* Motherland Nepal is a California licensed non-profit based in the East Bay Area of San Francisco, dedicated to facilitate the integration of Nepali refugees and immigrants, as well as enhancing social and cultural ties between Nepalese Americans and other microcosms of American culture.

* Our goal is to improve our online content and create a web-series of educational videos aimed at teaching valuable English skills to our Nepali, Bhutanese, and Tibetan viewers.

* Our goal of upgrading the accessibility of our website will take two months, and our production of the web-series will be ongoing.

* Our total anticipated budget for this project is $6500. This is the amount of our grant request.

Motherland Nepal was established in 2002 in response to the need of a central community resource for Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Tibetan peoples. We are a California licensed non-profit, based in the East Bay Area of San Francisco, dedicated to facilitate the integration of Nepali refugees and immigrants, as well as enhancing social and cultural ties between Nepalese Americans and other microcosms of American culture.

Presently there are an estimated 20,000 people of Nepali origin residing in the general San Francisco Bay Area, including families and individuals from neighboring countries such as Bhutan and Tibet that share our culture and language.

We reach people mainly through technology, such as our YouTube news channel and our website, but we frequently host various meetings and cultural events in the San Francisco Bay Area as well. These events are essential to the unity of our people and preservation of our culture. The internet is the medium through which this is possible, and we would like to improve and extend our presence in this realm.

Although our videos have reached nearly half a million video views in just over two years, we believe there is substantial room for growth. Our community is growing every year, and with the advent of successful Nepali businesses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, there is a greater need than ever for unity through our organization.

The businesses and individuals of our community are incredibly generous. We continually receive donations that we use to uplift the less fortunate of our community. It is also from them that we have received donations totaling more than $20,000 that will be appropriated towards our proposed Bay Area Nepali Community Center.

This is our future. However, we have more immediate needs that will further our organization. This includes the need for funds that will accelerate the growth and quality of our online media services.

Our current web-based content has been successful in affecting viewers throughout our community, but we believe we can improve. There are also still many members of our community who aren’t confident English speakers. Roughly 40-50% of our community experiences difficulty using English in everyday situations, based on a recent survey we conducted within our organization. This affects all of American society negatively in addition to the stress it places on our people.

Public schools have helped many of our young individuals learn the nuances of the English language, but even they sometimes have difficulty expressing themselves in a language that is in many cases secondary in their linguistic quiver. This issue has existed as long as we have existed in the U.S. We thoroughly recognize that the future of our people in America depends on their ability to function with preexisting society, and communication is essential to their success.

Resources on translations between the Nepali language and English are relatively scarce compared to other languages. This increases the difficulty in adjusting to American society.

This linguistic divide in our community has moved us to create a trusted resource for the advancement of our people. This project will go beyond the scope of just connecting our community. We have three specific goals we need to accomplish:

* Improve the design and accessibility of our website and YouTube profile to reach a greater audience.

* Increase the capabilities of our video production team through training and improved equipment.

* Create a web-series of educational videos aimed at teaching our viewers English skills.

Although this project is ambitious, we have the raw resources required to achieve our goals. Many of our key members are active in the arts and design, which will help streamline our representation on the internet.

Many of our young adults are attending college or are attempting to enter college. This project will provide hours of invaluable community service which is greatly valued by colleges. Including these young individuals also gets them engaged in the community in a hands-on environment, preparing them for success in the future.

While it is true we depend mostly on volunteers to fulfill our goals, we recognize that there may be problems that we cannot solve internally. This is where our costs arise. However, these costs will be kept at a minimum because the talent we already possess will be sufficient in most cases.

While this project will require initial investment, we project that the popularity of the videos will provide ad revenue from the views the videos receive. In addition to this compensation, we hope that the members of our community appreciate the value of our work and increase their charitable donations. Businesses involved in our community may also choose to sponsor our videos when they see the quality of our content.

The progress of this project will be closely monitored by the President, Anil Pandey, and the rest of the organization’s governing body. Monthly reports will be generated by the video production team divulging specific details in the project’s development. Through these mechanisms we will be under control of the project at all times.

When our videos are finally published for distribution on YouTube, we can track their success through viewer feedback, view counts, and other various tools that YouTube provides for its members.

Please consider our proposal for this project. Completing this project would be a major advancement for our organization and our community alike.

* Please visit our website at www.motherlandnepal.org where you can read more about our organization and what we have accomplished for the benefit of our community.

* For your consideration, our YouTube profile is located at this address: www.youtube.com/user/MotherlandNepal

* Thank you for your time. Again, please consider our application for your final decision.

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