Posts Tagged ‘Rajasvini Bhansali’
The following was written by Suzanne York, IDEX friend and blogger at Taming the Tiger, a blog on India, Climate Change and Human Rights.
We need to hear more about the numerous heroes and heroines in our midst, along with successful grassroots projects, and less about partisan politics and the like. Read the rest of this entry »
IDEX is both pleased and humbled to announce that it has recently been chosen as one of two grantees to receive grants of both time and money from the Full Circle Fund.
The Full Circle Fund is a philanthropy organization whose mission is towards cultivating the next generation of community leaders and creating social change in the Bay Area and internationally. Full Circle Fund recruits top leaders from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and empowers them to leverage their experience, connections, and financial resources to benefit outstanding community organizations.
IDEX’s community was sad to learn that one of its esteemed supporters passed away in March at the age of 70. IDEX will be forever grateful to John Arthur Shaub (Jack) who added immense value in helping expand our grantmaking in India.
May
27Indigenous Communities on Frontlines of Climate Change Share Learnings at Conference
2011
Posted by IDEX
IDEX Executive Director Vini Bhansali reports from the 10th Annual Conference of the International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) currently wrapping up in Haudenosaunee territory in upstate New York. IFIP creates a bridge where the philanthropic and Indigenous worlds meet to understand and collaborate with each other. Vini is there with Heera Lal Sharma from IDEX Partner Sahyog Sansthan in India.
Vini Bhansali & Prativa Subedi - photo by Jan Sturmann
Our guest Speaker Prativa Subedi, Founder and President of the Nepalese community organization Women Awareness Center Nepal (WACN), and author of “Nepali Women at the Crossroads,” delivered a moving speech that underscored the power of cooperation and the importance of local, long-term projects to help women achieve self-sufficiency.
“With a little opportunity women can stand on their own two feet,” said Subedi who is on a 17-day visit to San Francisco to discuss WACN’s work. “To improve the social and economic status of women we must work with them.”
Current IDEX Executive Director Vini Bhansali also stressed the power of cooperation to reduce poverty and inequality, and praised IDEX partners for their cost-effective, innovative solutions to poverty during a year marked by a diminishing of economic opportunities worldwide.
“Most durable solutions to poverty come from the ground up,” she noted. “The most durable solutions to inequality are based on transformative relationships.”
We were also pleased to have a multigenerational presence at the event – three former IDEX directors were among the energetic guests who mingled over wine, appetizers and tasty vegan tamales courtesy of Gracias Madre.
“I came because people involved in development work always have openness and something to share,” said Michael Levitin, a San-Francisco-based journalist who has been involved in Latin American issues for many years. “Whenever I see an organization reaching out to indigenous communities…I am always supportive.”
By the conclusion of the evening, IDEX had raised approximately $13,500 to provide continuing support to our partners. We extend a sincere thank you to our board, staff, interns, volunteers and to all of our guests who made the evening such a success.
Blog by Erin Zaleski, Journalist & IDEX Volunteer
On behalf of the Board of Directors and the IDEX Staff, I am pleased and honored to announce the appointment of our new Executive Director, Rajasvini (“Vini”) Bhansali. Vini has served as IDEX’s Interim Executive Director since early December and was a Program Officer at IDEX for the past year.
Vini takes on the role from Pete Stanga who left IDEX in December after 6 years as Executive Director for a new opportunity in his career. While the organization will miss Pete, we have every reason to look forward to a bright future in the years ahead.
Vini is taking leadership of a competent and highly tenured staff. She enters this role at a time when IDEX is even better positioned, to serve our partners and communities. This is as a direct result of key accomplishments, such as, the completion of the website and strategic planning process, and our expanded grantmaking – accomplishments that serves the organization well now and as we move forward.
Vini bring to IDEX a wealth of management experience. She has previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of Juma Ventures, a youth development social enterprise program in San Francisco, and she currently holds board membership at the Canadian volunteering organization, CUSO-VSO. While Vini hails from Rajasthan, India, one of the six countries where IDEX has partners, much of her career in international development has been in Africa.
Staff and Board alike are thrilled that she has accepted the position after participating in a competitive recruitment and hiring process. We ask that you join with us in extending to her our warmest welcome.
We invite you to contact us and explore our website to find out more about our new leader, our staff, the work we do and the communities we serve.
Kenneth James
Chair, IDEX Board of Directors
