FAQs
GOSUMEC Foundation USA is a 501(c)(3) exempt nonprofit organization per IRS rules and is registered as such.
Tax ID # 92-1826702
Please review our Mission Statement, Documents under the Financial Page which include the Bylaws, Team structure, Founder’s message, Project Details and Donate Now links.
Please find a list of some Frequently Asked Questions for your reference.
This list will be continually updated to address unanswered queries.
Projects
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Who is considered an Alumnus?
Former Students, Trainee’s, Faculty of Medical and Paramedical courses at Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital.
These include Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physicians amongst others.
How was the current Project selected?
The expansion and upgrade of the Toilets and Boys Common Room (medical school building), is a student requested project, deemed necessary and therefore approved by the Dean Dr. Sangeeta Ravat, Gosumec Alumni Association (GAA), Additional Municipal Commissioner (AMC) of BMC and endorsed by our Board.
This project was found to be essential based upon the current and future needs.
Please find necessary details on the Project Page.
How will this project be executed?
The process of expansion and upgrade will follow the lines of the recently completed Toilets & Ladies Common Room Project.
What is the expectation for the donation amount?
The tax-deductible amount donated is voluntary. Currently almost all of our pledges are at least $1000.
For donations of $ 10,000 and above, we plan to acknowledge the donors on a plaque in the Boys Common Room (BCR).
For benefactions greater than $ 25,000, please contact the President (president@gosumec.org) or Treasurer (treasurer@gosumec.org).
Will there be an overhead expense in the US?
For 2023, the overhead in the US is close to ZERO, indicating that almost all the money donated goes towards the project.
The entire cost of setting up the foundation, regulatory filings, legal fees, website development and ancillary expenses have been borne by the Founders, Archana and Sanjay Bindra.
No other founding Director, Officer, Advisor or Volunteer will receive any compensation.
Donors will have the option to bear transaction fees. We favor no cost Zelle payments or low cost Bank ACH transfers, through Stripe or Anedot.
A 3rd party, Benevity, which processes corporate matching, charges a transaction fee of about 5% (www.benevity.com).
In the US, for 2024: We expect nominal professional expenses.
a. Accountant fees
b. Website Maintenance and Expansion
(Unless individually sponsored by members to keep overhead near ZERO).
Will there be an overhead expense in INDIA?
There may be a nominal overhead charge at DJST to be determined by the Dean.
If Gosumec Alumni Association (GAA) achieves an FCRA Account, then the expected overhead in India will be ZERO.
What is the expected cost of this project including future maintenance?
We anticipate the cost of this project to be about $ 150,000, which includes funds for future maintenance.
At the completion of the project, the remaining capital will be secured in a fixed deposit as a Maintenance Fund, with interest payments to service the needs from future wear and tear.
The unused interest payments will allow for compounding of Principal to keep pace with inflation, securing necessary requirements for years to come.
How will the money be transferred from the US to INDIA?
The US Dollar funds from the GOSUMEC Foundation USA account at Bank of America, will be wire transferred to an FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) Account at Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital.
Diamond Jubilee Society Trust (DJST) at Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, has an FCRA Account with the State Bank of India, New Delhi Main Branch (SBI NDMB). This account has been operational since April 18, 2000.
or
FCRA account of Gosumec Alumni Association (GAA) at Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, when it is approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs, MHA.
Can Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) usurp the funds?
No.
BMC is not involved in fund collection or disbursement.
This project will be supervised by the Dean (who heads the GAA), GAA, our Advisors, Board of Directors and Officers.
Can the Board of Directors or Officers usurp the funds?
No.
There is both organizational and regulatory oversight.
The foundation is required to file Form 990 (Federal) and Form 199 (CA State), both of which are available for review in the public domain. These returns will also be made accessible on the Financial Page.
Annual Financial Statement including the Annual Report from the President, will be posted on the website for each fiscal tax year.
We are fortunate to have an advisor, Dr. Manish Raisinghani, who is a CEO in the Nonprofit sector. We will benefit from his expertise with large charitable corporations.
How long will this project take to complete?
Once approved by the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) of BMC, as the medical school is a heritage structure built in 1925, this project is expected to be completed in about 9 months.
We expect this project to complete by end of December 2024.
How will money be disbursed?
