Shows
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviLessons in Leadership The Dasra Social Impact Leadership Programme began in 2006 as the DSI accelerator programme for leaders of not-for-profit organisations early in their scaling journeys. The DSI Leadership Programme was launched in 2014 in collaboration with Harvard Business School and today has an alumni base of over 600 leaders. Earlier this year, we caught up with the Dasra team and the current cohort of the Leadership Programme to learn more about this initiative. Our thanks to Amit Chandra, Kavneet Kaur, Saiprasad Sale, Kirti Chaturvedi, Disket Angmo, Nita Row, Sohan Mutha, Ahona Krishna and Nehal Parekh. For more information ab...2025-05-0112 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviGame changer for Good? Exploring the role of data, tech and AI in social impactEarlier this year during Dasra Philanthropy Week 2025, innovators, changemakers, and thought leaders came together in Bengaluru to explore the role of Data, Technology, and AI in driving social impact. We caught up with three panellists to find out what was discussed at their sessions and to hear their views on the future of technology in the social sector. Sarayu Natarajan, the founder of the Aapti Institute was on the panel “Gender inclusive Data technologies - Need for a paradigm shift”. She shares with us how her work intersects with AI and her views on the opport...2025-04-1824 min
Humanitarian AI TodayPayal Dalal & Deval Sanghavi: Mastercard's Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate Inclusion ChallengePayal Dalal, Executive Vice President of Global Programs at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, and Deval Sanghavi, Co-founder and Partner at Dasra, speak with Aleks Berditchevskaia, Principal Researcher, Nesta Centre for Collective Intelligence Design, about the Center’s Artificial Intelligence to Accelerate Inclusion Challenge, a global call for AI solutions to accelerate inclusion and economic empowerment. Dasra is a funding partner of the AI Challenge, and Dasra’s other co-founder, Neera Nundy, participated as a judge for the Challenge. Done in partnership with data.org, the winners were announced in December 2024: https://newsroom.mastercard.com/news/press/2024/december/mastercard-center-for-inclusive-growth-and-data-org-announce-ai2ai-challeng...2025-04-0346 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviBhagwan Thacker: Giving With An Open Heart And MindBhagwan P Thacker is the founder of The Empowerment Fund, a private, charitable foundation with an aim to support underserved communities in the Kutch District of Gujarat with a focus on education, health and technology. Born in Anjar, a town in Kutch, a remote region of Western Gujarat, Bhagwan P Thacker had fairly humble beginnings. He was one of the first young people in Anjar to go to a college and attended Saint Xavier's in Ahmedabad. He then studied chemical engineering at Bombay University after which he left for the United States of America, where he worked at...2025-04-0236 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviMeet Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp SamitiMeet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. The Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti is a Community Based Organization working for the development and mobilization of the transgender community in the region of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The organisation works to change societal attitudes towards the community, ensuring that government policies and schemes reach the transgender community and also conduct health related workshops. They have also collaborated with the government to set up a TransGender Welfare Board in districts and their advocacy with the pol...2025-03-1807 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet Deepshika SamitiMeet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Deepshikha Samiti is committed to fostering socio-economic development in Delhi/NCR through education, health initiatives, and employment opportunities, with an aim to empower women, youth, and transgender communities Since 1994, they have been building a safe, healthy and empowered environment for the transgender and MSM community and provide opportunities for them to earn a livelihood and integrate within society. Listen in to Tajuddin Khan speak about their work. To know more about the...2025-03-1809 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet VikalpMeet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Vikalp is a women’s rights group that advocates for the rights of marginalised women & gender/sexual minorities, working closely with and in rural tribal areas. Formed in 1996 to combat domestic violence and discrimination against women in Gujarat, India, particularly tribal women, over time Vikalp has evolved at the intersection of class, caste, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation, intervening in the everyday lives of marginalized women and LBT people. Maya Sharm...2025-03-1810 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet PayanaMeet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. What is Payana? Payana means Equality. Payana is a community owned and managed organization based in Bengaluru that aims to address the many challenges of transgender individuals from underserved backgrounds. Their goal is to remove discrimination towards non-English speaking, working class members of sexual minorities and ensure their social inclusion and a life of dignity. The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists: Radhika Piramal, Keshav Suri, the executive dire...2025-03-1809 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet Basera Samajik SansthanMeet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Basera is a non-profit organization that strives to promote and protect