The essential thing we provide to the CSV is money. We work hard to raise these funds and we make sure they are well used. Here is how.

 

A key point This is an absolute rule : Wardha Development does not give a cent of its money to its members. No salary. No compensation of any kind. If one of us wants to go to India, it's on his own time and money.
The only expenses WDA has are some stationery and stamps, occasionally a couple of photo prints to replace damaged pictures in the exhibition. OK, we sneak a few faxes at the fax machine of our employers, but it's for a good cause...

WDA Home

When we are out of India, our main activity is fund raising. We have used lots of different ways and we keep inventing (no, robbery is not something we do). A sample list of our activities :

  • we have a photo exhibition about India that we rent to some galleries or companies
  • dinner and dance events
  • we buy handicraft in India and sell it back home
  • postcards (our photos or hand made on the CSV paper
  • conference and slide shows about the CSV activities
  • ....

At the end of the year we usually have a few thousand dollars that we can spend on a project. The CSV knows us and has set aside a few projects that we could finance (we're free to suggest some as well). Negotiation on the next project generally take place in India, where we go at least once a year. While in India, we also check the status of the previous projects (was it really done as expected, audit of the accounts, etc...) and adjust if needed (and kick some butts occasionally... always in a friendly manner).

Decision on the next project is taken by the board of members. We write a contract, sign it off, send the money, and back to the coal mine to raise more funds... During the year, a couple of members will do the trip and control what's going on.

One of the key factors of our success is trust and friendship, obviously. We have been friends for years with these people. The other factor is more subtle : since our projects have a small financial size, it's not worth cheating... Since our control is pretty tight, we could be ripped of a small percentage, but who would risk his job for such small amounts...

All that (plus a few extra secrets) allow us to be sure that 100% of the money we send is used for what it was intended.