Our strategic pillars have shaped our program initiatives. These programs facilitate and fuel collaborative action across key SDG areas vital for GEDI (Gender, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion).
India's youth demographic, constituting half of the population, presents a significant opportunity for driving positive change in development indicators. However, despite their potential, young people, especially girls, often face vulnerability and marginalization. Accelerated interventions are crucial to address these challenges and ensure that youth are healthy, safe, educated, and empowered, contributing to poverty alleviation and national growth while aligning with Sustainable Development Goals 3, 4, 5, 8, and 17.
Dasra focuses on adolescents and youth through two key initiatives: the 10to19 Dasra Collaborative and the Youth Ke Bol coalition. The 10to19 Collaborative, established in 2017, aims to accelerate adolescent-first approaches by engaging stakeholders from funders, civil society, and government to empower 15 million young people, especially girls. Youth Ke Bol, a million-strong youth-led coalition, works to improve young people's access to sexual and reproductive health services, enhancing their overall quality of life.
The 10to19 Collaborative has reached over 28 million young people, influenced 23 policies, schemes, or programs, and mobilized USD 68 million in philanthropic and government capital for youth well-being. Initiatives like Youth Ke Bol have led to the establishment of a cohort of 40+ Youth Policy Champions engaging with decision-makers and fostered a challenge, leading to child deaths, school dropouts, and sanitation-related violence. With 70% of urban sewage untreated, water contamination poses a severe health risk, causing thousands of deaths annually.
India faces a substantial shortfall in social sector funding, with an estimated deficit of ~INR 12.4 lakh crore (USD 152 billion) by 2027. While the public sector currently bears the brunt of social sector expenditure, government finances are likely to be constrained due to various factors such as budget deficits, increased debt burden from the pandemic, and rising crude oil prices. Consequently, there's a pressing need for private philanthropy to step in and bridge this funding gap.
The Catalytic Philanthropy vertical focuses on strengthening philanthropic endeavours by providing advisory services to funders, capacity-building support to non-profit organizations, and generating research insights to drive informed decision-making. This includes assisting funders in refining their giving approaches, supporting NGOs in enhancing their operational capacities, and conducting research to identify sectoral needs and opportunities for impact.
In the fiscal year 2022-23, the Catalytic Philanthropy vertical made significant strides, advising 36 funders, supporting 44 NGOs, raising INR 93 crores in funds for Indian NGOs, launching 7 knowledge products, and co-organizing 2 forums. By leveraging insights and fostering collaboration within the sector, the vertical aims to unlock philanthropic capital and drive sustained positive impact. Additionally, the team continuously seeks to innovate and expand its efforts, exploring avenues such as district-based philanthropy models and insight-led convenings to address emerging challenges and opportunities in India's philanthropic landscape.
India's vulnerable and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by the escalating global climate crisis. These communities face systemic barriers and limited resources, making them particularly susceptible to the adverse impacts of climate change. Building resilience among these groups is essential to minimize the risks associated with climate-induced events. Prioritizing intersectional approaches that include women, people with disabilities, tribal communities, and low-income groups is crucial. Additionally, addressing climate change requires collaboration across sectors such as food security, livelihoods, urban planning, and conservation.
ClimateRISE Alliance is a collaborative platform comprising over 65 civil society partners, working to accelerate India's journey towards climate resilience for vulnerable communities. The alliance focuses on building consensus and collaboration, mainstreaming narratives for intersectional climate action, nurturing strategic partnerships to leverage global expertise, and facilitating philanthropy and resources for community-centered climate action.
ClimateRISE Alliance strategically engages with civil society organizations (CSOs) and government stakeholders to influence climate action policy and outcomes. It has established partnerships with global entities like AVPN, India Climate Collaborative, and Resilient Cities Network to enhance knowledge sharing and cross-learning. The alliance has also published a ground-breaking research report in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation, highlighting interventions addressing climate change and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By amplifying local voices and catalysing sectoral outcomes, ClimateRISE Alliance is driving collaborative action towards climate resilience in India.
Achieving gender equity in India, with its vast female population, is imperative despite existing efforts towards women's empowerment and addressing gender-based issues. Empowering female leadership is a strategic start, as the United Nations highlights women's underrepresentation in leadership as a major obstacle to equality. Our approach posits that women's leadership is vital to gender equity, leading to broader participation in the workforce, inclusive decision-making, and improved societal outcomes. More women in influential roles across various sectors can significantly drive economic, social, and political advancements.
