Five benefits of donating

When you engage in any charitable act, it reflects the
compassionate, humane, and responsible side of you.

Often, we get caught up in the regular humdrum of life; we get so busy that we tend to overlook those who are in need of our support. While attending to our regular responsibilities and fulfilling the required duties, we miss to nurture the benevolent and compassionate traits in us. This is where NGOs come into play. NGOs are organisations that work at the ground level to bring about a tangible and sustainable change in the society. The work of these organisations encompasses issues related to empowerment, social development, environment protection, health, education, poverty, hunger and similar issues. Hence, by engaging with NGOs, be it in the capacity of a volunteer, donor, knowledge partner or a goodwill ambassador, you can create a huge impact.

In view of the significant role that NGOs play, even the government encourages individuals and businesses to engage with and contribute to charitable organisations!

The Income Tax Policy of Government of India clearly supports philanthropic contributions made towards charitable organisations and NGOs. As per Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, monetary contributions made towards a registered NGO or a charitable organisation qualifies to receive tax exemption on the donated amount. Whether the donor receives 100% exemption or 50% exemption on the donated amount depends on the cause and work of the charitable organisation.

Tax deductible donations have five benefits:

1. Aids the beneficiary NGO in its operations and helps the organisation to sustain and expand its service.
2. Positively impacts lives of beneficiaries of the NGO.
3. Upholds the values of compassion and generosity, as well as instils a sense of ‘giving back to the society’.  
4. Uplifts the community by making people aware, responsible, and a part of the solution for various issues.
5. Makes the donor eligible to receive tax exemption.

NGOs understand the worth of each penny and
ensures that the donation funds are utilised in the right way.

No matter what issue the NGO is working for, every bit of your support will be valued and looked forward to. So, you can choose to support an NGO depending on the cause you identify with most. For instance, if you want to support education and health of children hailing from socio-economically challenging backgrounds, then you can support NGOs like The Akshaya Patra Foundation that accept tax deductible donations. Akshaya Patra is one of the pioneer NGOs in India to start implementing the Midday Meal Programme. It has been providing nutritious school lunch to children in government schools and government-aided schools for the past 21 years. 

Currently, Akshaya Patra provides regular midday meals to 18,00,907 children studying in 19,039 schools across 58 locations of 13 States and 1 Union Territory. When you donate to this NGO:

1. You make nutritious food accessible to children, support their education, and help them to progress towards their dreams and goals.
2. The midday meals contribute to the overall development of children by enhancing their concentration and improving their performance in academics and co-curricular activities.
3. These meals improve attendance and reduces drop-out rate, thereby ensuring continuity in education.
4. You create a lasting impact in the lives of young, determined, and aspirational children.
5. You become eligible to receive tax exemption on your donated amount (applicable for donation of ₹500 and above).

Considering the cause and the diligence in financial transparency, Akshaya Patra is considered among the best NGO in India to donate to.

In conclusion, your one moment of compassion and contribution can create a phenomenal difference in the society. So, while you go about fulfilling the necessary responsibilities, do attend to your benevolent side too! Get double the benefit for making tax deductible donations – to support children by doing good while you save tax.

Make this world a better place to live through midday meals

Midday meals open the gates to schools and paves way for aspirations of lakhs of children across India.

Education is one of the most potential gamechanger in eliminating the vicious cycle of poverty-hunger-illiteracy. To support education of children belonging to socio-economically challenging backgrounds, Government of India has initiated several education schemes. Alongside, the introduction of Mid-Day Meal Scheme for government schools and government-aided schools was a huge boon for children. Midday meal acts as an incentive for parents to send their children to school with the hope that children will receive at least one full meal for the day. Once at school, children inevitably get introduced to academic lessons and other developmental activities. This not only contributes to the literacy factor, but also enables children to hone their talents as well as instils a sense of confidence in them to achieve their aspirations.

Akshaya Patra – enriching lives

To maximise the benefits of Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme, The Akshaya Patra Foundation, an NGO in India partnered with the Central Government of India and various State Governments to implement the scheme. Akshaya Patra is one of the pioneer NGOs that stepped in as an implementing partner with the vision “No child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger.” Headquartered in Bengaluru, Akshaya Patra has been providing freshly cooked, nutritious, and locally palatable meals to schoolchildren across India for the last 21 years.

Currently, Akshaya Patra feeds more than 18-lakh children, on every school day across India

By operating in a public-private partnership model, Akshaya Patra expanded its operations from one location in 2000 to 58 locations in 2021. The Foundation understands the significance of each plate of midday meal, hence takes utmost care in the preparation and delivery of these meals. It prepares the meals in its own state-of-the-art centralised kitchens and has its own delivery logistics to transport the meals to schools across 13 states and 1 Union Territory. To ensure highest quality meals, all the kitchens of Akshaya Patra follow industry standard operating processes with utmost adherence to cleanliness and hygiene practices. The kitchens follow a cyclic menu and prepare locally palatable meals in compliance with the dietary norms as stated by the Central Mid-Day Meal Scheme.

