Driven by our mission to promote social justice, we have supported individuals and Civil Society Organisations across India, to work with the most marginalised communities in the least accessible places.

Enabling capacities

We focus on grassroot organisations.

We build capacities of grassroot organisations that work on local governance and public health issues by taking them through the stages of an INCLUDE program, to become resource agencies that support the work being done by the government. We enhance the capacities of CSOs that tackle issues of gender and nutrition, and those CSOs that facilitate social accountability among marginalised communities. We also aid individuals who have been the recipients of our Development Journalism Awards and C.S Awards to continue and strengthen their work in the field.
 

Promoting leadership

We promote leadership particularly from marginalised and disadvantaged communities.

To tackle issues on social justice, we understand that our leaders must emerge from marginalised and disadvantaged communities for them to make an impact. These individuals are often untapped resources who go unnoticed, but we try and bring them to the forefront so they can lead, and have a say in policy building and decision making. To empower these identified leaders who are engaged in community-based action, we provide them with year-long support by helping them build strong profiles and networks, and by promoting them before an audience in the national capital. With our Media Award that promotes development journalism, we’re building an ecosystem of committed journalists who can investigate stories in depth and write articles on issues they are passionate about.

We encourage leadership amongst CSOs, which enables them to liaise with local state authorities, raise issues faced by maginalised communities, and advocate for inclusive policies and budgets. A few of our recent examples are budget analysis and transparency, and incubation of the Feminist Policy Collective.

Mobilising resources

We bridge the gap between donors and our civil society partners.

In addition to our own resources, we make a constant effort to mobilise additional resources so our partners can continue their work on social justice. We do this through introductions or references to donors, by supporting partners in developing project proposals and engaging in fund-raising on behalf of our CSO partners. Often enough, the state or local bodies have resources that remain untapped by CSOs, and we offer CSOs technical assistance to further raise funds for their activities; we leveraged an additional INR 18 million in 2018-19 through the Livelihoods and Economic Inclusion programme.

We also organise round-table conferences with donors so they can learn about the innovative and effective work done by our CSO partners. Through this, we focus on the idea of ‘thoughtful giving’ characterised by long-term investment, institution-building, capacity building, and support sustainable activities beyond just service delivery.

Providing platform for dialogue

We facilitate dialogue, debates, and discussions.

We are an autonomous foundation, not linked to any family or corporate, and that makes us distinctly non-partisan. Our board members are from diverse backgrounds and each of them brings invaluable knowledge and expertise to the table, which in turn puts us in a special position with the state, academia, and the media. We have built our relationship with UN agencies, donors, and other businesses through decades of work and collaborations, which has contributed to our credibility.

We have leveraged this advantage to build platforms like the annual SDG National Conclave that we co-hosted with NITI Aayog and the UNDP. Through this conclave, we brought together 60 government officials from 29 states and union territories, UN officials, and over 150 civil society representatives and academicians to facilitate a vibrant multi-stakeholder conversation.

We have also facilitated a dialogue between CSOs, donors, and the government to discuss more thoughtful ways one can support and strengthen civil society for social justice. Through these dialogues, CSOs have engaged with policy makers such as elected leaders, departmental officials, and local bodies towards enhancing responsive and accountable governance.