decide to name a temporary scholarship after the
individual/group making the contribution.
MITHRA-Friends
·
Support
at the level of $3,000 or higher.
·
The
establishment of this level of commitment would be through contribution made in
a calendar year.
·
Benefactors
in this group would support the general pool of scholarships.
SEVAK-Supporters
·
Support
at the level of $250 or higher.
·
The
establishment of this level of commitment would be through contribution made in
a calendar year.
·
Benefactors
in this group would support the general pool of scholarships.
For more information,
please email upakarfoundation@hotmail.com
Nirupama Rohatgi Chair
Anil
Sharma President
Nithya Nagarajan Treasurer
Nandini Kadambi Secretary
Meera Mukunda Chair,
Scholarship Committee
Gautam Mukunda Chair,
Mentorship Committee
Rajneesh
Aggarwal
Ajay
Ojha
Anita
Gupta
Kannan Ramaswamy
Rajan Iyer
Roshan Loungani
Sandhya Rao
Shekar Narasimhan