Does all this money go to the department?
Yes, it does. IITD has enabled this direct connection between the department and its alumni. A small fraction (5%) of the donations will be used, by the department itself, to support the fundraising process, i.e., to issue newsletters, organise alumni get-togethers etc.
The donate link takes me offsite to almaconnect.com. Is this an official page? Does the money go to IIT Delhi?
Yes, almaconnect is the official approved host of the IIT Delhi alumni association. All contributions through this site come to IIT Delhi. If you are paying in India you will be taken to an Indian payment gateway that will show you that you are paying Almaconnect. If you are paying from a US bank you will be taken to a Paypal page which will tell you that you are paying the IIT Delhi Excellence Foundation which is an IITD Alumni organisation registered in the US.
I paid from the US but my name does not feature on the iitd.almaconnect.com donation page?
This is a glitch in the system due to the different routes that the donations depending on whether they originate in India or the US. We endeavour to update the donor list as quickly as possible. Please do inform us by email (alumni@cse.iitd.ac.in) whenever you make the payment so that the link can be generated. If you also let me know the details of IIT Delhi connection, it helps us to motivate others from your batch to contribute.
Doesn’t IIT already fund the department? Why do you need more money?
We are looking to fill in the gaps in the funding we get from the institute and from funding agencies. Our labs and other facilities have seen a major improvement especially after the construction of School of Information Technology building supported by Mr. Vinod Khosla. Primarily, we are looking for International travel support for our PhD students and young faculty members as well as faculty aspirants. These are essential to improve our International visibility as well as competitive advantage in attracting talent.