Ahmedabad, September 09, 2019: Dasra, India’s pioneer strategic philanthropy organization, that completed 20 years of operations, will launch the Dasra Philanthropy Forum(DPF) in Ahmedabad. Bijal Patel, Mayor of Ahmedabad, will inaugurate the Dasra Philanthropy Forum(DPF) on September 14, 2019, at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Philanthropists, government representatives, NGO leaders, and foundations will focus on Gujarat’s social and development challenges and growth areas. DPF hopes to enable the philanthropy community to play an active role in India’s transformation and enable a billion people to thrive with dignity and equity.
Deval Sanghavi, co-Founder, Dasra, says “We wanted to explore the potential of Gujarat’s donor community to play an active role in the development sector of India. A study conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation reveals that India has at least 31 lakh NGOs—more than double the number of schools and 250 times the number of government hospitals in the country suggesting that efforts are fragmented. Hence, we are hosting a platform for the donor community to engage with the thriving ecosystem of non-profit leaders, social entrepreneurs, researchers, academia, and volunteers for creating a lasting impact on ground.”
The first ever DPF in Ahmedabad will focus on the theme of Collaborative Action. The meet will shine a spotlight on Ahmedabad as one of the key cities for investment of philanthropic capital and CSR funds, build a strong community of funders (i.e. philanthropists, corporates, foundations), government officials, NGO leaders and sector experts to create a space to foster learning and collaborative action among multiple stakeholders towards solving some of the local issues in Ahmedabad and India as a whole. The one-day meet will bring together over 100 philanthropists, heads of corporate foundations, non-profits, social entrepreneurs, academicians, and experts creating a uniquely enriching learning and networking experience pertaining to the development sector in India.
Now in it's eleventh edition, Dasra Philanthropy Forum(DPF) inspires and informs the donor community to take meaningful action on India’s most complex and urgent development challenges. Previously DPF has been hosted in cities including Mumbai, Bangalore, London, New York amongst others. DPF has brought together nearly 1000 participants including the prominent philanthropists like Nisa Godrej, Anu Aga, Rishad Premji, Rohini Nilekani, Rati Forbes, and others.
Individual philanthropists accounted for about 60% of total private funding in FY2018 in India compared with individual and bequest contributions of approximately 80% of the US’s total private funding in 2017 according to Giving USA. This indicates a huge room for growth and to fund some of India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
About Dasra Philanthropy Forum
The Dasra Philanthropy Forum (DPF) is a convening and learning platform to inspire and inform the donor community to take meaningful action on some of India’s most complex and urgent social challenges. The forum is also a unique opportunity to showcase diverse and innovative models for social change in India from nonprofit led solutions occurring at the community-level, to multi-stakeholder collaborations in partnership with the government, thereby involving a wider community that could apply these approaches in a global context.
The forum is based on the Dasra Philanthropy Week in India, which is now in its tenth year, and has built local philanthropic leadership, communities of strategic philanthropists, and increased effective philanthropy on a range of issues in India, including maternal and child health, sanitation, empowerment of adolescent girls, and youth employability. The Dasra Philanthropy Week annually engages 500 philanthropists, multilateral agencies, corporations, and government leaders to build a better India, including leading Indian philanthropists Rohini Nilekani, Rishad Premji, Anu Aga and Nisa Godrej.
About Dasra
Dasra, meaning ‘enlightened giving’ in Sanskrit, is a pioneering strategic philanthropic organization that aims for a transformed India where a billion thrive with dignity and equity. Since its inception in 1999, Dasra has accelerated social change by driving collaborative action through powerful partnerships among a trust-based network of stakeholders (corporates, foundations, families, non-profits, social businesses, government and media). Over the years, Dasra has engaged with 500 philanthropists, corporates and foundations, published 22 research reports in diverse fields and directed over US$34 Million in strategic funding to the sector.