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What does Baal Dan mean? [back to top]
In Hindi, Baal means Child. Dan means Donation.
Although the name is Indian, Baal Dan was created to help children in need, no matter where they are from.
Who started Baal Dan? [back to top]
Tanya Monalisa Pinto, Dallas, Texas.
Born in India, Tanya lived in Dubai until the age of 13 attending British schools, moved to Australia for high school and university and then moved to Dallas in 1999. Through her father's work in the travel industry she has seen many parts of the world and has a passion for traveling, reading, yoga and cooking. She has spent the last 8 years working in brand management at The Richards Group, the largest independent advertising agency in the US. Tanya's clients have included Travelocity, Nokia, United Way and Nortel, and the agency has many notable clients such as The Home Depot, Hyundai and Salvation Army. In 2005, Tanya took a three-month sabbatical in India to volunteer at Mother Teresa's orphanage, Shishu Bhavan, and home for the dying, Nirmal Hriday. It was this experience that led her to form Baal Dan.
How can I help? [back to top]
Please click here to find out about all the ways you can help Baal Dan!
Is Baal Dan tax exempt? [back to top]
Yes, Baal Dan Charities is exempt from Federal income tax under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to Baal Dan Charities are deductible under section 170 of the Code. Baal Dan is classified as a public charity and qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers and gifts under section 2055, 2106 or 2522 of the Code.
Why was Baal Dan formed? [back to top]
Last year, a friend gave me $50 to buy the kids in the orphanage candy. Did you know that $1 = 43 rupees? When I got to India, I realized this was over 2000 rupees! After some bargaining at the local markets, here's what I got with that $50:
300 pairs of children's underwear
100 notebooks
100 pencils
2 bags of candy
When I emailed my friend and told him all the things I bought with his $50, and how in a small way he helped 300 children, he said,
"If I had known how $50 could help so many children, I would have given you a lot more money."
That's why I started Baal Dan.
How do I know where my money is going? [back to top]
After each bulk purchase made by Baal Dan in India, donors are notified of exactly what was purchased for the kids.
This complete list is always available on the website in the trip results section. And because Baal Dan is a volunteer-based organization, administrative
costs are minimized and in many cases are eliminated.
What makes Baal Dan different from other charities? [back to top]
Ever wondered where your money goes when you give to charity?
Baal Dan is focused on helping children in the most simple, direct and efficient way possible. All the items that Baal Dan purchases are listed on the website in the trip results section. Administrative costs are kept to an a minimum, and in most cases are eliminated altogether. Donors are updated with photos, stories, and detailed results about every aspect of Baal Dan's work in India.
Does Baal Dan have a religious affiliation? [back to top]
The creation of Baal Dan was inspired by Mother Teresa. That does not mean that this is an organization that holds any religious affiliation. I believe and respect that all paths lead to God. I also respect people who are agnostic or atheist. I am a spiritual person and I believe in Mother Teresa because she helped all people, all children, regardless of race, age, or country. When accused once of having an agenda of "converting" Hindus to Christians, she simply replied that this was not her mission, and that, "A Hindu must be a good Hindu. A Muslim must be a good Muslim, and a Christian must be a good Christian."
Baal Dan was created to help children who are hungry, homeless and in need of help no matter what religion they are or where they are from.
Who is on the Baal Dan board? [back to top]
TANYA PINTO, PRESIDENT
 Born in India, Tanya moved with her family to Dubai as an infant and attended British schools there. When the first Gulf War broke out she left Dubai for Perth, Western Australia where she graduated from Australia’s
Curtin University in 1998 with First Class Honors. She began working for The Richards Group in 1999, the nations largest, independent branding agency and is currently in brand
management. In 2005, Tanya took a sabbatical to go to Calcutta and volunteer at an orphanage, which inspired her to found Baal Dan in April 2006. Tanya was recently awarded the Sri-Sri Ravi Shankar Award for
Uplifting Human Values for her work with Baal Dan.
