We believe we can enable..
Better access to Education by Supporting the highest impact nonprofits in India
Who We Are
COT Charitable Corporation (COT) is a venture philanthropy organization enabling access to quality education in India by supporting high performing non-profit organizations with financial capital, strategic mentorship, and access to personal networks in order to drive meaningful change.
The founders believe that education is the silver bullet that addresses many of the challenges in India today. We want to support high impact non-profits that are offering scalable solutions, developing new pedagogical methods, and demonstrating sustained, quantifiable results in improving quality and access to education in India
Circle of Trust was founded by five professionals of Indian origin who went to college in the United States and had a desire to give back to their home country. COT Fund is a vehicle to channel the personal philanthropy of the founders, who donate a fixed proportion of their incomes each year. The organization is registered in the United States as a 501(c)(3) organization and is structured as a grant making fund.
Team
Rohan Zacharia
Rohan currently works as a Senior Project manager for a Health Tech Start-up based in New York City. Prior to his current role, Rohan spent over 8 years as a Technology Consultant at Deloitte and has served a variety of clients, including government agencies, health insurers, telcos, and retailers. Rohan received his Bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Nithish Rajan
Nithish is a Senior Practice Lead for Professional Services at VMware. He has worked across the globe over the last ten years helping establish new offices and operations groups. With clients in retail, healthcare, finance and hospitality, Nithish has led the digital mobility transformation across multiple fortune 500 companies. Nithish received his Bachelor’s in Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Kishen Raghunath
Kishen is an entrepreneur with a background in engineering, consulting, and venture capital, and is based in Houston, Texas. In addition to supporting primary education, he has supported infrastructure development for underprivileged villagers in rural India via Engineers Without Borders. Kishen received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Aakash Degwekar
Aakash currently serves as Senior Director, Corporate Strategy for Visa in Singapore. Before Visa, Aakash spent a decade in management consulting at Bain & Company. He has also served on the Impact Council of A Better Chicago, a leading venture philanthropy fund, and provides pro-bono advisory support for nonprofits in Singapore. Aakash received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and his Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.