“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. And the best way to teach others is to serve them first.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Proverb
“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.”
William James
Philosopher
“The simplest acts of kindness are by far more powerful than a thousand heads bowing in prayer.”
Mahatma Gandhi
Leader of the Indian independence movement
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
Pablo Picasso
Artist
Our Story
Care, turned into action.
"Sneha" means care, and "Karma" means our actions. Together they carry our whole purpose: care, turned into action for girls and women who deserve a fair start.
Sneha Karma Foundation is a United States 501(c)(3) non-profit, founded in 2015 by a philanthropist in California who refused to accept that a girl's or woman's future should be decided by the family she was born into.
Our promise has not changed since day one: to care for girls and women until care is no longer needed — to educate, to train, and to stand beside each one until she can stand on her own.
Who We Serve
We exist for girls and women who were never given a fair start.
Across rural India, a girl or a woman is often the last to be sent to school and the first to be pulled out of it. She is raised to need less and taught to want less. That is not her failure — it is the failure of the world around her.
We believe one educated girl or woman rewrites the story of her family, and that a generation of them rewrites the story of a nation. Give a girl or woman the same chance as her brother, and she does not need rescuing. She needs a fair start.
Everything we do runs through three foundational focus areas. Social Change changes how families and communities see girls — the belief that makes everything else possible. Girls’ Education keeps a girl in school through Support-A-Girl and carries her on to college through our Scholarship. Women’s Livelihood turns that education into an income through Skills Development, Support-A-Artisan loans and the Artisans Direct marketplace. The thinking behind it lives on Our Mission; what each focus area does day to day lives on Our Focus Areas.
Operational transparency — more than 90% of every donation reaches our programs for the girls and women.
A world where no girl’s or woman’s future is decided by her poverty or her gender — only by her own ambition.
By 2030 we intend to be self-funded, with Artisans Direct helping carry the other focus areas. Until then, we walk with every girl and woman. We would be honoured to walk with you.
“One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness; it is usually returned.”
Unknown
Author unknown
Verified & Recognized
'Verified & Recognized' is where independent nonprofit watchdogs confirm what we claim. Candid, Charity Navigator and GreatNonprofits each check something different — transparency, financial health, and first-hand reviews — giving donors outside proof that Sneha Karma Foundation is accountable and effective. Each seal and listing reflects information we publish openly for anyone to inspect.
Candid (GuideStar)
Candid, formed by the merger of GuideStar and the Foundation Center, runs the world's largest database of nonprofit information. Its transparency seals show how openly an organisation publishes its mission, finances and governance. Sneha Karma Foundation has been a Candid/GuideStar member since 2015 and holds the Platinum transparency seal.
Charity Navigator is America's largest independent charity evaluator, rating nonprofits on financial health, accountability and transparency. Its ratings help donors give with confidence by showing how responsibly an organisation manages and spends its funds. Sneha Karma Foundation maintains an up-to-date Charity Navigator profile.
GreatNonprofits is a review platform where donors, volunteers and beneficiaries share first-hand experiences of nonprofits. Its reviews offer an unfiltered, human view of an organisation's work, complementing formal ratings with lived testimony. Sneha Karma Foundation welcomes honest reviews from the people who know our work best.
Yes. Sneha Karma Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in the United States. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law, and we provide receipts for every gift.
More than 90% of every donation goes directly to our programs for the girls. We keep overhead lean so the maximum share of each gift reaches the children we serve.
Sneha Karma Foundation is led by a founder-president and governed by an active volunteer board, with leadership from the United States and program teams in India. The board sets direction, oversees finances and keeps the mission accountable.
Our programs currently operate in India, including the Northeast, where we run education, skills and artisan-livelihood work with girls and women.
You can donate, raise funds, or volunteer — onsite at our program sites in India or virtually from anywhere in the world. Start on our Get Involved page.
Prashant P GodiwalaFounder Member / President
Karl MeulemaSecretary
Sudhir SreedharanTreasurer
