Next Steps

Agami welcomes its two newest board members

Agami is coming off of a very successful fundraiser. We raised a stunning $49k, and packed the house
with revelers. The reality is that the glue behind all of this is the volunteers. As we’ve mentioned
before, Agami is a pure volunteer organization, both here and in Bangladesh. The task is
complicated by the fact that volunteers do come and go, based on the circumstances of their
lives. We understand that. But, if you do volunteer with Agami, you’ll be in for a real adventure.
We’re a small organization, and basically run as a start-up. Volunteers are given responsibilities
and ownership of real tasks. Everyone is accountable. It is an exciting and dynamic environment.
And the volunteers are here because they really believe in the cause and enjoy working with each
other!

There are two volunteers who have shown tremendous dedication and commitment to the Agami
cause over the last year or so. They are Farzana Sultana and Imtiaz Chowdhury. Farzana first
showed up as an Agami volunteer as a guest MC at our 2007 fundraiser. This year, she took on
the monstrous task of driving this fundraiser. She has done an admirable job of creating a
successful fundraiser. Imtiaz signed on early as our treasurer, but once we discovered his many
hidden talents, we couldn’t stop giving him more to do. Consequently, he has become our
defacto webmaster, and has really done a tremendous job of revamping the whole website and
getting us to Web 2.0.

As such, we have nominated both of them to join the Agami BoD, and they have accepted. Please join
me in welcoming Agami’s newest board members.

Volunteer Drive

From the Desk of Agami – Join as a Volunteer

Agami has achieved many significant goals inlast five years. Agami has impacted the lives of thousands of underprivileged children in Bangladesh through its 15 different formal and informal school projects. Agami started its journey in 2003 with 2 school projects and US$5,000. Now in 2009, it has 10 running school projects to its credit with an annual budget of US$65,000. Agami has been receiving an increased number of project proposals from different parties and different parts of Bangladesh because of hard earned trust among the donors and volunteers. It is becoming challenging to support all the credible project proposals both financially and logistically.

Agami has raised ~US$50,000 in the first half of 2009. Thisis a significant testimony for its grass-root work in the education sector in Bangladesh. We need additional funds to be able to fulfill all our commitments in 2009. Only a few new school projects are part of the growth matrix in 2009. In contrast, we need additional dedicated volunteers to manage projects and day-to-day operations both in the US and in Bangladesh.

Agami is always looking for dedicated volunteers in many different areas to keep up with its multi-faceted growth. Some of the areas that you can help and impact are (not limited to): executive committee, sub-committees, public relations, donor relations, volunteer relations, marketing, project development, project coordination, quarterly Agami Newsletter, quarterly community meetings cum fundraisers, grant writing, budgeting, and accounting.

If you believe in the cause of Agami, please consider joining Agami as a volunteer with your precious time and efforts. Together we can certainly build a school, possibly re-build a community, and hopefully enhance the national dream of illiteracy eradication.

While you are signing up as an Agami volunteer, please keep in mind that Agami is a zero-overhead organization. In other words, when you are taking upon a task/project you own it with related overhead expenses. Your personal contributions of time, effort, and money are critical to the successful completion of the task/project. A handful of the dedicated Agami volunteers have set some significant examples in support of the zero-overhead organizational model. I am sure you will also consider in stepping up your time, effort, and money along that line.

In addition to your personal satisfaction in helping the underprivileged children in Bangladesh, as a dedicated Agami volunteer, you are entitled to special privileges within the organization that includes your voting rights to bring about positive changes in the Agami leadership including the Board of Directors and Executive Committee. This will ensure your broader participation as well as the dynamic growth of Agami.

Dr. Sabir Majumder

Secretary, Agami