Welcome

Indians for Collective Action (ICA) is a San Francisco Bay Area nonprofit group, working on behalf of India ’s poor. Our vision is a secure life for every Indian, in a sustainable environment and a just society. Our mission is to enable the poor to seek and gain access to healthcare, education, local natural resources, and sustainable, community-based income earning opportunities. Our method is to provide seed funding, ongoing financial resources, and moral and technical support to innovative, community-based development initiatives. Hence our motto: Development through innovation.

Since our inception in 1968, ICA has supported development projects in 16 states. We work in partnership with dedicated social workers and organizations in India and in the US . It is our experience that the project always reflects the leadership – so we take great care to choose projects run by, or recommended by, Activists with a track record of community service. It is also our experience that, in the India of today, organizations with a religious or political party leaning are best avoided. It is ICA ’s practice only to work with those NGOs whose guiding principles are secular, non-partisan and democratic.

INDIANS FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION ( ICA ) CELEBRATES 40 YEARS OF SERVICE ON SEPTEMBER 28TH IN MILPITAS
ACTIVISTS MADHU KISHWAR AND NIPUN MEHTA TO BE HONORED

Palo Alto , CA - Indians for Collective Action (ICA) celebrates four decades of service to the community with its Annual Awards Gala and dinner on Sunday, September 28th at 5 pm at the India Community Center located at 525 Los Coches Street , Milpitas .

The 40th Anniversary Gala will honor two exceptional individuals for their dedication and commitment to social transformation, bringing to life Gandhi’s famous words “you must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Madhu Kishwar will be honored for her work as Founder President of Manushi Sangathan, an organization committed to strengthening democratic rights and women’s rights in India , and Nipun Mehta will be recognized for being the guiding light and founder of CharityFocus, a nonprofit for inspiring youth service volunteerism and creating “gift-economy” opportunities.

ICA was founded in 1968 with the mission to support sustainable development in India by partnering with dedicated activists and non-governmental organizations. Since its inception, the organization has supported over 300 innovative, community-based projects in 23 Indian states in the areas of health, education, microfinance and holistic rural development. In addition, ICA has facilitated the incubation and growth of like-minded organizations in the Bay Area such as Asha for Education and the Foundation for Excellence.

"In the last four decades, ICA has touched the lives of thousands of families living on less than a dollar per day in India through our commitment to social justice, women’s empowerment, health and education. Our mission for the coming decade is to inspire the next generation of young volunteers and leaders to continue our work and focus on sustainable development in India ," states Bhupen Mehta, President of ICA.

Tickets for the event are $50/person or $500 for a table of 10. For more information please contact Bhupen Mehta at bhupenmehta@yahoo.com, Abhay Bhushan at akbhushan@aol.com or Lata Patil at lata_p@hotmail.com.

www.indolink .com/ica