Online applications for aid

Over the years well-intentioned Zoroastrians have come together to create charitable trusts. In Bombay alone there are over 1,200 registered Zoroastrian trusts. Each year, these trusts donate crores of rupees to Zoroastrians in need of assistance. Although in Bombay the greatest need is housing, education and medical financial assistance are the greatest needs globally.

Many trusts are paper and pencil based. This allows for lapses: all required documents not submitted, delayed processing, records misplaced, ineffective follow up for repayment of loans and difficulty in maintaining records over an extended period of time.

Clockwise from top left: Homai Mehta, Freyaz Shroff, Hoshaang Gotla, Manek Kalyaniwala and Zarir Bhesania

Currently trusts don’t communicate with each other about which applicant received how much funding. This results in a situation in which some people receive more aid than they require, while others in need are left without. While it is not the norm, some people have made this type of "trust-shopping” their primary means of income and have used the out-datedness of the application and disbursement system for their own fraudulent gain. On the other hand, without an organized way to track applications in the current paper-based system, some worthy requests may be lost or go unnoticed.

To avoid these challenges, Team India chose, as its project, interconnectivity between trusts for the Youth Leadership Enhancement Program (YLEP) Initiative. The project aims to create a transparent application and communication process between the trusts and the applicants. After a competitive application process, youth across the world were chosen to participate. Each country was then tasked with creating and executing a project that met project guidelines.

By streamlining the process, the aim is to promote greater accountability and a less laborious application and disbursement process for all involved. To this end, Team India has created an online application program, accessible to all applicants and participating trusts by logging in on a secure website: www.zfunds.org

Zoroastrian trusts, globally, will be connected on the same platform. Applicants seeking financial aid for medical treatment and/or education assistance could log onto www.zfunds.org

By completing the form for either a medical or educational scholarship via the website, the applicant must only complete one master application instead of several separate and often redundant appeals to each different trust, thus dramatically simplifying the process. When an application is complete, the participating trusts are notified through the online system and each trust can begin to review the master application.

When a trust views an application online, it will also be able to see how much money has already been disbursed, in total, to the individual applicant by the other trusts participating in the program.

zfunds.org allows the trusts to maintain their independence, control the information shared and have a greater control on the funds distributed. zfunds.org streamlines the process for the applicant and allows them to track the progress of their applications.

Team India’s project meets a current need, bridges a divide, and offers long term viability; thus meeting all the criteria set out for the YLEP project.

This database and connectivity platform is the first of its kind for the Zoroastrian community and it has global outreach possibilities.

Team India would welcome feedback on e-mail: freyaz@kurniv.com or on mobile: 9892273973.