How Funds Are Used
What happens between a contribution arriving and assistance reaching a worker — and how we report it.
Videsh Mitra raises funds for individual, verified cases and for the project as a whole. This page explains how a case reaches the point of being published, what contributions pay for, and what we publish afterwards.
Verification
What “Verified Case” means
A campaign carries a Verified Case badge when the Videsh Mitra case team has reviewed it on the basis of available information and supporting documentation.
What we check
- That the worker exists and is contactable, directly or through family
- That the difficulty described is consistent with the documents available to us
- That the worker, or their family where the worker cannot be reached, agrees to the case being shared publicly
- That the assistance being sought is something we can realistically coordinate
What verification is not
Verification is not a guarantee of outcome. It does not mean a rescue, a repatriation, a legal result or the settlement of a debt will follow. It means we have looked, as carefully as we could with the information available, before asking anyone to contribute.
Consent
Nothing is published without permission
Agreeing to be helped is not the same as agreeing to be fundraised for. We ask separately, and we record the answer.
- A case is published only after the worker, or their family, has agreed to it
- Identifying details are withheld by default — passport, identity numbers, bank details, exact address, legal documents and family information are never published
- Consent can be withdrawn at any time, and the campaign is taken down
- Nothing is published where doing so could endanger the worker or their family
See our safeguarding policy and privacy policy.
Use of funds
What contributions pay for
Depending on the case, contributions may support:
Legal assistance
Documentation support
Emergency humanitarian assistance
Food / essential needs
Temporary accommodation
Safe repatriation
Medical assistance
Rehabilitation / livelihood support
Each campaign page lists which of these apply to that case, with an estimated amount against each.
Reporting
Estimated and actual, side by side
Every campaign publishes a fund utilisation table. It starts as an estimate. As money is actually spent, a second column appears showing what was really used.
| Purpose | Estimated | Utilised |
|---|---|---|
| Legal assistance | ₹50,000 | ₹50,000 |
| Documentation | ₹15,000 | — |
| Repatriation coordination | ₹60,000 | — |
Illustrative only. Real figures appear on each campaign page.
How the raised figure is produced
There is no online payment system on this website. Contributions arrive by bank transfer, and the amount shown on a campaign is entered by the Videsh Mitra team as contributions are confirmed.
Each campaign shows the date it was last updated, and a note explaining how the figure was arrived at. It is a stated figure, not a live feed, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise.
Targets
An assistance target is not a debt
Where a worker faces a financial or legal obligation, the campaign shows that amount and the Videsh Mitra assistance target as two separate figures, because they are different things.
The assistance target is the amount we are seeking to mobilise for verified assistance in that case. It does not represent a guarantee that the entire financial obligation will be paid or settled by Videsh Mitra.
Afterwards
Closed campaigns stay published
When a case concludes, the campaign is not deleted. It stays visible with its final outcome and a summary of target, raised and utilised amounts. People contributed to it; the record belongs to them as much as to us.
Funds remaining at the end of a campaign
[NEXGEN TO CONFIRM] The treatment of funds remaining after a case concludes must follow NexGen Foundation’s applicable donation and fundraising policy. That policy needs to be stated here, in plain terms, before contributions are accepted.
Two ways to contribute
A specific case
Applied to that case. You can follow its progress, updates and final outcome on its campaign page.
The project as a whole
Lets us respond to whichever case needs it most — including the many we cannot publish.
Important
Videsh Mitra is a humanitarian support initiative and does not have governmental, diplomatic, police, immigration or judicial authority. Submission of a case does not guarantee rescue, financial assistance, repatriation or any particular outcome. Each case is assessed individually, and assistance depends on the circumstances, applicable laws, cooperation of relevant authorities and available resources.