Milestone driven fractional progress payments will be made per the approved fee schedule.
The money transferred from the Foundation to the selected FCRA account at GSMC & KEM Hospital, will be disbursed by the process established by the Dean (who heads the GAA) and approved by our Board of Directors & Officers.
The initial Design fee for this Project has already been paid by the founders, Archana & Sanjay Bindra.
Do you have any Team members in INDIA?
Our Advisory team in India includes the Dean Dr. Sangeeta Ravat, Dr. Lopa Mehta, Dr. Ravi Ramakantan and Dr. Mahesh Abhyankar.
Our Media team in India includes Dr. M. Natarajan and Dr. Vinita Puri.
What about future Projects?
We plan to support future student, faculty & alumni requested projects, which are selected by the Dean, who heads the Gosumec Alumni Association (GAA) at Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital and approved by our board.
Will Gosumec Foundation USA collect funds outside the US?
GOSUMEC Foundation USA is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity, and can only accept funds in US dollars.
Gosumecs outside the US can however directly reach out to the Gosumec Alumni Association at GSMC & KEMH regarding donating funds to our alma mater.
Is this a personal foundation?
No.
GOSUMEC foundation USA is a 501(c)(3) registered as a public charity with a Board of Directors, Officers and an organizational structure, Bylaws, procedures to meet regulatory requirements. The documents of this organization are available for review on the Financial Page.
All Gosumecs are encouraged to serve as Volunteers for this nonprofit to benefit the alma mater and broader global alumni community.
Google Form
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Who can fill the Google form under Join Us, and how long does it take to complete this form?
All Gosumecs’ including Physical therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physicians who are graduates of GSMC and KEMH (UG/PG) or former faculty at our alma mater are eligible to fill this form.
Filling this form gives us consent to share this data between GAA (Gosumec Alumni Association) and Gosumec Foundation and later allows the use this data to build a searchable database using secure login. Please visit iit.org/maps to gain understanding of what we wish to achieve.
This form takes under 2 minutes to complete.
What is the data collected and Why?
We are collecting demographic information (including country of origin, city and state of residence; contact information of email address and mobile phone/cell phone to be able to contact alumni if necessary, as well as the Year of joining GSMC & KEMH, including area of medical practice.
We are asking three questions.
- Do you wish to join GAA (Gosumec Alumni Association) at GSMC & KEMH, which is the official alumni office headed by the Dean and it maintains a dedicated staffed office called “Nostalgia”.
- Do you wish to join the Gosumec WhatsApp groups? If not then we will have alternative contact information to reach out to you.
- How do you wish to contribute to our alma mater? Is it with time, talent or treasure?
What will the data from the google form filled by global alumni be used for?
Data from the google form will be shared internally between Gosumec Foundation & Gosumec Alumni Association at GSMC & KEMH to meet the objectives of the Gosumec Foundation.
Once we achieve enough responses the data will be available for secure access similar to iit.org/maps, allowing for global engagement.
By filling the data you allow it for internal use and subsequent inclusion on the GOSUMEC Foundations website (https://gosumec.org) with security maintenance.
For any unanswered questions please fill the contact/feedback google form.
Who will analyze the contents of this form?
These forms completed by alumni globally will be analyzed by Dr. Vinay Vaidya who is an expert on data analytics and serves as a Chief Medical Information Officer at a Children’s hospital in Arizona. He also advises our team at Gosumec Foundation.
How do we join GAA (Gosumec Alumni Association)?
In due course of time, we will have a separate page on GAA to include details about the alumni organization, their office bearers, an easy to fill application form (google form) and instructions to pay the nominal fee of Rs.1500 to join GAA.
The alumni who wish to join GAA will be contacted to assist with membership.
How can I get involved with GOSUMEC Foundation?
We are a volunteer run organization. Please reach out to the Directors, Officers, Advisors in ways that you can contribute and help.
Email: president@gosumec.org
How do we contact GOSUMEC Foundation for any unanswered queries?
For any unanswered questions please fill the contact/feedback google form.We will respond to you and include the questions on our FAQs so it serves other members.
We are a voluntary organization and have no administrative staff. Our team consists of motivated Gosumecs’ who believe in the Mission of the GOSUMEC Foundation to Connect, Contribute & Engage.