the rights of the LGBTQ community. It advocates for transgender rights, anti-discrimination laws, protection against hate crimes, documentation and reporting of gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Basera has been instrumental in facilitating employment for members of the transgender community across industries and organisations. You can find out more about the work of the Basera Samajik Sansthan here: https://baserasamajiksansthan.org/a...2025-03-1807 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet Karna Subarna Welfare SocietyOver the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. The Karna Subarna Welfare Society is a network of seven organisations headquartered in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal and addresses the needs of the transgender and queer communities in surrounding areas. Their main verticals cover rural livelihoods, research and advocacy and awareness. You can find out more about the work of KSWS here: https://ksws.in/ The Pride Fund is led by t...2025-03-1307 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet Ya_All, The Youth NetworkOver the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Sadam Hanjabam is the founder and CEO of Ya_All The Youth Network, a United Nations recognized LGBTI+ youth led and focused organisation working in Manipur, India. Ya All aims to capacitate, educate, empower equip and strengthen vulnerable communities. Listen to Sadam talk about his own personal experiences that lead to the setting up of Ya_All, how they’ve used football as tool to t...2025-03-1305 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Meet Sappho for EqualityOver the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Sappho for Equality has been working to address the unique, intersectional challenges faced by lesbian, bisexual and transmasculine individual for over a quarter of a century. The organisation has evolved from an emotional support network to one that works in advocacy, public education and sensitising the police, medical professionals and the judicial system. Their repository of colloquial language writing on queer trans rights and experiences is so...2025-03-1308 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviFunding Pride: Radhika Piramal on Empowering LGBTQIA+ Communities in IndiaWe're kicking off a new season of No-Cost Extension with a conversation with Radhika Piramal. Radhika Piramal is one of the founding patrons of the Pride Fund India. Radhika Piramal holds several senior leadership positions in corporate India across various companies and brands and is a charity trustee holding trustee positions at Dasra UK and Give Out - an award-winning international LGBTQ Community Foundation. A leading LQBTQIA+ advocate, Radhika is one of three Indian philanthropists supporting The Pride Fund, India's first LGBTQIA+ philanthropy fund. In this episode, Deval and Radhika speak about her personal journey, t...2025-02-2531 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi#RootedinHerPower: Deepa Pawar (Re-release)To coincide with the launch of the Rebuild India Fund’s 7th cohort of grassroots NGOs, entirely women led AND assessed by women leaders from within the Rebuild portfolio, we thought we would revisit conversations with power house leaders on No-Cost Extension. Our first conversation is from earlier this year, with Deepa Pawar, founder and director of the Anubhuti Trust and a member of the Rebuild India Fund Investment Committee. This is a conversation on the contribution of women in keeping the culture of the community alive, anti-caste feminism and more. Deepa Pawar has over 22 yea...2024-12-1244 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDasra Philanthropy Week - Divya Varma from Aajeevika BureauDivya Varma represented the Ajeevika Bureau and Work Fair and Free Foundation at Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024. She spoke passionately about India’s internal migrant population who are often forced to move from rural India to its cities due to climate variabilities which have rapidly degenerated agricultural livelihoods.Mired in indignity and invisibility, India’s migrant labour workforce works and lives at the very bottom of the societal pyramid at the mercy of a regulation free environment. Listen to her plans for fostering solidarity through unions and collectives and working towards generating more knowledge and research in thi...2024-12-0306 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDasra Philanthropy Week: Jackie Jones from the Bill and Melinda Gates FoundationJackie Jones is the Director, Gender Norms Portfolios and Office of the President at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, where amongst many other things she thinks of gender dimensions and how they intersect with solving programs across the many verticals the foundation works across. At the Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024, Jackie shared a story from one of the foundation’s immunization clinics in the Congo where there was low immunization uptake across genders. Find out how one health care worker’s insight changed this. For more information on any of Dasra's work, or on any of the g...2024-12-0304 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDasra Philanthropy Week 2024 : Rooted Power - Investing in Women Leaders at the GrassrootsJoin Maya Patel from the Tarsadia Foundation, Hechin Haokip from the Centre for Women and Girls, Manohari Doss from the Institute for Self Management and Farida Kathawalla from Circle of Hope in a conversation around women grassroots leaders. A small percentage of philanthropic capital globally is earmarked for gender equality, and the funding gap for feminist or women led organizations is quite glaring. Maya Patel, Hechin Haokip, Manohari Doss and Farida Kathawalla share from their lived experiences in running organizations and from