All projects should be charitable in nature supporting the underprivileged primarily in Tamil Nadu except in situations where humanitarian services are required in other parts of India or other countries due to major natural disasters or calamities.
Beneficiaries of any project should be a wide range of people without any bias towards race, religion, creed, or caste.
The body that implements the project in Tamil Nadu should be one of the following:
TNF Chennai Team
Individual in India
Organization in India (Not Foreign Currency Regulation Act (FCRA) Approved)
Non-profit Trust in India (Not Foreign Currency Regulation Act (FCRA) Approved)
Funds will be maintained by TNF Tamil Nadu Chapter and distributed as per agreement and understanding with the recipient. Generally, monies are disbursed on the submission of bills, invoices, etc. Sometimes payment would be sent directly to vendors, billers, and in some instances directly to individuals for their services or as an individual beneficiary.
For ongoing projects, the minimum contribution has to be at least $5,000, which could be paid in two installments over a two-year period depending on the project and its implementation plan.
5% of all donations to TNF are dedicated to immediate needs during natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, pandemics, etc., and for auditing and executing all TNF projects throughout Tamil Nadu.
Project Application
Only a TNF USA life member in good standing can sponsor a project.
The individual must submit the project application.
NOTES:
All Board projects must be initiated only by a board member and have to be approved unanimously by the board. Any TNF member can suggest a suitable project to the President or a board member.
All Chapter projects must be initiated by the chapter chairperson or a committee member after a consensus by the chapter committee.
Project applications can be in one of the following categories (if applying to start a Scholarship Project with donations under $5,000, then please refer to the UPLIFT TNF Scholarship Program section in addition to the steps outlined under this section)
TNF USA Board Sponsored
TNF USA Chapter Sponsored
Individual Life Member Sponsored
Youth-Intern Project Sponsored by Intern’s Parents
Tamil American Youth Making An Impact (TAYMAI) Grant Project Sponsored by Youth’s Parents
The person sponsoring the project is solely responsible for funding the project. However, the sponsor can solicit donation from other people (members as well as non-members) towards this project. Projects that have not been implemented or funds have not been donated within the first two years of project approval will be closed by TNF USA
Project applications submitted on or before the 15th of the month will be reviewed during TNF USA’s board meeting the following month. For example: If the project application is received on Feb 11, 2019, then that project application will be reviewed for disposition during TNF USA’s Mar 2019 boarding meeting.
If changes are recommended by the TNF USA Board during the review process, then the Vice-President of Projects will work with the sponsor to edit the application as needed.
Vice-President of Projects (TNF USA) will notify the sponsor of the final disposition of the TNF USA Board
The Board has the right to find facts, verify the authenticity and the credentials of the person who would be in charge of the project.
The sponsoring member is responsible for providing follow-up reports on the project to their donors.
The Board reserves the right to periodically inspect, verify and require progress reports about the projects.
UPLIFT – TNF Scholarship Program:
The objective of the TNF Scholarship program is to UPLIFT the underserved students in Tamil Nadu.
Any amount may be donated to the fund. Donors who donate above $500 will be recognized in TNF’s website as supporters of the project.
The recipients will be selected from a pool of applicants sent by TNF Chennai.
Individuals who would like to set up a scholarship corpus fund in honor of a family member may do so as an Individual Life Member Sponsored project, with a minimum corpus amount of $10,000. The interest from the corpus fund account will be used to support the scholarship program and the sponsor may specify the district, city/town and school where they want the scholarship to be administered. The recipients will be chosen by TNF Chennai and the officials of the school.
Individuals who would like to set up a non-corpus scholarship fund in honor of a family member may do so as an Individual Life Member Sponsored project following the Project Guidelines, with a minimum amount of $5,000. The sponsor may specify the district, city/town and school where they want the scholarship to be administered but the funds must be used fully within three to five years.
