1997 Year-end Update and Appeal IIT Bombay Heritage Fund 2820 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Dear fellow IITians: We are delighted to give you an update on the progress that has been made in establishing the IIT Bombay Alumni Association ("IITBAA") / IIT Bombay Heritage Fund, and to ask for your active support and participation. We believe that with your support, the IITBAA / Heritage Fund can become as effective as the alumni organizations of any leading American university.
The Heritage Fund was set up with two basic objectives – - To provide an IRS-approved tax-exempt channel for alumni to assist IIT Bombay in its efforts to keep the institute amongst the ranks of the best universities in the world. - To provide a means for us, the alumni, to benefit from our association with this excellent institution.
In the last eighteen months, with the active cooperation of Professors Sukhatme and Phatak of IIT, considerable progress has been made in establishing the Fund. First and foremost, we have defined the mission and objectives that will guide us in the future. We have established the Heritage Fund as a tax-exempt legal entity. The Fund has an office created through targeted equipment and cash contributions from alumni.
We have established the IIT Bombay website (http://www.iitbombay.org) and the inaugural Winter Issue of the webzine Y-Point (http://www.iitbombay.org/ypoint0.html) is posted there. The website currently has a database of over 800 alumni. During the year, alumni have contributed over $100,000 to IIT through the Fund. Finally, the Fund has hosted Dr. Isaac, Dr. Phatak, Dr. SSSP Rao, Director Sukhatme, and Dr. Sahasrabuddhe.
As a group, we are influential people who could derive a lot of strength and value by building a network for our own mutual good. We are also ambassadors of IIT Bombay laying the groundwork to enable future graduates to gain prominent positions in industry and academia. The IIT Bombay Alumni Association ("IITBAA") / IIT Bombay Heritage Fund ("Heritage Fund") is intended to provide a forum and a means that will nurture this network of graduates. IIT Bombay will also be able to derive value from its Alumni by virtue of the Alumni organization's ability to garner resources as needed for meeting its own objectives.
The institute and various alumni groups have planned a memorable Alumni Day on December 21, 1997, together with the Silver Jubilee celebration for the Class of '72. All IIT Bombay alumni who will be in Mumbai in December are cordially invited to the Alumni Day festivities. Activites begin at 9:30 am on the Lecture Theatre Lawns - check the website for details. How can you participate? We request that you participate in as many of the following ways as possible : 1.Join the IITBAA/Heritage Fund for an annual membership fee of $100 (Students $25) or life membership fee of $500. These funds will be used to support the activities of the organization in the US, including : - Directory of Alumni names and addresses - Website services - Publishing a quarterly newsletter - IITB news events - Job Postings and resume posting in a secure manner - Chat rooms - Referrals and articles on entrepreneurship - Meetings with IIT Bombay Professors and alumni The Directors and others who work for IITBAA and Heritage Fund work on a voluntary basis. All funds not used for actual and essential expenses such as ISP fees, printing costs etc. will become part of the general corpus of funds available to be sent to IIT Bombay. 2.Contribute funds to IIT through the Heritage Fund. Since 1991, government funding to IIT Bombay has been cut by over 50% in real terms, and the institute has been forced to raise funds through non-traditional sources, e.g., Indian alumni contributions of about Rs. 1.5 crores last year, Verifone Chair in Database Management, Intel Lab etc. At the same time, operational costs have skyrocketed, and the institute has been forced to postpone nonessential expenses. As a result, many visiting alumni have been shocked by and have commented on the shabby state of the physical infrastructure. The gap between available funding, and what is required to build and sustain a world-class institution is large and growing. Clearly, alumni need to help fill the gap. We are working with IIT to develop a program of targeted donations and will keep you posted of our progress. As an example, the Class of '72 has proposed to raise Rs. 45 lakhs towards A hostel and convocation hall renovation fund, and to build a fiber optic link between the hostels and the departments. The many ways you can make a financial contribution to IIT are listed in the attached pledge form. In all cases, 100% of your contributions will be sent to IIT, and your contributions will be tax exempt. 3.Participate in the national and local chapters of the Fund. The Fund's aim is to help each one of us use the IIT alumni network to further our professional and personal aspirations. Its success and utility depends on your participation. We would request you to actively participate in the activities of the Fund, and its local chapters. We would like to hear your thoughts on how to make the Fund truly useful To all of us. We would appreciate if you could forward this message to Other alumni you are in touch with. Yours truly, Directors of the IIT Bombay Heritage Fund IIT Bombay Heritage Fund Pledge Form Yes, I would like to help keep IIT Bombay amongst the ranks of the best universities in the world. 1.I would like to become a member of the IIT Bombay Heritage Fund. Annual Membership ($100): _____ Life Membership ($500): _____ Student Membership ($25): _____
2.I would like to make a contribution to IIT Bombay. 100% of these funds will be sent to IIT. General contribution to operating funds: _____ General contribution to corpus fund: _____ Targeted contributions : - The IIT Bombay Heritage Fund Teaching Excellence Award _____ - The Scholarship Fund _____ - The Library Fund _____
3.Please contact me. I would like to make a substantial donation and would like your assistance in developing an appropriate plan.
4.Please contact me. I would like to contribute to IIT and to the IIT Bombay Heritage Fund in the following manner:
5.My employer will match my contribution.We will submit an application to your employer as a charitable organization on your company form if you mail it to us) Name: Degree/Year: Address: Phone: E-mail: Best time to contact you (only if necessary): Total contribution: Please mail this form with your check payable to : Treasurer, IIT Bombay Heritage Fund 10489 Rampart Avenue Cupertino, CA 95014 We will promptly mail you a receipt for use with your 1997 tax return. Contact us if you would like to contribute stock - we also have a Brokerage Account set up that you can transfer the stock to. We are working to develop a credit card-based payment mechanism for your convenience. |