A couple of days ago, we were discussing the total funding towards philanthropy in India. We spoke to the Dasra team to get more context. Here is a summary from the report they had written,
India’s private funding towards philanthropy stands at INR 1,05,000 Cr. Of this INR 27,000 Cr is from CSR, INR 33,000 Cr from retail funding, and 29,000 Cr from UHNIs/ HNIs and Affluent Givers.
CSR spending has grown 5% over FY 2021 to INR 27,000 crore in FY 2022.
HNIs and affluent individuals’ giving grew 11% over FY 2021 to INR 25,300 crore. Their contribution has remained largely unchanged at about 28% in FY 2022 compared to about 26% in FY 2021 and 27% in FY 2017.
Retail giving grew 18% over FY 2021 to INR 32,700 crore in FY 2022. Retail contribution to domestic private giving remains at 36%. Retail giving continues to be largely unorganised (peer to peer/ community-based), with only 22% of giving directed through non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
About 50% of state-specific CSR spending is directed towards just a few states, namely Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, indicating a geographical bias and the need to broaden the allocation across states. The state-wise comparison indicates a greater need to fund Meghalaya, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand where both CSR spending per capita and NDP per capita are on the lower end of the spectrum.
In terms of sectoral allocation of funds, healthcare and education continue to lead the way with about a 55% share of contributions. Owing to the pandemic, funds for other causes were redirected towards healthcare and disaster relief, with their share increasing to 35% in FY 2021 and 32% in FY 2022 compared to 23% in FY 2020.
@Pai Why the idea of philanthropy is limited to money, even by the definition? whenever we hear the word philanthropy it sounds like something only ultra-rich and rich people can do, I think it is not evolved to the ground-level people to make them contribute to promoting the welfare of others.
Everyone has something to give others, a farmer may not give the money but he can give something like food grains with pride those he produces, it is more satisfying to contribute with something that you produce through your business or work. imagine if every farmer contributes at least 5kg to 10kg of food grains how much it would be it will solve most of the hunger problem (SDG2) in India.
I think a teacher would love to educate 10 children in his school instead of giving money away to some NGO for children’s education, it feels more human thing than just giving money away. if every school educates 20 to 40 orphan children it will address the education problem (SDG4) in India.
a corporate hospital chain to health (SDG3).
a big construction company for building mini homes for the homeless (SDG10).
we need to make these matchmaking to help everyone to fall in love with philanthropy to give something which they care about the most, we can create A GIVING DAY like Thanksgiving to make people aware of it and we need to recognize their contributions and acknowledge them in a way make them contribute again voluntarily, that acknowledgment is the key to open themself to the world to contribute.
So for every problem (SDG), we need to find matchmaking and create more ways of opportunities for ground-level people to experience giving something to someone they may not meet in their life but knowing it will help or feed someone somewhere in the world is the first step to help someone to open to the world and creating that human connection between the people unknown.
This is how as human beings we should relate to each other. If we do not feel and care for each other as human beings there is no point in our existence as human beings, this is the content I wrote to explain to my team while building one of the features called GIVE AND TAKE within the LifeX app to answer why people should care for someone they may not meet in their life.
This feature will help to create matchmaking between people and problems (SDGs) around the world and make everyone a small philanthropist (in our vision not at all money) and it will recognize and acknowledge them back every time they contribute that’s the core thing of this feature.
when a random normal person gets recognized and acknowledged for his good deed that moment he experiences something different and the way he looking other people will change and he will become a change maker.
LifeX is proudly giving a unique opportunity to every individual life to express their deepest gratitude, love, and appreciation to the world .
Hi Venkat, I have a different view on this. Even though for most parts we think of monetary donation when thinking of philanthropy, I think volunteering and other ways you mentioned is also equally a part of philanthropy, but just not covered in media reports etc.
I think there are various platforms and ways in which everyone could contribute. We have also asked everyone on Grove to let us know in case they would like to volunteer, and enabled this in little ways.
