Donations

Expenses at VHS are met by donations from philanthropic individuals and organisations, and by government grants. However, with escalating costs, a big deficit has been created. Every year, it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain the institution and carry out further improvements.

VHS is, therefore, trying to build up an endowment fund, the interest earned from which will be utilised to cover the recurring annual deficit in finances arising from the enormous quantum of free medical services rendered. Your generous contributions to this endowment fund will be greatly appreciated.

VHS also offers specific options for donations:

• Rs. 35,000 will pay for a single room with a bed. The donor's name will be on a plaque outside the room.

• Treatment for all poor in-patients for one day in a year. The interest from a one-time endowment of Rs. 1.5 lakh can be used for this, while Rs. 9000 will take care of the drugs and disposables used in treating them (about 70 on an average, at Rs. 125 per patient) on any specific day.

• Maintaining an in-patient costs the hospital Rs. 420 a day (medicines, nursing, food, overheads, etc.). 70 patients cost around Rs. 30,000. The one-time endowment for this will be Rs. 5 lakh.

• Feeding the poor patients on a day in the year specified by you, paid for with the interest from a corpus fund for that purpose. A donation of Rs. 5000 (which will be added to the corpus) will entitle the donor to choose the specific day he/she wishes to feed the poor patients. Most people use this method to remember death anniversaries. A special feeding for all the patients on a particular day will be Rs. 2500. The donor's name, and the name of the person in whose honour these donations have been made, will go up on the notice board on that day.

You can also give money for

• equipment

• any other specific purpose

• VHS enjoys the status of a "Research Institution" and hence donations for its Research & Development activities are exempt up to 100 % under Section 35(1)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

• Donors who do not have income from business or profession can also avail of 100 % exemption under Section 80GGA.

• Other donations get 50 % exemption under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act.

Donations made by US residents to The Voluntary Health Services, Chennai (VHS) can now qualify for full tax deduction in the USA, if sent through the American Association for Social Advancement of India, Inc. (AASAI Inc.), with whom VHS has signed a Memorandum of Understanding.

AASAI Inc. is a non-profit organization set up in 1998 in Gaithersburg, Maryland, by a group of Indian well-wishers. It is engaged in providing assistance for several deserving causes in India, such as schools for orphans and underprivileged children, an old age home for destitute senior citizens, etc. VHS has now been added to the list of organizations that AASAI Inc. supports.

Donations sent through AASAI Inc. are fully tax deductible, since AASAI Inc. is an IRS-approved non-profit organization under Section 501(c)(3) - Tax ID no. 31-1634640.

clearly specifying that the donation is for The Voluntary Health Services (VHS), Chennai, India.

Individual receipts will be issued to the donors by AASAI Inc. and the amounts will thereafter be transferred to VHS.

Mr. Raghavan’s phone numbers in the USA are 240-683-9325 and 301-461-7043 (cell), and he can also be contacted through e-mail at jothi9@comcast.net