We run a christian orphanage and require financial and material support. What are the possibilities?

Question

We have about 70 children with us and all are being educated in government schools. There are some children with extraordinary talents and we need to hone this. We are based in South India and are a registered trust. Anybody who wants to visit us are welcome.

Answer 1

Get those kids with extraordinary talents into a spotlight, and let them help you raise money for the orphanage. Enter spelling bees or writing contests and the like. In America, this is a common way for businesses and business associations to promote education, to publicize what good people they are. It's called "public relations," and it's worth a great deal to non-profit organizations. Sponsoring an orphanage, or a special project or fund-raiser for an orphanage, is a great way for a business to show the its customers that it is good for the community.

Are there talents there that could translate directly into fund-raising by the children themselves? That would be ideal. An art show or crafts gallery or entertainment of some sort. And child writers are often perfectly marvelous if they have good teachers. Publish your own book about the experiences of the children. Many people around the world have no idea what an orphanage in India might be like. Or today, perhaps making a video would be the thing. Surely some clever video camera maker could be persuaded to sponsor such a project.

Make it up close and personal to the extent possible, and get the community involved. That the community is sometimes defined on world-wide terms is the big bonus of the 21st century.

And trust Yahoo Answers India to have some clever people who can help. Perhaps they'd like to set up a fund-raiser for the orphanage as their public service project, the way we did the renovation of the outdoor science lab at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale for the first birthday party.

People to people help is always best. Keep governments out of it. They only add waste and paperwork.