Giving is an intensely personal endeavor for Meena Vashee. Through The Seattle Foundation, Meena provided a capacity-building grant to Chaya, a nonprofit dedicated to helping South Asian women who have experienced domestic violence and raising awareness around the issue.
Meena, who emigrated from India to the U.S. in 1980, cares deeply about domestic violence. “It is very important to me to be engaged in the effort to ultimately end domestic violence,” she says.
Meena’s grant to Chaya is earmarked for capacity building, a critical but often overlooked area of giving. Though Meena knew where she wanted to target her support, she says The Seattle Foundation made it easy by handling the paperwork, arranging a meeting with Chaya’s executive director and reporting on how her funding is being used.
Meena plans to participate in more of the Foundation’s educational offerings to increase her knowledge about focused giving, with a particular objective in mind. “My goal is to work toward healthier relationships and safer communities, and to ensure that domestic violence does not become a part of our children’s lives.”