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India Currents gave me a voice in days I was very lost. Having my articles selected for publishing was very validating – Shailaja Dixit, Executive Director, Narika, Fremont
India Currents Foundation was awarded a $30,000 grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation in May.
The grant will fund India Currents’ general operations to support its storytelling and community engagement efforts, Publisher Vandana Kumar said. The Silicon Valley Community Foundation is an organization that supports philanthropy within the Silicon Valley by helping to connect organizations in need of funding to donors.
“This was our first grant win in 2021 and also a validation that a funder found the work we do at India Currents to be valuable to the community,” Kumar said.
She said she was “ecstatic” upon hearing the news of the grant win and said this type of funding is essential for organizations like India Currents to continue serving the Bay Area community.
“India Currents is in a moment of transition – historically, we have been supported by ad revenue,” she said. “With the collapse of the advertising model, we are turning to our readers to support community journalism. Every donation makes our hearts sing! We are working on making this a major part of our revenue base.”
The grant is one of multiple that India Currents has won in the past year from organizations like United Way Bay Area, Ethnic Media Services, and the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
Srishti Prabha, India Currents’ Managing Editor, said India Currents serves as a crucial source of information for minority communities in the Bay Area.
“Ethnic media battles to provide unencumbered reporting, and grant funding allows for us to tell the unusual, unique stories you wouldn’t find in mainstream media,” they said.
She said the grant funding will allow India Currents to maintain its position as a space for Desi people in the Bay Area, United States, and across the globe.
“We rely heavily on grant funding to sustain our grassroots work and so getting this grant feels like a life source,” Prabha said. “We live another day to tell the stories that matter to our community.”
Isha Trivedi is a journalism student at George Washington University. She enjoys reading and listening to podcasts in her (limited) spare time.