Foundation for Excellence India Trust
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Mission Statement
FFE India Trust is a registered Public charitable Trust in Bengaluru with its parent organization in California, USA. The mission of FFE is to transform the lives of academically brilliant but financially needy students in India pursuing their degrees in Engineering(BE/BTech), Medicine(MBBS), and Law(LLB) by awarding annual merit cum means scholarships. The objectives of the program are: 1. Economic empowerment: The program seeks to empower academically brilliant students from underprivileged backgrounds, enabling them to transform their lives and those of their families within a single generation. This is achieved through financial scholarship awards and other initiatives designed to enhance their career prospects and socio-economic trajectory. 2. Career Readiness support: The program provides comprehensive career readiness support to scholars, equipping them with the necessary skills, mentoring, and networking opportunities to excel in their chosen career paths. By offering skills training, mentorship programs, and facilitating networking channels, the program prepares scholars for employment opportunities, higher education pursuits, and entrepreneurship ventures. 3. Promoting 'giving': The program encourages a culture of giving back to the society. Scholars pledge their support to at least two other qualifying students through financial contributions to FFE. This commitment to supporting future scholars ensures the self-sustainability of the organization and fosters a sense of responsible citizenship among the scholars. By nurturing a "pay-it-forward" mindset, the program instills a sense of social responsibility and creates a cycle of support for future generationsofstudents. This is supplemented with Skills Development training (soft skills and technical skills) and mentoring to hone skills for employability. FFE’s skills program is designed to address the skill gap and to better equip students for their professional careers. Additionally, FFE’s Mentoring Program is designed, with employability as its focus to enable students to better their chances of internships and job opportunities. By removing barriers to learning and providing opportunities for skilling, FFE is removing inequalities that exist to provide a level playing field for all students to succeed and reach their full potential, irrespective of gender, caste, creed or religious affiliation. The impact of the program wherein employed scholars support their families and lift them out of the cycle of poverty has transformative power within families and communities.
About This Cause
The Foundation For Excellence (FFE) is a registered non-profit, based in USA and was founded by the renowned serial entrepreneur, Dr. Prabhu Goel. The Foundation for Excellence India Trust (FFEIT) was registered in 2003 as a public Charitable Trust in India to expand the scope of FFE’s support and works in association with FFE. It has the same objectives as FFE, but raises resources from donors worldwide. FFE uses a volunteer driven approach to identify deserving students. Once the merit and financial need are verified by the FFE Facilitators(Volunteers), students join as FFE Scholars. FFE’s goals are aligned with SDG Goal 4, to promote life- long learning opportunities for all. FFE accomplishes its objective through its flagship Scholarship Program, wherein annual scholarship awards provide financial assistance for the entire duration of their professional education. This is supplemented with Skills Development training (soft skills and technical skills) and mentoring to hone skills for employability. FFE’s unique ‘Self- Sustainability’ model wherein every FFE Scholar pledges to educate at least 02 scholars in his/her lifetime is a successful, working model with a multiplier effect. FFE alumni are FFE’s ambassadors contributing their time and talent, money, connecting FFE to the corporates that employ them, and leverage their personal, professional, and social networks who also donate to FFE. FFE’s alumni are successful role models for future generations of scholars. The FFE Scholarship Program ensures that a brilliant scholar from an economically constrained background can focus on his/her college degree, graduate successfully and gain employment as a Professional. Economic empowerment of individuals and their families in a single generation is the lasting impact of this program. Rationale: Poverty and education are interlinked; India has 53.3 million people living in extreme poverty, which makes up 4% of the population. Poverty denies access to education, thereby pushing the family into a state of deeper poverty for generations. Gross Enrollment Ratio* for higher education in India moved to 28.4 % in 2021-22 from 27.1 % in 2019-20 (as per AISHE, 2021-22). This, however, means only 28 in 100 students go for higher studies. In most cases, this is due to the economic condition of the family. India has the largest population of young people in the world- around 600 million below the age of 25. Within this group are a large number of youth with high potential who are excluded from education, employment or training while many are employed in the informal sector as agricultural laborer’s or as daily wage earners. As the youth population swells and the graduation rate in elementary and secondary levels increases, there is an increased demand for access to tertiary education in India. Quality education and access is one of the biggest challenges that India’s youth faces today; poverty and its associated burden often prevents access to education at all levels and in many cases, lack of education can trap families in the cycle of poverty. Many students, though academically brilliant, do not get the opportunity to leverage their inherent intelligence and reach their full potential. For the few whose families encourage them to pursue higher education, the prohibitive cost becomes unsustainable. These families do not possess the financial wherewithal to sustain the cost of higher education. In the absence of formal sources of support (most of them belong to the unorganized sector and are unable to get loans from banks), these families have no option but to turn to unscrupulous moneylenders for monetary support. Exorbitant rates of interest coupled with principal means the family is caught in the vicious cycle of debt. Sustaining the education of their children for 4 to 5 years becomes cost prohibitive and education becomes the first casualty. The impact of lack of higher education is felt not only by the scholar but also by his /her immediate family. • A brilliant and talented student, relegated to taking up jobs that require basic skill sets is a waste of human capital. Despite their huge potential, the talent of such students largely remains unutilized leading to unfulfilled dreams and related frustration. • These students may be relegated to jobs that require basic skills. Future earning capacity is also severely limited due to their limited educational qualification. • A talented individual is thus caught in the same vicious cycle of poverty with all its negative impacts. The lack of education in a generation severely affects the future of the family. With limited avenues for their upliftment, these students and their families continue to be trapped in a vicious financial vortex. • The nation loses valuable human resources that are capable of contributing significantly to its development. The FFE Scholarship Program ensures that a brilliant scholar from an economically constrained background can focus on his/her college degree, graduate successfully and gain employment as a Professional. Economic empowerment of individuals and their families in a single generation is the lasting impact of this program. In thirty years since its inception in 1994, FFE has already helped over 38,000 scholars across India, changing their lives for posterity; over 100,000 scholarships totaling to over Rs. 400 Crores have been awarded to students. FFE ended FY 2023-24, awarding scholarships to 16,294 students amounting to Rs. 78 Crores. The cohort comprises students attending 438 Engineering Colleges, 295 Medical Colleges, 52 BPharm Colleges, and 54 Law Institutes. FFE has a network of over 800+ volunteer “facilitators” distributed throughout India who identify potential awardees, verify the genuineness of their need, and act as mentors once the scholarship is awarded. This ensures that only genuinely deserving students are awarded scholarships. FFE awards scholarships to students pursuing degrees in Engineering(BE/BTech), Medicine(MBBS), and Law in India. Two eligibility criteria must be met to qualify for a scholarship: 1. Academic: Academic Excellence based on qualifying rank in the entrance exam. i.e., CET/JEE MAIN/NEET/CLAT 2. Financial: Students must belong to families where the combined family income is INR 3 Lakh or less per annum. Details at: https://ffe.org/site/scholars/ Scholarships are renewed annually based on continued academic excellence and financial need. An individual/organization/company can choose to sponsor scholar(s) under the “Adopt a Scholar” Program. This program provides an opportunity for co-branding with donors, allowing them to actively engage with and support the students they sponsor. Through this program, donors can interact, communicate, train, and mentor the students they support. Additionally, donors receive regular updates on the progress and status of the sponsored students, ensuring transparency and fostering a strong connection between the donors andthescholars. FFEIT (India Trust) accepts contributions in Rupees and non Indian currency as FFE India Trust has received FCRA approval (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) from the Govt. of India. Donations to FFEIT enjoy tax exemptions under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.