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Comment by hangonhn | Hacker News Reader

What is the best way for someone in the US to donate to help with the situation in India? I'm not Indian so I don't know much about charities in India but news like this is just heartbreaking and I want to do my minuscule part in helping.

Thanks in advance.

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Whatever you do, do not donate to the PM Cares Fund. It's transaction is supposed to be open to the public, but it is not. Requests made to Right To Information Act was denied every time. So please stay away from it.

Here are some suggestions-

1. Gunj - active in very rural and remote areas

2. Akshaya Patra - currently involved in feeding the poorest of the poor

3. Ramakrishna Mission - Religious organization but honest as hell in serving those in need

4. Red Volunteers - They are volunteers from the Communist Party doing amazing work, as is covered in media and seen by me, but they don't have a centralized payments system

5. CM funds of some states are tranparent, but I would stay away. States like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Odisha come to mind.

I would suggest Ramakrishna Misiion and Akshaya Patra as I have seen their work first hand. And you would find it easy to donate to them.

Thanks for the list. Its just me, but I would stay away from political or religious funds.

I am irreligious and athiest. But I still trust Ramakrishna Mission and I think you can specify that you don't want your money spent on religious activities.

[0]: https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta/ramakris...

[1]: https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/hero-moto...

[2]: https://theshillongtimes.com/2021/05/20/rkm-sohra-endeavours...

[3]: https://m.timesofindia.com/city/kolkata/60-bed-safe-home-set...

[4]: https://m.timesofindia.com/city/visakhapatnam/ramakrishna-mi...

Just so you know, Akshaya Patra is also part of ISKCON, the Harekrishna people in the US. They are headquartered not far from my home, and they are trustable in this regard.

Thanks again for coming back to reply. Just like my investments, I and my partner try to diversify my donations. We will donate to a few of them.

Hi. My state has a new chief minister who has been doing amazing work on Covid. A third wave is predicted in india in September and he's doing rapid work to buy 3.5 crore vaccines before it hits. I have great faith in his work. If you can donate to his state fund that would be amazing. Here is some news coverage about it -- https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/donations-...

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/may/...

This link has bank account details for donating -- https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2021/may/...

Also I completely agree with the other commenters about funds not to donate to.

You can see plenty of fundraising options at https://milaap.org/

These are verified volunteers directly working at the local level.

Thanks for it. I setup monthly payments for some volunteers. Some of them seem to be individuals. How can I verify that these people are kosher?

https://www.khalsaaid.org/ this is a good organization.

Avoid donating to PM CARES FUND. It is a private entity, not a government fund, that has collected almost 2B$ and as far as I can tell had spent only 30M$ to set up a couple of oxygen plants, most of which are not functional.

Another charity I would avoid is Sewa international, which is the charity arm of right wing, nationalist and militant organization RSS. Indias current party in power BJP is an offshoot of RSS.

>Avoid donating to PM CARES FUND

THIS. I won't speculate where the money goes. But this fund is held in a secret account, no authority is allowed to audit and no one is allowed to inquire where the money is being spent.

Avoid Khalsa Aid, they are being investigated for links with terror organisations

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nia-examines-khalsa-a...

Sewa has no link with RSS or BJP, thats just nonsense. They are worldwide and non-political unlike Ravi Singhs Khalsa Aid which is openly political.

NIA is set up to investigate political opponents by the BJP. NIA's investigation is simple retaliation for humanitarian support provided by Khalsa aid to farmers protesting all over India.

https://www.google.com/search?q=sewa+international+rss

I donated to the Chief Minister State fund of Tamil Nadu ans I am originally from there.

https://ereceipt.tn.gov.in/cmprf/Cmprf

As far as I know, the state of Tamil Nadu is doing a good job in being transparent with the funds.

Hello! I run a non profit called Enrich Lives Foundation in Mumbai and we're doing COVID relief work since day one of the pandemic. We distribute food, cooked meals and grocery kits to the most needy. We also are setting up COVID care centers and mobile health clinics. You can donate directly via GiveIndia at www.tinyurl.com/Donate2ELF

You'll even get tax benefits also in US and India

We would be grateful for your support!

In my day job I also work as an impact investment professional. We run this NGO completely transparently and all donations go towards relief directly, we are completely volunteer run. I'm on Twitter @ShievaniU and would be happy to personally answer any of your queries.

Perhaps a charity that builds toilets or improves sanitary conditions. That seems to have an overall biggest health payback.

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