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http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_at-iit-b-juniors-give-alumni-a-lesson-on-altruism_1465002
Published: Thursday, Nov 11, 2010, 2:02 IST
After the graduating batch of 2010 of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, pledged 1% of its salary in an uncommon gesture of giving something back to their alma mater, many former students now want to follow suit.
Accordingly, the initiative is been scaled up considerably, and a formal set-up will soon be launched to enable alumni to submit 1% of their salary via various mediums.
The initiative, called ‘Give One for IIT Bombay’, is part of a new fund-raising initiative by the IIT Bombay Alumni Association (IITBAA). It is a voluntary programme, where each alumnus can contribute 1% of his/her income towards supporting overall improvement at IIT Bombay.
“Several former students are keen to contribute 1% of their incomes to the institute,"said Damayanti Bhattacharya, chief operating officer, IITBAA.
"The IITBAA will collect the funds on behalf of the institute. The set-up will be launched on December 26, on the institute alumni’s day. It will enable former students to choose their own payment mode. They will get periodic updates about how their funds are being used and will be invited to see it in action”.
In August this year, over 50% of the 2010 graduating class of IIT-B had committed 1% of their annual salary to the institute. It was the first batch of IIT-B to have committed to start its payback even before getting their first pay cheque. “Their commitment has created a new tradition for all batches,” said Bhattacharya.
The funds will be channelised towards various developmental activities, including aspects like faculty and student development and growth of departments and hostels. “Development of the institute as a whole and alumni benefit are other areas for which the alumni can donate,” said Bhattacharya.
Alumni can also choose their own area of contribution. “After fresh graduates made their pledge, even alumni who had graduated nearly 35 years ago were very excited, and said they wanted to be part of the movement. Hence, we are trying to launch an online donation mechanism by December-end for all alumni,” said Bakul Desai, member of the board of directors at IITBAA, in charge of fundraising.
The website will enable alumni to choose various options, like the amount and frequency of payment and where they want to direct the funds to.
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