Mr. S Visvanathan retires from the Foundation
Relocation of Mumbai Office
New Donor Joins FFE
Open House
Status of Scholarship Program
Fund raising Programs: Sponsor a Student Program
New Plans for India
FFE in the Press

Mr. S Visvanathan retires from the Foundation

Mr. S Visvanathan, Manager FFE India, recently retired from the Foundation and has since relocated to the United States.

Mr. Visvanathan has been associated with the Foundation since the early days of its establishment. He has made significant contributions to the realization of the FFE's mission. He has largely been instrumental for the implementation and administration of the Scholarship Program, for expanding and maintaining the coordinator-facilitator network, and for the administration of the Santa Clara office until May 2000. Mr. Visvanathan established FFE's India office at Mumbai and headed it for the past two years until his retirement.

At an Open House held in November 2002, Mr. Venktesh Shukla, FFE President and Chair of the Board of Directors, lauded Mr. Visvanathan for his contributions to FFE and wished him the very best for his retirement.

With Mr. Visvanathan's retirement, Lt. Col. B V Shirali, assumed charge of the Mumbai office.

Relocation of Mumbai Office

On May 1, 2002, the India office premises in Mumbai were relocated from Dadar to Powai. The new office was made possible through the generosity of Vijay and Smita Uttarwar who provided FFE with free space and other facilities. The office is located near the IIT campus in an office tower with all modern conveniences.

Lt. Col. B V Shirali heads the Mumbai office. 4 staff and two volunteers assist him.

New Donor Joins FFE
In November 2002, FFE received its first grant of $25,000 from Dr. Romesh Wadhwani through his family foundation. Dr. Wadhwani received his Bachelor's degree from IIT Mumbai and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Carnegie Mellon University. Explaining his interest in supporting FFE, Dr. Wadhwani said that the Foundation provides an effective way to help individuals reach their full potential, improving their own lives and the lives of future generations. Being interested in entrepreneurship in emerging economies, Dr. Wadhwani hopes that FFE scholars will start their own businesses and create employment opportunities for other talented persons.

Open House

The Foundation held an Open House on the afternoon of November 16, 2002 at the HP Oak Auditorium in Sunnyvale, CA to enlist volunteers for its marketing, community outreach and fund raising activities. The Open House was well attended by close to 100 visitors.

Mr. Shukla made a video and oral presentation on the Foundation, its mission, programs and accomplishments. Activities. His presentation was followed by remarks by Prabhu Goel on his vision for FFE. Following this, Mr. Shukla outlined FFE's volunteer needs in terms of program and outreach tasks.

The program tasks were divided into: marketing content; media contact; website development; technology infrastructure; event management; and office assistance. The outreach teams were to be comprised of: high net worth individuals; young Indian professionals; Indian regional organizations; high school and college students; foundations and corporate organizations; and chapters outside the Bay area. Team leaders were introduced were each of these tasks.

Status of Scholarship Program

For the academic year 2002-03 in progress, the Foundation has received 4,119 applications to date. Of these, 3,262 applications have been approved for an amount of $550,000. Further details of the accomplishments for the year will be posted in due course of time.

Fund raising Programs: Sponsor a Student Program
Various fund raising programs and activities are under development to meet the growing needs of the Scholarship Program. One of these programs: Sponsor/Adopt a Student is described below.

The Sponsor/Adopt a Student program provides an opportunity to donors to make contributions directed towards students with characteristics meeting the donor's preference. For example, the donor could indicate that the student to be sponsored be studying at a specified educational level, or be of a particular gender, or be studying for a particular course of study, or hail from a particular state/district/town in India. The Foundation will periodically provide donors with information on the students funded from out of the donor's contributions.

New Plans for India
As part of the marketing, outreach and fundraising activities in India, it is planned to establish an FFE trust and an FFE Scholars Association.

Several FFE scholars who have completed their education and are in employment have indicated their desire to make a financial contribution to FFE. The trust will enable FFE to receive such financial contributions as well as to raise funds from other individual and corporate sources in India.

The objectives of establishing an FFE Scholars Association are to provide scholars a forum and network to interact with each other and with the Foundation's India and US offices. The Association, its members and activities will also form FFE's public image in India and help create a better awareness for the Foundation. The Association is also expected to provide support for the Scholarship Program and other matters.

Comments and suggestions are invited past and current FFE scholars on these proposals.

Contact Addresses
FFE would like to remain in touch with its scholars and to follow up with them as they progress in their chosen career paths. Scholars who have completed their education are requested to provide details of their careers following the completion of their education and information on their current contact particulars (postal and email addresses, telephone numbers, etc.).