Akshaya Patra feeding

Midday meal significantly impacts lives of children by directly contributing to their nutrition levels, health, and learning capacity.

Impact studies on Mid-Day Meal Programme reveals that consumption of regular school meals results in:

• increased school enrolment
• regularised attendance
• decreased drop-out rate
• improved health of children
• better academic performance
• continuity of schooling

This is clearly visible in the varied aspirations and strong determination of Akshaya Patra beneficiaries.

• Sachin, a Standard VI student of Hanspal Primary School in Odisha aspires to be a pilot. He says, “Flying high gives you a whole different perspective in life. I know that being a pilot is difficult, but it is not impossible.”
• Shyaali, a Standard VIII student of Ekaathmanagar School, Nagpur aspires to be a dentist. She says, “I do not lose my head over daily activities at home and school. I am more focussed now. My mom would have been happy if I was like this, two years back. For her, I will become a dentist one day and open my own clinic.”
• Rajesh, a student of Chandrabaghabai Education Society, dreams of becoming a rap artist. He says, “No work is a task, if you do it wholeheartedly. And my heart beats to rap music. I want to be a rap artist. I know it is not all that easy and I don’t have a Bollywood background. But I will work very hard with all my heart and get to the top on my own.”

Support this NGO in India to expand its service and benefit more children with nutritious school meals.

One meal a day can do wonders for children and help them achieve what their heart desires. Together, let’s make the world a better place by ensuring regular and nutritious school meals. Contribute online donation and instantly make schooldays of children better.

Akshaya Patra nourishes dreams of children

Childhood is a phase where we dream of becoming something big or being recognised; a doctor, engineer, lawyer, choreographer, singer, etc. Dreams will vary as we grow up and mature from childhood to adolescence. To achieve those dreams, as children we need to be focussed and that ability to focus in class comes from eating good food. A healthy meal helps us concentrate in class, stay focussed and helps by giving us the energy required to take part in classroom and co-curricular activities.

Realising the importance of meals and adequate nutrition for children, many schools have taken to providing school meals to children with additional school fees. However, there are some children who not only think schooling is expensive but think that rather than going to school, they can lend a helping hand with some extra income to the family.

The Government of India is working hard to help families realise the importance of education and schooling, which is a very challenging task. To help them reach out to a larger audience and the most remote locations, more than just one NGO in India come forward to extend their service.

Supporting dreams by implementing the Midday Meal Scheme

Midday meals are a great intervention to bring children to school. A simple meal becomes the reason why parents with low-income or people living below the poverty line, send their children to school. The major reason for sending their kids to school is so that they will be able to eat one proper meal a day at the least.

The Akshaya Patra Foundation is an implementing partner of the midday meal scheme. This NGO in India has been providing meals to school children in government and government-aided schools for the last 20 years. On every day of school, children receive freshly prepared school lunch prepared in the kitchens of Akshaya Patra. The menu and ingredients are carefully chosen to meet the nutritional requirement of every child.

Children who love their midday meals

Divyanjali, studies in a government school in Gujarat, Kalol. She lives with her father who paints houses for a living. She is very famous in her classroom for her painting skills. A young child like her idolised her father and dreamt of becoming a painter too. But exposure to an art museum changed her perspective. Today, she wants to become a well-known painter like Raja Ravi Varma.

She never wastes food and follows the values taught by her mother. Theplas are her favourite dish on the midday meal menu.

Sachin is a young boy from Odisha’s Hanspal Primary School. Before joining this school, he was a frail-looking child who had no energy to take part in co-curricular activities or sports. In the next three years of attending school regularly, today, he is a healthy and energetic child. He loves Akshaya Patra’s food so much that he says that it is better than what his mother cooks at home. Sachin and his mother are extremely grateful for Akshaya Patra as, without these meals, he wouldn’t survive.

Roshni from Odisha is a shy student who is very conscious about the way she looks; she has a white patch on her chin. The internet changed everything for her and today she is a confident girl who has accepted the flaw in her. She ensures that she eats the healthy meals provided to her at school as it is beneficial for her skin. She wants to become a Cosmetic surgeon so that she can treat more people like her.

So many children like them receive midday meals every day. These meals give them the hope of continuing their education so that they can achieve their dream one day. With the trust of millions of donors, they refer to Akshaya Patra as the best NGO in India to donate to. The stories of such beneficiaries speak a lot for the work that the Foundation does. You too can take care of some children with your donation. Your thoughtful contribution can feed children for a whole academic year.

What are you waiting for? Millions of children await to fulfil their dreams. Let’s support them.