Five Hindu organisations have received COVID-19 relief funding amounting to US$833,000.
This was revealed according to data released by the United States’ Small Business Administration (SBA).
SBA gave the funds as part of its Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Advance (EIDLA), Disaster Assistance Loan (DAL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Vishwa Hindu Parishad of America (VHPA), based in Massachusetts, received more than US$150,000 under PPP and an additional US$21,430 under EIDLA and DAL programmes.
One of the key mission of VHPA is to “Cultivate a spirit of self respect for our way of life, our environment, our Dharma Gurus and institutions and respect for the people of all colors, creeds, races and religions.“
Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of USA obtained a payment of US$7,000 and a loan of US$64,462 under PPP.
The Ekal Movement is a “non-profit organization on a mission to bring basic education to every child across rural India.”
Infinity Foundation and Sewa International received US$51,872 and US$150,621 in COVID-19 relief respectively.
Infinity Foundation is “focused on research and education” and Sewa specialize in disaster relief and rehabilitation.
Hindu American Foundation (HAF), based in Washington, received US$378,064 in PPP loans and another US$10,000 in EIDLA.
HAF “work towards an equitable and accurate portrayal of Hindus and Hinduism in K-12 textbooks and in classrooms.”
It has been striving towards improving “narratives about Hindus and Hinduism in media.”
