Strategic philanthropic institutions can serve as catalysts for transformative change, writes. Amitabh Jaipuria, CEO, Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP)

“There are three lessons in philanthropy—one, involve the family, especially the spouse…Two, you need to build an institution, and you need to scale it up…Three, philanthropy needs patience, tenacity and time.”—Azim Premji

Strategic philanthropic institutions can serve as catalysts for transformative change, driving sustainable social impact, and helping tackle some of India's larger challenges at a systemic level. As social challenges continue to grow in complexity, the establishment of strategic philanthropic institutions becomes paramount. These institutions also bridge the gap between philanthropists and causes that resonate with them – and thus ensure their full dedication and attention.

These institutions serve as dedicated entities equipped to understand the multifaceted and interconnected complexities faced by many of Society’s challenges today. They are capable of designing holistic and sustainable solutions to address root causes and systemic issues by leveraging the rich expertise and resources available to them.

Strategic philanthropic institutions play a crucial role in analysing core challenges from a systems and design thinking perspective, establishing an enabling infrastructure for conducting rigorous research, identifying evidence-based practices, and developing comprehensive strategies. This allows them to go beyond short-term interventions and bring about lasting change across sectors such as education, healthcare, poverty alleviation, environmental conservation, and social justice. An example in this regard is Ashoka University's approach to fostering a multidisciplinary approach to education in India through a liberal arts and science-based curriculum.

Even in sectors such as culture, these institutions can efficiently pool resources and expertise to bridge gaps, enrich society, amplify diverse voices, and preserve shared heritage.

Moreover, strategic philanthropic institutions can provide seed funding for infrastructure development and capacity building. They can also offer expertise and technical assistance to help promising ideas and initiatives take off and evolve into fully functioning institutions that are able to support India's socioeconomic growth and development.

Research and development represent another area where strategic philanthropic institutions can have a significant impact by funding initiatives, that encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among experts from various fields, which, can foster the cross-pollination of ideas, promote innovative approaches, and address complex challenges that require diverse perspectives. Initiatives, such as the SGB, can also drive innovation by enabling researchers and innovators to pursue potentially transformative but uncertain ideas.

These endeavours are illustrative examples of how strategic philanthropic institutions can catalyse transformative change and improve the well-being of communities in India. Philanthropic institutions work with wealth creators in India and help identify, design, and implement strategic interventions through their expertise across sectors, a network of partners, and collaborators, by adopting a completely agnostic approach towards end-sectors, it hopes to maximize the impact of philanthropic giving and bring about real change.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house