Meet Our Funders: Guru Krupa Foundation
Behind the Book sat down with Guru Krupa Foundation founder Mukund Padmanabhan to discuss how he got started with philanthropy and the foundation’s giving priorities. A returning foundation partner, Guru Krupa is sponsoring 5 of our literacy programs in FY23. We are grateful for the continued support and partnership!
Mukund (R) with teaching artist Alexander Shapiro (L) at Harbor Heights last spring.
How did you get started with philanthropy?
GKF started back in 2007 primarily as a vehicle to give back to those in need in India and in the US. I had been giving money to organizations as an individual prior to then, but it was piecemeal and not very organized. It got to the point where many new causes started to become of interest, and there seemed to be a need to do things more efficiently.
What are the GKF’s giving priorities?
Many of our causes relate to children. The type of support depends on the situation. If a child's basic necessities for living (shelter, food, health) are threatened, then our support goes towards providing those necessities - for instance, we support orphanages, and some food initiatives related to children in schools in India and the US. Once basic needs are met, the next best thing that can improve a child's life is education. Hence the support for causes related to education. We support many organizations that provide informal education that supplements learning in the school.
You attended a program last year at Harbor Heights Middle School, one of our newest partner schools serving English language learners. What were your takeaways from that day?
It was great to see the program in action. The curriculum seemed to have been integrated into the school curriculum, and the class I attended had both the class teacher and the teaching artist present. The teaching artist was really good - I could see the way he was engaging the kids, teaching them how to sketch cartoons, and there was good class participation. I can certainly believe that BTB's programs both provide educational support and a break from regular lessons.
Why do you support Behind the Book?
Reading/writing skills are particularly essential to improving communication skills and integrating well into society - and BTB's programs directly address this issue, hence I felt BTB was a good fit to our priorities. Besides, I used to be an avid reader as a child and spent many happy days spent buried inside books, and I would like to open this world to other children as well by supporting organizations that promote reading.