Background:

The Ninash Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, formed in 1996 in memory of Nina J. Malhotra. Nina was passionate about education and children abroad. Since her own life was cut tragically short by cancer, her husband, Dr. Ashok Kumar Malhotra, created the Ninash Foundation to perpetuate Nina's goals and values, especially her passionate support for the performing arts and literacy throughout the world.  Nina, combined with her husband’s name, Ashok made up the “Ninash” foundation.

Mission:

1. To mitigate suffering for the socially and economically disadvantaged within the United States and Abroad
2. To provide educational funding for individuals within the United States and Abroad
3. To contribute funding for the advancement of medical and scientific research within the United States and Abroad
4. To assist the cultural community within the United States and Abroad by providing monies for operating and capital expenditures

School Projects:

Mahapura (Rajasthan)--Indo-International Culture Preservation School:

 SUNY Learn and Serve in India 2005: Participants in Front of the Logo they painted on the New School

The newest school, the Indo-International Art Restoration and Culture Preservation School, is located in the village of Mahapura near Jaipur. In addition to teaching basic subjects, the school offers students vocational training in creating and restoring stained glass windows and ceilings, an ancient and dying art in India. The goal of the school is to train students to preserve the culture of India by repairing the many old palaces and castles in the area.

In Mahapura, the SUNY Learn and Serve group painted the school's four new classrooms and the peacock logo of the Ninash Foundation. On January 5, 2005, they participated in the school's inauguration. Part of the funding for the school's classrooms was raised by children from the Cooperstown Elementary School and the Riverside Elementary School in Oneonta. Brass plates recognizing their financial contributions were installed in the classrooms.Gavilan Peak School from Arizona also contributed funds and has adopted Mahapura as thier sister school. During 2005, the Ninash Foundation will raise money to pay the salaries of the three teachers in the school.

Dundlod (Rajasthan) – Indo-International School:

First Indo-international School, Dundlod – High School Being Built on the Second Story of Existing Elementary School

The SUNY Learn and Serve in India group, which included faculty, students, and community members from the USA, also visited the first Indo-International School. They helped celebrate the eighth anniversary of the first Indo-International School in the village of Dundlod, which was established through the efforts of SUNY study-abroad program led by Dr. Malhotra in 1996. To mark the anniversary, the children of the school celebrated by performing play, music, and dances for the SUNY group and the Dundlod community. The Learn and Serve group helped to establish a Project Hunger site at the school, which will provide lunch to 100 impoverished children four times a week. The school's enrollment has grown from 50 students in 1996 to 300 students today with another 100 awaiting admission. To provide space for the ninth through twelfth grades, the construction of the new high school is almost complete with six new class rooms including a science lab.

Project Hunger, providing lunch to 100 impoverished students four times a week.

Kuran (Gujarat) – Indo-International School:

 Learn and Serve in India participants brought gifts and supplies to the second Indo-International School in Kuran, Gujarat, an area completely devastated by the 2001 earthquake. The school, which was built with financial help from donors in Oneonta and other upstate New York communities, currently enrolls 208 impoverished children. The group visited the homes of the children and took part in discussions with members of the local community.

 Children in classrooms and new home built for residents

Global Educational Exchange:

 Through the Indo-International Schools project, the Ninash Foundation has committed to improving the lives of children and promoting literacy throughout the world. The Indo-International Schools transform villages in India, building hope, self-confidence and courage among the impoverished children and adults.

 Beyond their direct impact, the schools have promoted an understanding and exchange among different cultures. Students, faculty and staff of the SUNY College at Oneonta have united in support of the project through the Learn and Serve in India program and the Center for Social Responsibility and Community with the leadership of Ms. Linda Drake and Dr. Ashok Malhotra. The City of Oneonta has made a declaration proclaiming Oneonta and Dundlod as sister-cities.

 New York: Oneonta Elementary Schools have adopted Ninash’s schools. Riverside Elementary School, through an India Cultural Program, raised over $2500 toward building a room in Mahapura. Center Street Elementary School raised $840 to help with supplies for the children. In addition, a pen-pal relationship has been established with Dundlod.

 New York: Cooperstown Elementary School went on a penny-drive and raised $2000. Cooperstown Rotary added $500 and this money went toward another class room in Mahapura. Children also participated in a pen-pal project with the children of Dundlod.

 New York: SUNY College at Oneonta has had several student groups that have raised funds for the Foundation.

 Arizona: Anthem’s Gavilan Peak, K-8 School raised $1400 from a carnival event. That money was put toward the new Mahapura School. Gavilan Peak has declared itself as the sister school of Mahapura.

 Holland: Inspired by the Ninash Foundation’s Indo-International Schools Project, a school teacher, Pia Maria Aria from Holland, has written a children’s book called, “Advaita Sprookjes.” All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Ninash Foundation.

 England: A high school teenager who visited the Indo-International School in Dundlod has been creating calendars combining children’s art and life from Dundlod with children’s art and life from London. All proceeds from the sale of the calendar go towards funding field trips for the children of Dundlod School.

 Local Scholarships in the USA:

 Oneonta Center Street Elementary School – for excellence in music and drama

Oneonta High School – for excellence in music and drama

Oneonta Riverside Elementary School – SEVA Medallion (service)

SUNY Oneonta Undergraduate Philosophy Awards – for best papers in East-West and Comparative Philosophy

 Promotional Activities:

•  Underwriting National Public Radio (NPR) programs
• Created a new 2005 brochure to be distributed to present and future donors
• A new DVD on the activities of the Ninash Foundation was created by a  college student who participated in the 2005 SUNY Learn and Serve in India study abroad program
• Lectures on the foundation activities were given as well as the video shown to Cooperstown Rotary, Cooperstown Elementary School, Center Street School and Riverside School. Video tapes were mailed to many other schools and individuals who wanted to help promote the cause of the foundation.
• Articles on the foundation’s activities were published in the local newspaper--The Daily Star
• Ninash Foundation video tape is being shown on the local Public Access TV Channel (23) every other Saturday.
• Promotional Holiday Greeting Cards were created and mailed to all donors toward a fund raising campaign.
• A paper on “Towards a One-World Diverse Culture: A Philosophical Vision and Practical Solution,” regarding the Ninash foundation, was read at the Conference of International Society for Universal Dialog at Helsinki, Finland. 

• Two papers on the Ninash Foundation were published in International Journals:
  1. International Journal of the Humanities, “Towards a One-World Diverse Culture,” by Dr. Ashok Malhotra
  2. East-West Connections: Review of Asian Studies, “Wisdom Used Compassionately: The Ninash Foundation,” by Dr. Ashok Malhotra

Financial Information:

Copies of financial statements are available upon request.

Contact Information:

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