BITS 99 Batch Fund - Silver Jubilee Class Gift

As we celebrate 25 years of being a BITSian, it’s now our turn to give back to BITS Pilani, and create a lasting legacy.

Current State of Affairs at BITS Pilani:

1. BITS 4-year tuition at INR 23L vs. INR 8L at IIT, due to no government funding
2. Tuition contributes to 90% of BITS expenses
3. BITS alumni endowments at INR 135CR, 4.5x lower than IITs
4. Girls’ enrollment drops to 12%, due to high tuition

1999 Batch Gift Goal - Total: INR 6CR 

As a batch, we have set a goal of contributing a total of INR 6CR to give back to BITS. The funds raised will be utilized in the ratio of 5:1 for the two endowments.

         A. Endowment for 100 Merit-cum-need scholarships (MCN) (INR 5CR)

        Give the gift of BITS education as 5 annual 100% scholarships for 20+ years to

1. Girl students from families with annual income < INR 16L
2. Students from families with annual income < INR 12L

         B. Endowment for 400 Scholarships for children of BITS employees (INR 1CR)

        Give the gift of education as 20 annual scholarships for 20+ years to

1. Children of BITS employees (e.g. mess workers) with annual income < INR 3.3L

How to Contribute:

I. Donate Now And Fill This Checklist Form

Fundraising Campaign from October 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024

1. All amounts are welcome. 
2. Please do the best you can, considering the momentous occasion of 25 years and what our BITS education has given us. 
3. To meet our batch gift goal, amongst 800 students, we would need INR 75K on an average, or equivalently, INR 3K for each year since 1999. 
4. Can we meet more than 50% of our goal before the reunion ?

 Suggested amounts (for Domestic Alumni, filing IT returns in India)

1. INR 35K - Go 1999 and BITS Pilani!
2. INR 65K - Covers 25% tuition for one semester for one student at BITS Pilani
3. INR 1.3L - Covers 50% tuition for one semester for one student at BITS Pilani
4. INR 2.6L - Covers 100% tuition for one semester for one student at BITS Pilani
5. INR 5.2L - Covers 100% tuition for one year for one student at BITS Pilani

Suggested amounts (for Overseas Alumni, filing IT returns overseas)

1. USD 1K - Go 1999 and BITS Pilani!
2. USD 1.5K - Covers 50% tuition for one semester for one student at BITS Pilani
3. USD 3K - Covers 100% tuition for one semester for one student at BITS Pilani
4. USD 6K - Covers 100% tuition for one year for one student at BITS Pilani
5. USD 12K - Covers 100% tuition for two years for one student at BITS Pilani
6. USD 24K - One student’s complete education with mentorship opportunities

We request you to: 

1. Consider paying forward any scholarships received at BITS Pilani when you were a student commensurate with current levels of tuition, if you are able to do so.
2. Enhance the impact of your contribution by leveraging a corporate match policy with your/ your spouse’s employer.  Please check on the eligible amount, make the donation with the “contribute now” or other methods listed on this page, request for the match with the receipt with the employer, and let us know the details. The donation has to be in the name of the person requesting the match.
   As an example, if the company you work for matches 1:1 up to 10k USD, a donation of 10k USD would be matched to 10k USD for an effective 20k USD, or 2x impact.
   For the rare situation wherein your employer only allows matching requests through their internal portal, please reach out to us and we can direct you on the next steps. 
3. Boost your contribution by 15% towards scholarships for children of BITS employees (e.g. mess workers, chowkidars), as a give back to the community that nurtured us in our formative years at BITS Pilani. 
4. Reach out to us, if you would like to contribute higher amounts,  so we can work 1:1 with you.

Tax Deductions and Benefits:

1. Tax deductions for the financial year for donations from India, US and Canada.
2. 100% tax-exemption for donations to Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India with 80(G) benefit
3. Donation to BITSAA, a 501c(3) organization in the US, is 100% tax deductible
   1. EIN: EIN: 22-3835037
   2. Address: 1030 E. El Camino Real, #256, Sunnyvale CA 94087
   3. Please include “1999 Batch Fund, Donor Name, ID of Alumnus” in the description

II. Be a Champion for BITS Pilani

We are looking for batch champions to drive this campaign by coordinating with your  wingies and close friends. Please check our FAQ on how you can help be a champion. 

Useful Resources:

1. FAQ 
   1. 1999 Batch Fund Initiative
   2. Matching contributions
   3. Tax Benefits
   4. Other ways to contribute
   5. Champions
2. Endowment Calculations 

Please reach out to us at 99givebacktobitspilani@gmail.com if you have any questions on the initiative, tax benefits, corporate match, or other ways to contribute..

Please fill out this checklist form if not already. This form is to serve as a checklist for you and also to enable us to track the donations coming through both domestic and overseas pages. It will facilitate tracking and ensuring your donation is accounted for correctly for our 99 Give Back to BITS Class Gift

We cannot do this without you.

With gratitude,

1999GiveBack2BITS Team,

Ranga, Arun, Sandhya, Suneetha, Phani, Sarath, Srini, Kaushik, Subashini, Srivathsan