championing women leaders at the grassroots. How can we invest in more women led proximate l...2024-11-2126 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Binoy Acharya from UnnatiBinoy Acharya is the Founder-Director of Unnati - Organisation for Development Education. Unnati works in the spaces of Civic Leadership and Governance and Social Accountability, Disaster Risk Reduction and Social Inclusion and Empowerment. At Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024, Binoy spoke of how governments are failing at last mile delivery across the world, and philanthropic support is needed to bridge this gap. For more information on any of Dasra's work, or on any of the guests on the show, go to www.dasra.org 2024-11-1209 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Kuldeep Dantewadia from Reap BenefitKuldeep Dantewadia is the founder of Reap Benefit, a non-profit based in Bengaluru, India that is igniting a movement of young changemakers to redefine civic and climate leadership, one action at a time. At Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024, Kuldeep shared two stories of young changemakers whose individual actions lead to larger systemic changes in their community and how giving young people the agency and skills they need to effect change can move the needle on apathy. India, he says needs an army of young changemakers and unlocking their potential and change making one abilities one street at a t...2024-11-0706 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDasra Philanthropy Week 2024: Dr Arunabha Ghosh from CEEWIn today's episode, we're bringing to you Dr Arunabha Ghosh's Keynote Address from Dasra Philanthropy Week 2024 held in New York. Dr Arunabha Ghosh is a public policy expert, author and columnist and founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, or CEEW, one of Asia's leading policy research institutions and climate think-tanks. At DPW, Dr Ghosh spoke about how we must internalise two important paradigmatic shifts: away from centralised to decentralised systems that embrace local solutions and are embedded in communities, and move our ideation away from linear thinking to non-linear approaches if we are to t...2024-11-0706 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviCelebrating 25 years at DasraWe’re taking a break from regular programming with a series of conversations and microtalks from the recently concluded Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2024. 2024 was a milestone year with Dasra celebrating twenty five years as an organisation. At DPF 2024, Deval Sanghavi, co-founder of Dasra and host of No-Cost Extension Podcast, Boris Siperstein, Global Council Member Dasra, Akruti Desai from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation discussed the organisation’s journey, and the intentional way in which equity has been centred at the heart of Dasra’s work. Akruti Desai looked back at her own philanthropic journey which began a...2024-10-2430 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviVimal Jat says the voices and vulnerabilities of the youth mattersIn this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval speaks to Vimal Jat, the co-founder and CEO of Synergy Sansthan, an organization in Madhya Pradesh that works on development programs for underserved youth. Born in Seoni Malwa block of Hoshangabad district, Madhya Pradesh, Vimal has a postgraduate degree in Social Work from Devi Ahilya University, Indore. During his time at university he and his friends formed a youth group with the aim to advocate for adolescent and youth rights. Vimal went on to co-found Synergy Sansthan in 2006, a youth-led non-profit that works with marginalized children, adolescents and you...2024-09-0542 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviThe Dignity Deficit: How non-profits are addressing inequities in marginalized communitiesIn this special episode of No-Cost Extension, we look back at conversations we’ve had on the podcast around serving with and for dignity. Many NGOs work at the grassroot level with communities that have a deep-rooted legacy of oppression which manifests in every economic and socio-political facet of life. From lack of access to education, employment, resources and legal recourse, all while facing discrimination spanning generations. The only way forward to detangle this insidious web of oppression, is to provide space and resources that enable these very people to take back their power. Listen to...2024-08-2219 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviNavigating Mental Health in the Development SectorIn this special episode of No-Cost Extension we speak to three development sector leaders about This past season, Deval and his guests have talked about mental health in the development sector. From the sense of urgency that never leaves the work and the feeling of inadequacy that leaders experience when faced with the immense scale of the problem at hand. You’ll hear Dhruv Lakra get candid about how the constant hustle of the early days took a toll on him emotionally and physically. Revathi Radhakrishnan the founder of Vanavil Trust opens up about how her men...2024-08-0827 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDr Sitavva Jodatti: Caste, climate and their intersection with India’s Devadasi systemDr. Sitavva Jodatti is the founder of the Mahila Abhivruddhi Mattu Samrakshna Samsthe (MASS), an organisation founded to end the devadasi practice in the Belgaum district of Karnataka. The devadasi practice is one in which young girls are devoted and married to a religious deity, before they reaches puberty, to act as a caretaker. Recently, this practice has been used to push girls into prostitution. Dr. Sitavva herself was forced into the devadasi practice at the age of seven and it’s her own experiences that lead to the formation of MASS in 1997. MAS...2024-07-2535 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviHejang Misao on giving the youth of Manipur a hopeful futureHejang Misao is the founder and CEO of Integrated Social & Institutional Development for Empowerment (InSIDE-North East), an organization that works towards the empowerment of children, youth and women in Manipur, under the Gun2Pen project. Hejang is no stranger to conflict in his state, and it prompted him to start an organisation that would help those directly or indirectly affected by conflict and violence. