Giving Back to Society with The Akanksha Foundation
About the session
Join us for a session with The Akanksha Foundation to learn more about them, their work, and the impact volunteers have had on classrooms in India. In the session, you will also get the opportunity to learn about volunteer roles with The Akanksha Foundation on WisdomCircle’s platform.
Agenda
About The Akanksha Foundation
The need for and impact of volunteers
Why would WisGen make good volunteers
What is expected of volunteers
Learn about the volunteer roles with the Akanksha Foundation on WisdomCircle
Speakers
Chanda Peswani, Director - Development & Donor Relations
With over two decades of experience, Chanda Peswani is currently the Director of Development & Donor Relations for The Akanksha Foundation. Since joining in March 2021, she has spearheaded the organisation's fundraising across India, providing strategic direction while working closely with leadership and the Board. A "Digital Fundraising enthusiast," Chanda is focused on cultivating new corporate and individual partnerships, managing donor relationships, and building team capacities. She brings prior nonprofit expertise from 10 years at CRY, where she developed fundraising strategies and digital channels. Chanda deftly combines their social sector passion with corporate banking experience at ICICI Bank. Her aim is to create innovative cross-sector partnerships to drive meaningful impact at Akanksha.
Uma Shankar Mishra, Assistant Manager Volunteer Program
With 12 years of experience in education, Uma] brings a solution-oriented and team-focused approach as Assistant Manager - Volunteer Program at The Akanksha Foundation. In this role since January 2023, he has leveraged strong project management skills to oversee the organisation's volunteer initiatives.
A skilled problem-solver adept at fast-paced environments, Uma now applies his expertise in student outreach and volunteer management to drive Akanksha's mission.
About The Ankanksha Foundation
The Akanksha Foundation runs a network of 26 innovative schools in India, in partnership with local municipal corporations to provide free of cost education to children from low-income communities to ensure that ALL children receive a high-quality education, irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds.
Akanksha works in the field of education, initiating school reform through the School Project. The School Project model has been adapted from best practices of high-performing schools around the world and Akanksha’s own extensive experience in education gathered over its 30 years of serving some of the poorest slum communities of Mumbai and Pune. Currently, Akanksha reaches out to nearly 14,000 children through 26 schools in the Indian cities of Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur. It also serves its extensive network of over 5000 alumni.