Large-scale change in gender equity requires collaborative effort beyond individual or organizational actions. Dasra's gender equity vertical aims to strengthen this sector in India by fostering a networked response. Through the WomenLead India Alliance, Dasra unites key stakeholders to promote female leadership across business, philanthropy, and development, enhancing resources and collaboration. In 2023, Dasra is focusing on elevating women's leadership in India's private healthcare and intersecting this with philanthropic initiatives for gender equity. This commitment was showcased at the Clinton Global 2023 Annual Meeting, highlighting their dedication to creating systemic change in the Indian healthcare sector and beyond.
The vertical aims to catalyze girls’ and women’s leadership to accelerate gender equity in India and ensure India is on track to achieving gender parity in the next ten years by:
While the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim for a better future by 2030, our current pace suggests achievement by 2094. To accelerate progress, India needs to tap into the philanthropic potential of its wealthy individuals. With 113 billionaires and an increasing number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, unlocking their philanthropic capital could reshape India towards inclusivity and transformation.
GivingPi is India's premier family philanthropy network, exclusively catering to the country's most philanthropic families. Through curated insights, expert advice, peer engagement, and bespoke networking opportunities, GivingPi empowers these families to collectively address India's development challenges. By fostering a culture of giving, GivingPi aims to strengthen the philanthropic ecosystem and drive meaningful change.
Despite the significant presence of non-profits in India, there are notable gaps hindering their ability to scale and maximize impact. Building an ecosystem that equips NGOs with the necessary knowledge, tools, and networks is crucial for them to sustainably grow their impact and empower millions to thrive with dignity and equity. This entails investing in the institutional backbone of these organizations to enhance their resilience and facilitate organizational growth and scalability.
ImpactPi fosters collective learning, connections, and collaborations through various programs focusing on institutional building and levers for transformational change. These programs cover key areas such as leadership, strategy, resilience, change management, data utilization, talent management, communication, and fundraising. By engaging with a diverse range of stakeholders including mid to large-scale non-profit organizations, philanthropists, academia, and intermediaries, ImpactPi aims to curate an ecosystem of shared value, fostering connections and collaborative impact.
Through initiatives like the Dasra Social Impact Program and partnerships with organizations like Bloomberg, Societal Thinking, Stanford PACS, and others, ImpactPi has made significant strides. It has served over 600 non-profit organizations, influencing budgets totalling over INR 12,000 crores for the sector. Many alumni organizations have garnered global recognition and received grants from prominent entities such as MacKenzie Scott, Skoll Foundation, Co-Impact, and The Audacious Project. By building a robust peer network and community of social leaders, ImpactPi continues to drive change across various causes and geographies in India.
India's industrial workforce is predominantly composed of impermanent, contractual, and supply chain workers, with over 50% falling into this category. Despite enduring long hours, often exceeding 12 hours a day for 6 to 7 days a week, they frequently earn less than $5 per day. Their lack of formal job contracts and social security exacerbates their vulnerability, with their health and safety coverage often dictated by their contract terms rather than the risks associated with their work. These workers are often treated as expendable rather than as a potential resource of 200 million individuals waiting to be tapped.
Social Compact is a multi-stakeholder platform, led by Dasra, aiming to enhance the dignity and equity of 1 million industry-engaged informal workers and their families in India. It fosters collaboration between worker organizations like Aajeevika Bureau and the Centre for Social Justice and industry leaders such as Forbes Marshall and Thermax. The platform has developed a framework of six human-centric outcomes. Social Compact serves as an enabling platform, assisting companies in strengthening their business systems and practices to ensure better action, transparency, and accountability for the well-being of informal workers.
Since its establishment following the initial COVID-19 lockdown, 61 companies have embarked on the Social Compact journey. The platform has engaged with companies across diverse sectors, impacting around 300,000 industry-engaged workers in India. Additionally, Social Compact organizations have collaborated with companies to establish Worker Facilitation Centres (WFCs) in five industry hubs across Pune and Gujarat. These WFCs have linked over 10,500 workers to government benefits worth $10.8 million and facilitated need-based benefits worth over $66,000.