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Hejang touch upon the history of Manipur, the socio-economic disparities that prevail in the region, and the violence that has beset the state fo...2024-04-2423 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviThe Rebuild Conversations: On asking uncomfortable and disruptive questions.The Rebuild Conversations is a series in which the No-Cost Extension team checks in with the Rebuild India Fund Investment Committee members to see how they’re doing, what they’ve been learning and how they envisage for the future of the Fund. Rebuild India’s mission is to provide grassroot organizations with long-term flexible funding that can support them through the course of 5-10 years, without constraints or targets. As of early 2024, the fund has been working with over 142 NGOs from across India. In this conversation recorded in January 2024, you can hear Rameez Alam (Catalyst...2024-04-1112 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviVishal Talreja on burnout and the road to rebuilding oneself and one's organizationTwenty five years ago Vishal Talreja founded Dream-a-Dream as a voluntary effort in Mumbai with eleven other individuals who were committed to working with young people. Since then, Ðream-A-Dream has become a non-profit that works with close to 5 million children across six Indian states, with a vision to provide transformative educational experiences that impart life skills to children living in poverty. Deval and Vishal have known each other since the beginning of their journeys in the social sector, and over the years their relationship has grown from one of co-travellers in the same sector and st...2024-03-2853 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviRahima Khatun carries her father’s legacy in to the 21st centuryRahima Khatun has been associated with Nari-O-Shishu Kalyan Kendra (NOSKK) an NGO working extensively with the rights and dignity of women and children across West Bengal for over two decades. The earliest seed for NOSKK was sown on Republic Day in 1952 when Rahima’s father started a community library in their village before going on to open madrassas to promote education amongst both men and women. A strong desire to work for the community was ingrained in Rahima as a child and she often spent her weekends building houses, cleaning drains and later worked tirelessly as a y...2024-03-1426 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviYasmin Madan of Co-Impact: Remeasure the metrics of successFrom selling horlicks in the Burdwan coalmine districts to studying filmmaking, this week’s guest on No-Cost Extension, Yasmin Madan has led a rich and varied life. After holding various senior level positions at PSI and serving as the Private Sector Lead at Thinkwell, Yasmini joined Co-Impact – a global philanthropic collaborative ‘supporting locally-rooted coalitions working to achieve impact at scale in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.’ At Co-Impact, Yasmin is the Director and US Lead for Philanthropic Collaboration. Her extensive experience running country programs in Zimbabwe, Vietnam and Cambodia working across HIV, malaria, reproductive health, sanitatio...2024-02-2947 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDeepa Pawar: As mediators for our community’s rights, we remain accountable to themDeepa Pawar is the founder and director of the Anubhuti Trust, an organization formed and self-led by women, with the intention to work with youth on developing their leadership so that there are aware and responsible youth in society who can lead change for a more just and equitable world. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Deepa sit down at the Dasra office to talk about the stigmatization of Nomadic and Denotifed Tribes in India from the time of colonial rule, their unacknowledged role in the freedom struggle and how they have been historically viewed...2024-02-1544 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviNandita Pradhan Bhatt : What we try to question is about dignityWhat is it like to dedicate one's life to working for some of the most under-represented groups? Nandita Pradhan Bhatt is the Director of the Martha Farrell Foundation, an NGO that supports informal, migrant workers, mostly female domestic workers and adolescent children to build their leadership and collective voice against injustice. Nandita has been a civil society practitioner decades, and has worked extensively on gender inclusion and the prevention of sexual harassment against women. