Philanthropy in India – Philanthropy for Social Justice & Peace

Bleak prognosis for Indian civil society following new foreign funding bill

Posted on October 29, 2020October 29, 2020 by Alliance

The Government of India passed the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020 on 23 September, less than 72 hours after it was tabled without any prior consultation, taking both civil society in India and the international donor community by surprise. The President gave his assent on 28 September, despite nationwide outcry from civil society and condemnation from the…

Philanthropy: size matters – but not in the way you might think

Posted on September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 by Pushpa Sundar

It’s good news that philanthropy in India is on an upward curve, since it can help supplement government’s efforts at social sector development. This upward curve is especially noticeable when it comes to giving by individuals. It’s not just the amount of giving that’s significant, however. Where it comes from and where it goes are…

Philanthropy in India is growing: Fact or fiction?

Posted on July 30, 2019July 30, 2019 by India Development Review

Smarinita Shetty points out the much-hyped but underwhelming contribution to philanthropy by the ultra-wealthy and CSR. Instead, Smarinita argues for greater attention to ‘smaller-ticket individual giving or retail giving’ to enable it to grow and develop appropriately so as to be able to support Indian civil society. India has no shortage of billionaires. We added…

Business responsibility does not stop with CSR

Posted on July 18, 2019 by Amita Joseph

In 2013 India enacted a new Companies Act to replace older legislation dating back from 1956, more than three decades before liberalisation in 1991. Although much amended already, it is still a far-sighted Act which attempts to break new ground on accountability – much needed given the trust deficit due to the large corporate-led scams…

July 2019

Individual giving in India, Russia, the Arab region and Brazil

This paper It looks at the development of individual giving in India, Russia, the Arab region and Brazil, with a special focus on some significant trends: crowdfunding and online giving, national giving days/weeks, fundraising by NGOs, and the causes that individual donors give to. It then goes on to look at the significance of the rise in individual giving; the role of technology in this; and finally the kinds of things that would enhance individual giving.

January 2019

Advocacy, Rights & Civil Society: The Opportunity for Indian Philanthropy

This study published by Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (Ashoka University) in December 2018 reviews the changing trends in the funding of the non-profit sector in India, particularly in the recent context of the Government of India’s heightened attention on inflows from international donors. It examines the impact of these trends on local civil…

“If Dalits can establish a community foundation then any community – no matter how marginalized – can do it too”

Posted on December 19, 2018December 19, 2018 by Global Fund for Community Foundations - GFCF

By Jenny Hodgson (The title of this blog was inspired by a conversation with a colleague at the Africa Philanthropy Network conference in November 2018.) On 28 November 2018, together with GFCF board chair, Rita Thapa, and several community philanthropy partners from across India, I attended the launch of the Dalit Community Foundation in Patna, the capital of India’s…

Transformative…but for good or ill? Corporate philanthropy in India in the era of mandatory CSR

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Alliance

Andrew Milner examines the scale, impact, limitations, and pitfalls of Indian corporate philanthropy five years since the introduction of mandatory CSR contributions. Over the last five years, Indian corporate philanthropy has been transformed by the introduction of mandatory CSR contributions for companies over a certain size, so much so that, to all intents and purposes,…

Increasing retail fundraising in India

Posted on August 31, 2018 by Irwin Fernandes

India’s middle classes and donations from them have been growing at a rapid pace. According to PSJP’s report on Philanthropy in India, published in October 2017, ‘this may be the biggest story in Indian philanthropy, and the area with the greatest potential’.This growth in funds being raised has been fuelled by international and Indian NGOs…

Impact is not limited to big philanthropy

Posted on August 27, 2018August 27, 2018 by India Development Review

The Philanthropy in India report by Caroline Hartnell, published in October 2017, notes that the most promising aspect of new philanthropy in the country is the rise of giving by middle-class individual donors. However, the report also notes the lack of philanthropy infrastructure is hindering the growth of philanthropy in India. While ‘large philanthropists are supported by…