Technology and data hold immense potential to enhance the impact of non-profits, yet many organizations struggle with integrating these aspects into their operations. Challenges include the high cost of tech solutions, difficulty in finding and retaining tech talent, and insufficient core funding for technology and data initiatives. Project Tech4Dev aims to address these challenges by partnering with non-profits in developing nations to develop and implement tech and data solutions that amplify their impact.
Established in 2017 under Dasra U.S. by technology veteran Donald Lobo, Project Tech4Dev focuses on transforming how non-profits in the Global South utilize technology and data. They lead four main initiatives:
Project Tech4Dev has achieved significant milestones:
Rebuild India Fund addresses the multifaceted challenges faced by communities amidst rapid socio-economic changes in India. These challenges include poverty, gender inequality, child protection, migration, health, food security, and climate change, all of which perpetuate social exclusion and vulnerability. While non-profits play a crucial role in tackling these issues, lack of trust on local leadership and limited funding - constrains their ability to make significant impacts at scale.
Rebuild invests in proximate leaders within these communities who possess the necessary experience, relationships, and knowledge for sustainable change. Through an inclusive sourcing process, leveraging connections with established NGO networks, Rebuild identifies organizations led by proximate leaders working with marginalized communities. The Rebuild Way emphasizes proximate leadership to rejuvenate communities and establish resilient pathways for sustainable change. This approach involves an intersectional approach from non-profit identification to selection, co-creating grant-making methods, participative governance, and impact reporting with NGO partners.
The impact of the Rebuild India Fund includes supporting 108 NGOs across 22 states and union territories, with 52% of them being women-led. These organizations have positively impacted over 34 million lives, employing intersectional approaches in education, gender, health, water, sanitation, and hygiene. They serve diverse vulnerable groups, including scheduled castes and tribes, persons with disabilities, children in difficult circumstances, sexual minorities, and the LGBTQIA++ community. Additionally, Rebuild conducts capacity-building workshops for NGO leaders, raising over $28 million in multi-year commitments and participating in global events to showcase its value.
Children in poverty-stricken environments face numerous challenges including substance abuse, sexual harassment, violence, early marriage, and teenage pregnancy. Lack of access to education and healthcare often leads to family separation, with a significant portion of caregivers resorting to childcare institutions due to economic hardship. This situation not only affects the children's well-being but also impacts their long-term prospects, with many facing cognitive developmental issues and a higher likelihood of enduring extreme poverty as adults. Addressing these issues requires a concerted effort to support parents or caregivers in nurturing and guiding their children, while fostering community involvement to ensure children thrive within families.
Transform NEEV Collective, the India chapter of Transform Collective by UBS Optimus Foundation, endeavours to prevent family separation and institutionalization of children. With a focus on prioritizing child and family well-being, the collective collaborates with various stakeholders to establish a foundation rooted in preventive and family-based care. Through partnerships with organizations like Dasra, Bal Raksha Bharat, Leher, Prerana, Sambodhi Research, and UNICEF, the collective engages children, families, communities, and stakeholders to address systemic issues and promote family and community-based care models.
In its inaugural year, the Transform NEEV Collective laid the groundwork for a systemic approach to its mission. Key achievements include engaging over 12,300 community members in discussions on child protection, forming 191 Child Protection Committees with 1,230 active members, providing psychosocial support to 736 children and 194 families, and engaging around 400 stakeholders and professionals from child-focused sectors to advocate for family-based care alternatives.
Globally, poor sanitation results in a staggering $260 billion annual economic loss, impacting health, education, and the environment. In India, urbanization is accelerating, with urban slum populations tripling. Managing human waste safely has become a monumental challenge, leading to child deaths, school dropouts, and sanitation-related violence. With 70% of urban sewage untreated, water contamination poses a severe health risk, causing thousands of deaths annually.
Dasra's Urban Sanitation team is dedicated to achieving inclusive, equitable, and sustainable human waste management. Through collaboration and cross-learning, they address persistent urban sanitation challenges in India and South Asia. By anchoring the National Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (NFSSM) Alliance in India, Dasra unites diverse stakeholders to enable safe and inclusive sanitation for all. Their network spans India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, fostering a South-to-South narrative for inclusive sanitation through cross-learning and knowledge exchange.