 NEIL PINTO, SECRETARY
Neil was born in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates and grew up in Perth, Western Australia and later Dallas, Texas. He recently graduated from the Univeristy of Texas at Austin with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Astronomy. He is now working at Lockheed Martin Space Systems in the new CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle) project. His role on Baal Dan is of Secretary and to maintain the website and manage all online activity.
 WALTER MIDDLETON
Walter Middleton, a citizen of India, has been active in the global Food Aid arena for over 37 years. He currently serves as Vice-President of World Vision's Food Programming Management Group, providing overall leadership to World Vision's food program's worldwide valued at over US$330 million. Walter has been with World vision since January 1988 and prior to this, Walter worked with CARE from 1969 - 1987, in India, Somalia and Mozambique.
Walter has extensive experience in the areas of Training Management, Group Facilitation, Project Management, Leadership development, Public Relations and Negotiations. One of his principal strengths lies in the area of 'Development Relief'. In 2002, he broke new ground when, together with two other industry leaders, created and subsequently headed up one of the biggest multi-country, multi-NGO initiatives, C-SAFE (Consortium for Southern Africa Food Security Emergency). C-SAFE represented the first time that the three largest American food aid NGOs worked together on a regional basis, on such a sizeable scale; a multi-million dollar project designed to respond to the food security emergency that faced approximately 14 million people in Southern Africa.
Walter is the recipient of two international awards. In April 2002 in Kansas USA, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) acknowledged Walter's "Exemplary performance in enhancing the integrity of foreign food aid programs on behalf of the people of the United States of America". In October 2005 in Rome, Walter once more was the recipient of a World Food Programme "Special Award for Outstanding Contribution" recognizing his "extraordinary commitment to fighting hunger in partnership with World Food Programme." Another award of note was his 'Highest Award for Achievement' from Dale Carnegie.
 CHARLES RIBAUDO
Charles Ribaudo is Co-Founder of Jambo Networks, Inc. Before Jambo, Charles was a co-founder of EDS Ventures, EDS' $150 million global venture capital fund. He managed the venture activity for the Texas region and worked with CTO and senior officers to identify investment needs. He was selected as one of EDS's top innovators for 2001 and 2002. Charles has also worked at Accenture's Change Management Division. Charles was a Park Leadership Fellow at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, where he received his MBA. He also graduated from the Jepson School of Leadership at University of Richmond, with a B.A. in Leadership. Charles has presented at the DEMO Conference, TED Conference, VentureWire's Wireless Ventures,
Southwest Venture Forum, IBD Networks' Under the Radar, StarTech's Emerging Growth Series, and has lectured at Cornell University, Stanford University, Washington University in St. Louis and University of Texas at Dallas. Charles has been quoted in the New York Times, Forbes, Fort Worth Star Telegram, Indianapolis Star, Network World, eWeek, Red Herring, Dallas CEO, among others and was recently named as one of the "Most Important People in Mass Customization 2005-06".
 ALLISON HORTON
Allison Horton has spent the last 12 years working in the fields of advertising, public relations and marketing for such companies as Ogilvy PR and AT&T Wireless (now Cingular) and the most recent last five years were with Nortel. It is through her work at Nortel and the agency/client relationship she had with The Richards Group, that Allison met Baal Dan founder, Tanya Pinto. Allison's most recent life decision to be home with her daughter full-time has underscored the importance of the needs and happiness of children, and has made contributing to Baal Dan of great interest to her. Allison lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and daughter.
 KANAN PINTO
Kanan was born in Bombay, India and has lived in Dubai, Australia and the United States. While in Australia, Kanan ran her own Family Day Care business and has also worked with children in Montessori pre-schools. Kanan is fluent in Hindi contributes to Baal Dan's research in India as well as local fundraising in Dallas. Kanan's father (Tanya's grandfather) was an orphan, and this was the reason that both Kanan and Tanya wanted to do something to make a difference to children in need.
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