New Delhi (India), March 28: DevPro-INDIAdonates has curated an event series that intends to approach philanthropy strategically while pivoting (NGOs, Corporates, Government) collective energies towards scaling up the impact. Named ‘Synergy and Sustainability, this event had two primarily sessions, one titled strategic philanthropy in the pandemic era, while the second was convergence – corporates, NGOs and government.
The event was attended by some of the dignitaries from the NGO vertical of the Civil Society. Corporate leadership with a particular focus on those on CSR and sustainability shared their views vividly. Some names that spoke were Dr Sanjay Patra, Founder, INDIAdonates- Chair, Mr Gagan Sethi, Founder, Jan Vikas, Mr Rohan Das, V.P, Sustainability/CSR, DBS Foundation, Ms Megha Jain, Associate Director, Strategic Philanthropy DASRA, Mr Pratyush Kumar Panda, Head, Sustainability and CSR, L&T Infotech, Mr Noshir Dadrawala, CEO, CAP- Chair, Ms Priya Naik (Founder & CEO, Samhita Social Ventures), Mr N.M Prusty, Chairperson, Sphere India, Mr Anurag Mishra, Head of CSR Operations, Cipla Ltd, Mr Sandeep Sharma, Founder, DevPro- INDIAdonates.
Through this event, they have aimed to raise, if not address, two poignant issues. Some of these challenges warrant us to reflect on how to approach philanthropy more strategically and understand if our philanthropic strategies seek to answer the significant economic fault lines or are solely oriented toward meeting business interests. The past two years have also revealed the need for Corporates, NGOs and the Government to converge and synergise each other’s work while simultaneously holding each machinery responsible for ensuring long term sustainability. Against this backdrop, this event seeks to answer the most pressing concerns while charting out a way forward. The sessions reflected the tenets of collaborations with the foresight of creating social impact that results in more significant sustainability.
About the overall event, Dr Sanjay Patra, Founder, INDIAdonates shares, “Over the last two years, the pandemic has reversed the successful strides India has made to overcome basic humanitarian needs. We find ourselves once again trying to answer ‘what next’. The time for introspection is now, to learn from the past and apply for the future- especially philanthropy. The need of the hour remains to see if our giving addresses the myriad challenges or is the civil society on its path to becoming mere social contractors.”
Adding to him, Mr Sandeep Sharma, Founder, INDIAdonates said, “India stands at the crossroads of transition, and despite the various synergies at play- the real question remains- is this transition driven by design or does value addition propel us? Philanthropic successes require collaboration from all country stakeholders- Civil Society, India Inc and the Government. This coalition is imperative for India to scale up development and be well on its way to achieving SDG Goals 2030.”
Vaishnavi Prakash
