Leaps & Bounds Newsletter

June 1, 2007

Volume 1, ISSUE 1

President’s Corner

We want to truly thank you for all your contributions and overwhelming support that we have received thus far.It took us a long time to get an update to you mainly because we were waiting to disburse the funds to Sshrishti, our partner organization. We ran into a bureaucratic hurdle since Sshrishti doesn't have a FCRA clearance that is a requirement to receive foreign funds, so they submitted a Prior Permission application to the Home Ministry in India based on our Letter of Intent which takes several inquiries/paperwork before it is approved.  This was just a side issue we need to deal with because we made a conscious choice to benefit organizations working at the grass root level that might not have all process/paperwork in place as outlined in our mission.

Small Steps Foundation Children's Art Competition

"A Huge Success" – Thank You

On March 10^th 2007  more than 60 kids participated in the 1^st annual Small Steps Foundation Children's Art Competition. We would like to thank everybody for their participation and enthusiasm.  A very big Congratulations to all the very talented participants and winners once again. Hip Hip Hooray for all the Kids!!!

View the event pictures by clicking on the link below.

Art Show Pictures

Keep your eye out for information regarding the 2^nd Annual Small Steps Foundation's Children's Art Competition early next year.

Grantee Update

We have selected Sshrishti Learning Center, a school for underprivileged children, as our first grantee. It is located in an urban village, Kishangarh, in Delhi.  As part of our due diligence process we conducted numerous phone interviews with the founder, Sanghamitra Bose . We also  interviewed  Harish Jeswani, one of our volunteers in India who conducted a site visit in Feb 2007.   A copy of the Sshrishti's project proposal and site visit can be found on our website http://www.smallstepsfoundation.org/grantees.

Sshrishti does not currently have FCRA(Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) status which is needed to accept foreign funds. They have applied for a “prior permission” from the Home Ministry to receive foreign funds based on Small Steps Foundation's Letter of Intent. We are still waiting to get through the red tape and over the bureaucratic hurdle to write our very first check.  Based on our recent discussion with  the  founder of Sshrishti, we will hopefully be able to transfer funds sometime in June.

Diwali Dandia Planning 

Small Steps Foundation has started planning for their next big event, Diwali Dandia.   We are in the process of finalizing the DJ/live band group and Venue in Fremont.

With the help and support of our volunteers and local businesses we are hoping to host a 600+ people event.  The event will be in November and as soon as we have all the specifics confirmed we will let everyone know.  Definitely something to look forward to!

Please let us know if you would like to volunteer to help make this a grand success.

Small Steps Foundation News

Small Steps Foundation has received the California State Tax Exempt Status under Code Section 23701d (organization no. 2793845) recently.

Small Steps Foundation is waiting for exemption from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, we have received the acknowledgement of receipt of our application.  We plan to mail in the receipt of  all contributions made to Small Steps Foundation as soon as we receive the  501 (c) (3) tax exempt status.

Contact Information

Send Us an Email

For general queries/comments info@smallstepsfoundation.org
SSF Projects : projects@smallstepsfoundation.org
Financial Information : treasurer@smallstepsfoundation.org
Volunteering/Getting Involved : volunteer@smallstepsfoundation.org
Website Feedback : webmaster@smallstepsfoundation.org

General Contact Info                 

Small Steps Foundation
40471 Torenia Circle
Fremont, CA – 94538

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