Salam Ganesha was initiated by young alumni of ITB, to invite all ITB alumni to donate through the ITB endowment funds, to serve at the alma mater, which has provided the best education, like the greeting words of Ganesha namely for God, the nation a
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Board of Trustees of the Bandung Institute of Technology (MWA-ITB) of the ITB Rectorate, ITB Alumni Association inaugurated the Salam Ganesha Fundraising Program, targeting Rp1 trillion to be collected during ITB’s 100th year in 2020. Salam Ganesha Fundraising Program, which is raising the ITB Endowment Fund is managed directly by the Business Management and Sustainable Funds Agency (BPUDL ITB).

Salam Ganesha was formed to improve the quality of assets and potential of the ITB to support national development.

Yani Panigoro, as Chair of MWA-ITB, said Salam Ganesha is an official ITB program formed through MWA ITB under the Fund Committee, and managed by Achmad Zaky, Founder of Bukalapak, and Nurhayati Subakat, Founder of Paragon.

"Salam Ganesha was initiated by young alumni of ITB, to invite all ITB alumni to donate through the ITB endowment funds, to serve at the alma mater, which has provided the best education, like the greeting words of Ganesha namely for God, the nation and the alma mater," Yani Panigoro said in a statement received in Jakarta, Tuesday.

These funds will be used for the welfare of the ITB academic community, scholarships, research and other projects, Yani noted.

Initiation began from 2004, but in the past, the donors of the ITB Endowment Fund, were only a small portion of ITB alumni entrepreneurs.

"Now is the time for us to socialize with all young alumni," said Yani.

Zaky, a member of MWA-ITB, said that Salam Ganesha would recruit volunteers from all batches who will communicate with all ITB alumni, in the hope that fundraising would continue in line with the desired goals and targets.

"Salam Ganesha is an official movement not an independent movement by alumni. For friends who still have questions, this is official through ITB. Insha Allah, we keep the trust. Hopefully, there will be a lot of awareness about endowment funds, because funding comes from alumni," he said.

The funds will be managed professionally and will be similar to endowments, Zaky said. They will not be reduced to be placed in an official ITB account.

"The reward will be eternal and everything will be used for ITB from the welfare of lecturers, and students to infrastructure," he said.

"We also invite alumni who have contributed in their respective fields/industries to participate more actively and closely with their alma mater and colleagues. As a result, ITB can jump further ahead," Zaky continued.

With the program, ITB is expected to be more advanced, with findings that will help to develop unique startups so that welfare in Indonesia will be more extraordinary, Zaky continued.

ITB as a research institution must give birth to inventions that can be applied to all Indonesian people, he stated.

The mechanism from donations to the management of Salam Ganesha was built using digital technology, and everything can be observed transparently, he also said.

"We use digital technology with a platform for endowment funds. This will continue to be developed and updated. All alumni can transmit to other friends on the importance of the endowment fund. Any ITB alumni, wherever they are, can access salamganesha.id/ donation and donate directly," he explained.

Zaky also explained the value of donations from each product, such as a jacket for Rp2.5 million, a bag for Rp300 thousand, tile naming for Rp50 million, a classroom for Rp150 million, and a building which is worth Rp25 billion.

"This tile naming is a floor wall that will be built at Plaza Oktagon of ITB, where the names of those who contribute with that number will be printed on the tile. For classrooms and buildings, the donor's name will be listed as the class name or building name," he said in conclusion.

Related news: Quality of younger generation should be improved: Minister Makarim

Related news: Nadiem Makarim keen to give university students freedom to learn


Reporter: Azis Kurmala
Editor: Gusti Nur Cahya Aryani
Copyright © ANTARA 2019