Women in Cloud and Indiaspora have announced the launch of a community fundraising campaign in the United States to provide cash assistance to women in India who have lost the primary earning member of their family due to COVID-19.  The campaign will raise funds to stabilize women and families impacted by COVID-19 who might otherwise fall into a cycle of poverty.

Women in Cloud is coordinating this community fundraising campaign as part of its #empowHERfamily initiative, a cross-sector effort with the goal of providing economic relief to women in India who have been affected by the pandemic through strategic advocacy, digital skilling opportunities, and cash relief.
 

“Four out of ten women lost jobs in India in 2020, while a total of 17 million women lost their livelihoods during the nationwide lockdown in March and April of 2020,” said Women in Cloud Co-Founder and Indiaspora member Chaitra Vedullapalli.  “While the public health crisis may be over, there is an ongoing need to educate, skill, and assist women who are struggling with the longer-term economic impacts of the pandemic.”

Indiaspora, Women in Cloud’s community fundraising partner, will facilitate donations through its online giving platform ChaloGive.  Indiaspora launched ChaloGive in 2019 to encourage greater charitable giving from the Indian diaspora.  In 2020 and 2021, Indiaspora raised more than $4 million through ChaloGive to support COVID relief efforts in India and in the United States.  

“The outpouring of generosity over the last eighteen months has been incredible,” said Ashish Shah, Senior Director of Philanthropy and Community Engagement at Indiaspora. “However, it is critical that this momentum continues if we want to build more resilient communities and systems.”

GiveIndia and its network of more than sixty nonprofit partners in India will identify qualifying beneficiaries and coordinate distribution of funds raised through this campaign.  Beneficiaries will receive cash assistance as a one-time direct bank transfer of $400 (INR 30,000).  Recipients will include daily wage earners and tribal communities, among other underserved populations.

“We have seen the impact cash assistance can have on families who have suffered loss due to COVID,” said Atul Satija, CEO of GiveIndia. “This small amount of support has ensured that struggling families have food, shelter, medical care, and other basic necessities essential to their survival.”

Donors from anywhere in the world can contribute by visiting chalogive.org/empowherfamily.  U.S. taxpayers are eligible for a tax deduction.  

For additional information and resources, visit www.womenincloud.com/empowherfamily/

About Indiaspora

Indiaspora (www.indiaspora.org) is a nonprofit community of powerful global Indian leaders from diverse backgrounds and professions who are committed to inspiring the diaspora to be a force for positive impact by providing a platform to collaborate, engage, and catalyze social change.

About Women in Cloud

Women in Cloud (www.womenincloud.com) is a community-led economic development organization taking action to generate $1B in net new global economic access for women entrepreneurs by 2030 through partnerships with corporations, community leaders, and policymakers.