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Bridgespan Publishes New Study on Bold Philanthropy in IndiaA study of eight ambitious philanthropic initiatives that seek to solve some of India’s most daunting social challenges | ||
Boston | Mumbai, India India is experiencing a surge in philanthropic activity, with donors increasingly using their resources to take on some of the country’s biggest social challenges. The Bridgespan Group’s new report, Bold Philanthropy in India: Insights from Eight Social Change Initiatives, highlights the efforts of bold philanthropists who are working to eliminate tuberculosis in India, lift millions of rural farmers irreversibly out of poverty, dramatically improve learning outcomes, and help the nation’s municipal services keep pace with a rising urban population, among other challenges.
According to Bridgespan Partner and Co-author of the report, Pritha Venkatachalam, “Many philanthropists in India are pivoting from checkbook giving - investing mostly in infrastructure projects, such as building schools or hospitals - to thinking strategically and ambitiously about how to drive social change. However, because there is so little information on their approaches to bold giving, other philanthropists with similar aims lack reference material to build on.”
Dr. K P Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said, “Public expenditure in India today is close to a quarter of GDP. Philanthropy has a long tradition in our history, and is a core value of Indian philosophy. It is not coincidental that with the return of serious wealth in India since the 1990s, we also see a return of very bold philosophy to giving. It is always immediately attractive to feed a poor child with money from a philanthropist. But can we put more thought into giving with greater impact? I would push for a bigger cause – to influence public policy and to support core state systems for social change in the Indian context. The third sector needs to develop the appropriate institutions, processes and systems to deliver this.”
To help fill these knowledge gaps, Bridgespan, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Omidyar Network, researched a wide array of philanthropic initiatives in India. To identify which of those efforts are truly “bold”, Bridgespan screened for a variety of factors, including philanthropic funding of at least INR 27 crores (USD 4 million); clear goals; and a pathway toward addressing a seemingly intractable social problem. The report’s aim is to share philanthropists’ strategic approaches to bold giving and highlight opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned.
“To be clear, the bold initiatives that we have profiled by no means constitute all of India’s audacious philanthropic efforts,” says Co-author and Bridgespan Case Team Leader Niloufer Memon. “Rather, we sought to gather a representative sample in hopes of inspiring a wide swath of other philanthropists and foundations working in India to think big.”
The Bridgespan team analyzed eight bold initiatives and identified six unique roles that bold philanthropy can play in improving people’s lives:
“This research is a first step toward providing some answers on how these bold approaches propel social change, and how these approaches might help philanthropists and NGOs break through the roadblocks that impede progress,” says Co-author and Bridgespan Principal Donald Yeh. “Although we identified these six roles in the Indian context, they are so foundational to the global philanthropic ecosystem that they can be thought of as archetypes of bold giving.”
About The Bridgespan Group The Bridgespan Group (www.bridgespan.org) is a global nonprofit organization that collaborates with mission-driven leaders, organizations, philanthropists, and investors to break cycles of poverty and dramatically improve the quality of life for those in need. With offices in Boston, Mumbai, New York, and San Francisco, Bridgespan’s services include strategy consulting, leadership development, philanthropy and nonprofit advising, and developing and sharing practical insights. |
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