We need to take these other ways of philanthropy contribution idea to the level even media should be mentioned as one of the main ways of contributions in philanthropy and acknowledge ground-level people’s contributions as collectively just like HNIs and affluent individuals contributions are mentioned. it got ignored means it has not gone to that level, there is a huge opportunity to fill in.
The more detailed the media mentioned the more people will realize to contribute and that is what we are talking about Recognition and Acknowledgment are key to helping any person or organization to open themself to the world and giving them an opportunity to contribute.
Retail giving primarily involves peer-to-peer and community-based donations, often facilitated through online crowdfunding platforms. It’s still largely unorganized in India, making it difficult to provide precise estimations. Typically, retail giving is driven by compelling narratives and is well-suited to address immediate and critical community needs.
A few days ago, we were discussing in the office about the CSR and philanthropy in other countries where CSR contribution is not mandated like it is in India,
Here is the note shared by the Dasra team on this.
Governments set non-mandatory guidelines for corporate responsibility, encouraging companies to use these for improving their own governance and shaping external initiatives; here, government offer a perspective and effective milieu for businesses to operate with flexibility – a culture of social responsibility and ethical behavior is promoted
E.g., US, Singapore
Governments create a process for reporting on corporate responsibility and accountability without incentives or punitive action; this is with the intentionality of promoting stronger and more transparent institutions on the business side
E.g., UK, EU
Governments integrate CSR principles as a part of the legal obligation for businesses to comply with under the national law – there are incentives with regard to taxation, liquidity and interest advantages, subsidies and other positive reinforcements available to the corporates
E.g., Netherlands (the government even offers financial support to companies doing businesses abroad based on their CSR efforts)
Governments set up nuanced guidelines for heavily polluting industries to ensure checks and balances in the ecosystem; this helps and the significant impact sectors like mining can have on the environment and people
E.g., Indonesia
Companies set benchmarks for themselves in sync with ESG; irrespective of the local context and regulatory mandates – they are driven by their internal purpose, global presence, investor and public relations, as well as commitments to multilateral initiatives
E.g., B Corps like Patagonia, The Body Shop
Here are some specifics on CSR across different countries:
United States: CSR regulations in the US are voluntary. While there’s no federal mandate, few states have laws and guidelines encouraging businesses to engage in socially responsible practices. Many US companies voluntarily participate in CSR activities possibly due to the culture of philanthropy, local initiatives and thought leadership in the field.
European Union: EU member countries often have their own CSR regulations, but the EU provides guidelines for CSR practices. The Non-Financial Reporting Directive requires large companies to disclose information on their policies, risks, and outcomes related to environmental, social, and employee matters.
Netherlands: The Netherlands operates on two sets of CSR policies. The national policy frames a pathway for businesses in which the law lays down certain obligations. Likewise, there are some laws for businesses operating in nations where enforcement of laws is not as adept – for ensuring their supply chains are robust. The government offers incentives for companies undertaking CSR (discussed above). NGOs and trade unions also support the government in addressing social challenges. The Government uses CSR and business transparency to rank Dutch companies – the focus on sustainability, innovation, and social responsibility as part of their corporate culture.
United Kingdom: Most UK companies are required to include a business review in their annual reports that covers environmental and social impact along with employee matters. Companies are also expected disclose steps taken for eradicating slavery and human trafficking.
Mauritius: Like India, the CSR policies in Mauritius mandates profit-making companies to contribute 2% CSR activities. The activities can be carried out through an approved NGO, a special purpose vehicle or through any corporate partner.
Indonesia: In Indonesia, the CSR law is mandatory only for certain kinds of companies like limited liability companies, that are involved in typically polluting industries such as mining and oil production. These companies are mandated to allocate a portion of their annual net profits to fund social and environmental programs.
Singapore: Singapore follows a code of corporate governance in the country that encourages domestic companies to follow high standards of governance. It is promoted as a complementary approach for doing business.
My observation towards Retail participation
The participation can increase if the cause /purpose /project is owned by a Influencer and influences/motivates/emotionally connects the common public (Retail Participants ) to that particular cause /purpose through his own channels .
1.He has to be brand ambassador of the particular cause/purpose
2.Creating and communication through proper channel
3.Owning and taking responsibility as its their
.