The Manaloni Manishi Foundation (MMF) believes that every living thing is inherently connected through eternal consciousness. This connected consciousness allows one to look beyond the layers of societal fabric established over time by humans, empathize with another person in distress, and offer a helping hand to bring joy in someone else’s life and hence happiness to themselves. The Telugu phrase ‘Manaloni Manishi’ means ‘the person inside of us’, is a personified reference to eternal consciousness.

Founded as a non-profit organization based in Des Moines, IA, USA, and run by like-minded volunteers, the MMF raises funds to cater to the evolving financial needs of deserving students ranging from middle school through college, farmers that need capital for their farms, and families to establish means of self-sustenance after losing an earning loved one. While these services are primarily rendered in India, the MMF performs several volunteer activities and runs programs in the US as well.

Some of the US-based activities include packaging meals in collaboration with the Meals from the Heartland, providing home cooked meals for the needy, building houses in collaboration with the Habitat for Humanity, and blood donations via LifeServe. In addition, the MMF also empowers children by training them for competitive events such as the FIRST LEGO League, offering coaching in public speaking, and running a children-centric program called the Intellectual Empowerment Program (IEP). The IEP focuses on bridging the gap between textbook content kids study in schools and their practical real-world applications. Invited guest speakers, for IEP, from various professional domains have engaging conversations raising curiosity among children and further helping them to be knowledgeable and competitive.

Through such activities, the volunteers at the MMF realize that the satisfaction they derive from giving is far beyond the happiness from materialistic possessions.