CRY

• Is CRY an international organisation?

CRY is an Indian trust and almost all CRY supporters are Indian or of Indian origin. CRY funds are deployed in India to benefit underprivileged Indian children and a small proportion is also invested in local causes.

CRY has also periodically received support from international organisations that have helped with special requirements, like hiring qualified professionals and setting up CRY's direct marketing cell.

• Does CRY receive government funding?

As an NGO (non-government organisation), we do not receive any direct government funding allowing us to remain independent, making unbiased evaluations of government policies and programmes. The government has also extended certain tax and duty exemptions to us, enabling us minimise costs

• In that case, how does CRY raise resources?

Through two main routes:
- donations from concerned individuals and organisations.
- sales of products (these include greeting cards, stationery, and calendars) and
Some may sponsor the costs of education and/or health inputs to a child or group of children, others to support the specialised inputs required by challenged children among others. Organisations often opt to partner us through the Adopt-a-Project initiative or sponsor CRY events. Our Materials Bank receives donations in kind ranging from items of stationery and books to computers and furniture.

• The problem is HUGE! Will my small contribution make a difference?

Sure it will. In fact, we estimate that something as small as the purchase of a single card can pay for a child's education and health for a day. And, trust us, all those small contributions put together add up to a LOT!

• Why does CRY not give the names of children to donors?

We believe that the work we do restores to children what is rightfully theirs. Beneficiaries must not be made to feel obliged for the support they receive. Hence, rather than supporting individual children, we pool the resources we raise and disburse them to the programmes we support. Every attempt is made to ensure that there is no differentiation between children. And while names of children are withheld, we encourage you to visit the projects we partner, so that you can experience the various ways to which your resources are being put.

• Are CRY employees paid for their work?

The full-time employees are (we have about 150 of them). We believe that this is important to attract the professional talent we need to manage our activities (and your resources) effectively. It is important to note, however, that CRY salaries are modest in comparison with commercial organisations.

• What is the role of CRY in ensuring Child Rights?

India's children will only achieve the rights guaranteed to them if every Indian believes this should be so and exercises all the power at our command - as parents, neighbours, consumers, employees, business people, teachers, politicians, journalists, professionals, bureaucrats, activists and most importantly as citizens - to make this a reality. CRY's role is to amplify the voice of India's children to reach large numbers of Indians and enlist their support for this cause.
We do this by partnering NGOs at grassroots levels, mobilising people to address the root causes that leads to violation of child rights and by building awareness on issues through media. We play the role of an advocacy organisation that speaks, demands, negotiates as required with relevant state or citizen bodies for the rights of children

• How does CRY reach basic rights to children?

At CRY, we've learned that permanent change is only possible when children, their parents and communities are informed about their rights and engage with their local government bodies to ensure the root causes of their immediate problems are solved. Based on this, we evolved our philosophy of community mobilisation - empowering communities (the immediate family, the immediate neighbourhood and the village or the town) to resolve the problem affecting them.
To achieve this we partner grassroots NGOs who can work with these communities. CRY helps these projects with project-planning, financial management, material requirements, perspective-building programmes, baseline data establishment, organisational development, training for skill building, information support, and developing promotional materials.

• How does CRY choose the projects it supports?

Our selection process is based on the values of trust, transparency, partnership and accountability. CRY's Development Support division works closely with partners to understand their needs, ensure resources are optimally used through regular budgeting and reporting systems aided by Account Aid, a firm of chartered accountants specialising in this sector.

• How are resources used?

We have learned that effecting long-term, sustainable change requires a holistic approach. Accomplishing this kind of change necessitates work at three levels:
1. Direct action with children in the form of education and health inputs.
2. Community mobilisation towards achievement of their rights.
3. Advocacy with government bodies to influence policy framing and implementation.

Financial support and non-financial inputs in the form of organisation development, capacity building and training is extended to:
- Individuals and projects working directly with underprivileged children and their parents, with local communities and government bodies
- Resource organisations who provide training, education material, etc. to smaller, younger initiatives in particular
- Nodal agencies who function as miniature CRYs, permitting us to increase our reach
- Strategic alliances or networks, whose aim is to facilitate the transfer of learning, build solidarity and influence policy

• How does CRY cover its own costs?

CRY's organisational costs comprise:

- designing paper products like cards, stationery etc.
- raising donations
- selecting, monitoring, evaluating and providing capacity building inputs to projects
- raising public awareness on our children's situation and their rights
- support activities like administration, human resources, communication, information technology and financial management.

Office equipment, furniture, travel, courier services, information technology support, media and advertising are some of the areas in which we receive free or discounted services from corporate partners as well as donations in cash and kind, wherever possible. Exemptions from duties also help reduce our costs. Income from corpus investments and other funds are also used to cover expenses.

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our on-going need for support to CRY, the organisation, in the form of infrastructure, equipment, corpus funds, skills and services. It is support of this nature that enables us to focus on our activities in the field rather than on our own viability. Each rupee saved is another deployed to benefit children. Every contribution in these areas actually frees resources and enhances our capacities.

• I would like to view your Annual Report to know how you raise and disburse resources?

You may definitely read CRY's Financials. We have our Annual Reports online as well as you can request for your copy from the CRY office nearest to you.

If you have any queries that have not been addressed here or require clarification on any of the information provided, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us at the CRY Office nearest to you or email us at webinfo@crymail.org

• CRY's partnership with third party vendors and agencies to raise funds. Tell me more

Donations from individuals are the mainstay of CRY's fundraising efforts. We make all attempts to enlist in this movement for children each of the concerned individuals who come from every walk of life and every corner of the globe. To enable us do this, we send direct appeals, updates via snail mail and email. We also use other avenues like face-to-face marketing and tele-marketing to reach out to individuals. CRY partners with third party agencies to support us in our work. Each representative / DSA (direct sales agent) from the agencies will carry with them -

• an identification card stating clearly that he/she is a CRY representative. The card will also carry the CRY brand logo and contact details of our offices.
• the relevant CRY literature

Should you like more information on CRY or would like to confirm the identity of the representative or any specific detail in his/ her presence, please contact any of the CRY offices. The representatives are not authorized to collect/ ask for / accept any cash donations for CRY. Only a cheque or demand Draft in favour of CRY- Child Rights and You will be accepted by them.