With the KJ Hospital offering to help the effort in 2003, Dr. Sreemathi decided to raise money through a combination of corporate help and government funds. "There are several government funds giving between Rs 25,000 and 30,000, and one can raise Rs 90,000 for a deserving case, but the problem is lack of coordination and the money never comes in time; one comes without the other and the time limit is violated. By the time you get money from the PM's fund, you might have already returned money from the CM's fund."
Dr. Sreemathi is grappling with the nitty-gritty of raising funds for this cause. At first she wrote to wealthy individuals as also corporates, but got no response. Some of the international charities, such as Ford Foundation did respond and by trial and error she "…realised that there is a particular method of approaching people or organisations for such fundraising." Initially she focused on cardiac surgery, but soon realised that donors preferred complete healthcare projects including prevention and rehabilitation. "So with this new armament I'm trying to get back to all of them!"
She even attended a seminar on donation collection! "They advised us to first understand the donor completely and the reason he may have for giving money. We were told: “Don't depend entirely on the donor’s altruism or philanthropy completely. He might expect something in return”. While some donors don't want their names mentioned, others want publicity and we have to be able to tell the latter how to get it”. The dealings are transparent. "We send a letter to every donor, along with a photograph and contact of the child we have operated upon so they may get in touch with them. The donors are welcome with their suggestions," said Dr. Sreemathi.
The cardiac surgeon says that many celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey give money for charity, but the "…difficulty is getting past secretaries to reach them! If we can reach them I can convince them about our cause as we have two strengths — the genuineness of the team of doctors and the genuineness of the patients we operate upon”. This genuineness, Dr. Sreemathi adds, is being monitored through professional audit.
Dr. Saravanan adds that they had also approached banks with funds for the social sector. One of the General Managers of the State Bank of
Also, there are the usual tax benefits to the donors. Donations are exempt from tax of upto 125% under Section 35 (i) and (ii) of the Income Tax Act.
Only those children from the lower socioeconomic group are eligible for this scheme and the family is required to produce evidence of income. We also encourage the family to contribute to the scheme whatever amount they can so that another disadvantaged child can benefit just like theirs, but this is not a precondition to treatment. One such parent, awe inspired by the surgery performed to save the life of his son, donated Rs. 3000/-, which was actually 3 times his monthly salary.
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