There are an estimated 3.3. million non profits in India – that is one non profit for every 400 people. The sector is very fractured, lacks transparency and is hugely overlapping. There are vast gaps where issues are not addressed, and other areas where multiple organisations are tackling the same issue again and again with little attention paid to monitoring results and measuring impact. In a country of 1.1 billion, the sector is clearly failing.

Although data is hard to come by, there are only thought to be 500 non profits with an income of over
INR 50 lakh ($100,000) and very few organizations reaching more than 5,000 people. Dasra believes that this is because non profits and social businesses do not have the access to funding and management skills to grow their organizations and reach large numbers of people.

A lack of management skills amongst many non profit leaders is a major reason why they fail to scale.  A focussed business approach, including strategic finance, human resource management and communication skills is vital to attracting funds and growing any successful organization.

Dasra is committed to building India’s next generation of social sector leaders with a focus on building strong sustainable organizations, as long as there is a need to be met.

Dasra believes that more people will move out of poverty faster, if the most successful social entrepreneurs are equipped with the skills, funding and networks to take their work to scale.