Fellowship opportunity in India

I am writing to you today to welcome any motivated individuals at American University to apply for the Deshpande Foundation’s 2008 Fellowship program. The Deshpande Foundation is the family foundation of Gururaj (“Desh”) and Jaishree Deshpande. Founded in 1996, it is a leading philanthropic foundation in Massachusetts and India in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship and international development. In India, we work largely in the “Sandbox,” which is a geographically defined area of Northwestern Karnataka. As a grant-making organization, the Foundation funds projects in four major areas: Agriculture, Education, Health and Micro-Credit/Livelihoods.

We are currently offering three unique fellowship opportunities in and around Hubli, India:

Sandbox Fellow: This is a year-long program for young professionals or post-graduate school candidates who seek an extended experience working in on-the-ground development and/or social entrepreneurship.

Innovation Fellow: This is a shorter term opportunity (up to six months) for an entrepreneur who would like to test a product or idea in a development lab setting.

Junior Fellow: This short term (three to six months) opportunity is designed for mid-degree graduate students or experienced undergraduates who want to make an impact through field experience.

Because of the high standard of learning and entrepreneurship at American, we encourage the future generation of entrepreneurs and leaders at your school to apply. Interested students should forward a copy of their resume/CV and a one-page cover letter directly to Robert@deshpandefoundation.org . Within the cover letter they should provide the following:

1. Date of Birth
2. Educational Background
3. Fellowship Interest (Sandbox, Innovation, Junior)
4. Area of Interest (Education, Health, Agriculture, Microcredit)
5. Length of Intended Stay in India
6. Professional and/or International Experience

I have enclosed a pdf document with the full description of the Deshpande Foundation and the fellowship program. I hope that this message will be able to be displayed to the student body at your university and passed on to any other students whom you think would be excellent candidates. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Rob Uvanovic
The Deshpande Foundation
92 Montvale Avenue, Suite 2500
Stoneham, MA 02180

robert@deshpandefoundation.org

ph: 781.481.9055 ext 23