Bangalore: Milaap.org, India’s largest crowdfunding platform, in collaboration with Internshala, India’s no. 1 internship platform, has launched an initiative titled ‘Sapno Ki Udaan’ for students aspiring for higher education. The objective is to provide financial assistance to students who desire to pursue higher education but may not have adequate resources to do so. Indian and International students studying in India and Indian students studying abroad are eligible to apply for this scholarship.

For the top 10 fundraiser submissions (based on the ‘sense of purpose’, ‘academic background’ and ‘the element of need’) Milaap will ensure a guaranteed scholarship of minimum INR 50,000 each. Remaining entries get funds for their education through crowdfunding. Internshala will help spread the word among the student community as the outreach partner for the initiative.

‘Education’, as a crowdfunding category, is among the more popular ones on Milaap.org. More and more students are availing the debt-free financial support they need from the communities by means of online fundraising. People have also been starting and running fundraisers for friends, family members and even for children of colleagues and acquaintances.

For example, Sai Venkatesh, a promising young CA aspirant was unable to afford his coaching and tuition expenses. His father, being physically disabled and self employed at a watch repair shop was unable to fund his education completely. An online fundraiser was started for him by his father’s friend Mr. Narsing Rao. His fundraiser on Milaap picked up quickly and gained 6.4K shares on Facebook. He is now only a few steps away from his goal amount and is also continuing his education.

Ayush, another brilliant student, had a dream to study at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Although, Ayush had a scholarship from the University for his tuition fees, he lacked the means to travel abroad, or to stay in the foreign country. His father is a simple mechanic, and despite being a deserving candidate, Ayush’s aspirations threatened to shatter in the face of his limitations. An online fundraiser was set up by Avanti Centre of Learning, where Ayush was undergoing coaching. The campaign has successfully managed to collect INR 4,38,000 of the target amount of INR 5,00,000.

The student community, being dominated by digital natives is also efficiently utilizing social media to reach out to the right audiences, giving their fundraisers the desired visibility and support. Commenting on the initiative, Anoj Viswanathan, co-founder of Milaap.org said, “With the increased digital access, people from even the remotest parts of the country have access to information and knowledge of better educational opportunities. Students now are not even geographically restricted to places. The only thing that stands between these incredibly talented students and their dreams is a financial constraint. We envision a solution to this through online fundraising.”

He added, “We are delighted to associate with Internshala since it allows various students from schools and colleges across India to access this scholarship. We would like to encourage more and more students to pursue their dreams without being burdened by financial constraints.”

At the launch of the initiative, Sarvesh Agrawal, founder and CEO, Internshala, said, “We are on a mission to create a world of opportunities for the students across India. Our focus is to up-skill the youth and help them launch their career. Through this initiative, we hope to reach out to those students who have genuine passion for learning and have the ability to achieve despite the odds. We are excited to partner with Milaap as the platform enables many to realise their dreams. With this partnership, we hope to give wings to the dreams of the students.”

If anyone has a requirement of funds for educational causes, they can easily set up campaigns by using the instructions below:

• Visit http://milaap.org/sku to start a fundraiser under the #SapnoKiUdaan category
• Send us a whatsapp message on +91-7022899664 or email at feedback@milaap.org for guidance to set up a campaign