This document discusses how Indian philanthropists can make more effective donations. It notes that most donations go to a small number of popular causes, like education and health, while other critical needs receive little funding. It also finds that donors prefer direct assistance over indirect capacity-building. The document recommends that philanthropic portfolios allocate 30-40% to indirect interventions that can drive larger-scale impact. It identifies gaps in sectors like conservation, vocational training, and mental health that require more funding. It provides examples of successful indirect interventions like Akshaya Patra's school lunch program and Teach For India's leadership development fellowship. The conclusion is that identifying key gap areas and supporting both direct and indirect long-term initiatives can maximize the

1. Designing Philanthropy for
Impact
Helping philanthropists make effective "where to give" and "how to
give" choices

2. Executive Summary
The article in discussion explores the following pointers in details.
▪ Indian donors provide disproportionate funding to a limited number
of popular causes, while many other critical needs attract limited
support
▪ Indian donors also tend to prefer direct interventions designed to
help beneficiaries immediately, as opposed to more indirect
interventions that seek to build organizational capacity at scale
▪ Philanthropy portfolios should to indirect, capacity-building
initiatives in order to make an impact

3. Disproportionate Funding
“ 90% of Indian donor
contributions are
concentrated in fewer
than 10 sectors,
including primary
education, primary
health care, and disaster
relief ”

4. Disproportionate Funding leads to skewness and
asymmetric channeling of efforts
In the Health Sector,
Maternal Care Malnutrition
In the sector of Disaster
Management,
Disaster Relief Disaster
Mitigation

6. Hope for Haiti raised $58 Millionfor disaster relief in the year
2010.

7. In 2015, Aadhan.org – an Indian start-up that provides emergency
housing solutions made from old shipping containers is still on the look
out for investors and donor agencies.

8. Types of Gaps and Types of Interventions
Quantity Gap
• High demand, low supply
Quality Gap
• Demand and supply reasonably
close but low quality of outcomes
Niche Gap
• Low on demand, but important
with almost non existent supply
▪ Category A – Direct Intervention,
Tangible Impact, null leverage on
money spent
▪ Category B – Partially direct
Intervention, partial
measurability of impact, medium
term
▪ Category C & D – Extremely low
control on intervention activities,
multiplier leverage (1000x) on
money

9. Identification of Gap Areas
In this study, 12 sectors
and 50 sub-sectors were
taken into consideration.
The distinct types of gap
across sectors has been
observed in the exhibit.

10. Current Focus and Gap Areas - Comparison
Sectors with heavy donor focus
▪ Primary Education
▪ Rural Infrastructure
▪ AIDS and infection diseases
Sectors that require immediate
donor focus
▪ Conservation of tribal heritage
and culture
▪ Vocational training and
livelihoods
▪ Deaddiction and mental health
counselling
Interventions tend to be direct Interventions are more indirect

11. Filling the Quantity Gap – The Akshaya Patra
Foundation
▪ Akshaya Patra is a non-profit organisation in India that runs school
lunch programme across India.The organisation was established in
2000.TV Mohandas Pai and Abhay Jain were the anchor
philanthropists for this noble endeavour.
▪ Leveraging on the right based approach of the UPA Government on
the MDM scheme for school children,TAPF tackled the following
issues as a part of its endeavour:
– Addressing malnutrition
– Increasing enrolment and attendance
– Giving a multiplier leverage on donor’s money

12. Plugging in the niche Gap – CIS, Bengaluru
▪ This organization is a great
example of how funding in niche
gap areas can also help in
establishing a design thinking
approach towards philanthropy at
a macro level.
▪ This agency was the crusader for
net neutrality againstTelecom
majors in India
▪ At an international level, CIS has
helped the Government of
Myanmar draft its national ICT
Policy.

13. Teach for India – Success story of an indirect
intervention
▪ Aims to create visionaries and
transformational leaders in the
field of education by the way of
a 2-year fellowship
programme.
▪ Professionals and experts from
all walks of life teach a public
school classroom full-time for
18 months

14. In Conclusion..
▪ Donors should build in relevant success factors early
▪ Donors must ensure that at least 30 to 40 percent of their portfolios
are dedicated to more indirect interventions that can drive larger
scale
▪ For a multiplier leverage on the money pledged, it is well advised to
strategically identify which gap areas to approach and look at
undertaking long term pursuits.
Submitted by: DejaVu
Arisha / Abhishek / Ananya / Avijit / Chirag / Nandini / Rahul / Sampad