INDIA and LOS ALTOS, California. – May 17, 2021 –  The Wadhwani Foundation (WF) announced today that it would donate $1 million in grants to ten charities and NGOs to help alleviate the devastating impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in India. These grants provide medical resources and assistance to COVID-19 patients and their families.

“Combatting the severe rise in COVID-19 cases and the tremendous burden on Indian families requires a comprehensive approach from as many organizations as possible. Wadhwani Foundation can help alleviate some of the suffering Indian families are enduring through aid to charities and organizations providing ‘last mile’ immediate relief in areas of most need”, said Padma Shri Dr. Romesh Wadhwani, Founder and Chairman of Wadhwani Foundation.

For phase 1 of these grants, Wadhwani Foundation has selected the following charities and partners:

• WISH Foundation: The Wadhwani Initiative for Sustainable Healthcare
• Goonj: Rahat COVID 2021
• American Indian Foundation: #AIFCOVID19Response
• Indiaspora: Chalo Give initiative

Wadhwani Foundation established a set of criteria to select charities/NGOs based on the ability to deliver immediate impact to patients and families and measure the impact of the relief. These include:

• The ability to immediately reduce the devastating impact and slow COVID-19 spread in India over the next month by providing medical resources to clinics or homes

• Deliver direct relief benefits, including medical assistance, food, and loans/grants to affected patients and families
• Organizations with more than five years of experience in the healthcare, basic-needs support space with highly developed existing infrastructure to immediately deploy to target groups
• The ability to provide high transparency, reporting, and governance and quantify the impact of assistance
• Be recognized as a registered charity in the country of operation

Employee Sourced and Supported

The selection of charities and NGOs based on these criteria was aided by employees at both Wadhwani Foundation and SymphonyAI, the U.S.-based enterprise AI company founded by Dr. Wadhwani. The initial five recipients were selected after review and analysis by Wadhwani Foundation leaders. The additional charity/NGO recipients will be determined within days. In addition to these grants, Wadhwani Foundation will match donations to any of the supported charities/NGOs by any SymphonyAI or Wadhwani Foundation employees through September 1, 2021.

This grant program follow the Sahayata initiative by Wadhwani Foundation to deliver skilling and innovation programs to help small and medium enterprises and public health workers through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sahayata initiative was announced in July 2020 in India and November 2020 in Mexico.