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Nandita speaks of her childhood on tea plantations in Dooars and Darjeeling, where her father was a...2024-02-0148 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviOur Relationship With Nature Is Broken says Deep Jyoti Sonu BrahmaAfter a short year end break, No-Cost Extension is back! In the first episode of 2024, Deval sits down with Deep Jyoti Sonu Brahma, co-founder of Farm2Food Foundation. Deep speaks of his early years growing up and studying in Arunachal Pradesh, the impact the turbulent times in the North Eastern region had on him and later experiences with people led movements like the Narmada Bachao Andolan. His journey lead him back to Assam with a desire to work with young people and communities and place their needs at the centre. What grew from that desire was Farm2F...2024-01-1851 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviRevathi Radhakrishnan says ‘When a child dies, hope dies.'Revathi Radhakrishnan is the founder-director of the Vanavil Trust, a non profit founded in 2004 that supports children of two Nomadic communities: Boom Boom Mattikarars and Narikuravars, in Tamil Nadu. After 17 years of working with the communities, Vanavil now has grown into an organisation that works in child protection, health and nutrition, holistic education and livelihoods. As a child, Revathi was a vociferous reader, devouring whatever books she could lay her hands on. She had to give up her dreams of being a journalist and studied mathematics instead, but after graduating she went on to work in film, jo...2023-12-1443 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDhruv Lakra Is A Hustler At HeartSeason 3 of No-Cost Extension kicks off with host Deval Sanghavi in conversation with Dhruv Lakra, founder and CEO of Mirakle Couriers, a for- profit courier service that employs low income deaf adults thereby delinking charity with disability. Dhruv grew up in Kashmir before moving to Mumbai for college, after a brief stint as an investment banker he joined Dasra as one of the organisation’s first team members in 2004. He then went on to become a Skoll scholar at the Said School of Business, Oxford, after which he returned to India to bootstrap Mirakle Courier. In t...2023-11-3048 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviSeason 3 Trailer!Deval Sanghavi is back with a new season of No-Cost Extension! In this season Deval’s talking to some of the most committed social leaders from India and around the world on what it’s like to work towards the challenging goal of equity. Deval and his guests also speak about what it is like to run organizations post COVID, bootstrapping and entrepreneurship, the work of philanthropy, and what it is like to work with the most marginalized and excluded communities. Episodes drop November 30, 2023! Subscribe now where ever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode. For m...2023-11-2402 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviHow does it all begin?How does it all begin? Was there a singular experience or encounter that sparked a desire to work on social change? How do you go from being affected by an issue, to contributing a few times, to the realisation that there is more to this? - that working in social change could be the calling, or the profession, and how do you go from that to wanting to build an organisation and so much more? In this No-Cost Extension special, we combed through our two seasons to bring you inspiring origin stories. Anu Aga, and her daughter M...2023-06-3024 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviWhat does impact mean to you?Over the past two seasons, host Deval Sanghavi has talked about the idea of impact with his guests: what does it mean and what should it mean? How can we further our understanding of social impact? From the archives we bring you Donald Lobo of the Chintu Gudiya Foundation, Karen Doff of Sharanam Centre for Girls, Safeena Hussain of Educate Girls and Ravi Chopra and Jo McGowan Chopra from the Latika Royal foundation talking about impact and scale and how they look at these as individuals and organisation. For more information on No-Cost Extension go to...2023-06-0114 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviLearning from Gagan SethiGagan Sethi is the founder of Janvikas, an NGO that has worked in the space of holistic human development for over three decades. Gagan has helped set up several strategic organizations in the country, like Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, Sahjeevan, Drishti, Centre for Social justice and the HID forum. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval and Gagan talk about disaster relief work, what happens when there’s discrimination in relief work and the toll working in the development sector takes on family relationships and mental health. Gagan speaks of the impact of partition on his fa...2023-05-1735 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviLoren Cardeli wants to take on the Food Industrial Complex Loren Cardeli is the Executive Director at A Growing Culture, a non profit that believes in food sovereignty for everyone everywhere and works with farmers to ensure they decide what to grow, where to grow it and who to sell it to. Deval and Loren met at a Synergos retreat and found they had much to talk about and bond over, prompting Deval to invite Loren on to No-Cost Extension as a guest. Listen to Loren talk about his growing years in New York City in a family that loved to argue, what made him buy a on...2023-05-0349 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviGoing Platinum: Past, Present and Future of Civil Society in India @ 75We're pausing our regular programming on No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi to bring you this panel discussion from Dasra Philanthropy Week 2023. Deval will be back next week with a new guest! The Going Platinum: Past, Present and Future of Civil Society in India @ 75 report is a collective effort by India’s leading non-profits to showcase and celebrate civil society's contribution to India's development. The conversation at DPW 2023 was based on the report and spanned policy, service delivery and research/ advocacy – reminiscing the past with an eye to the future. The panel was moderated by Sneha Menon...2023-04-2032 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviWe Are All Philanthropists, says Sonal ShahSonal Shah has spent her career both in the private and public sector, including stints with Goldman Sachs, Google.org and The White House. She is currently the CEO of The Texas Tribune, a politics and public policy-specific news organization. But before embarking on her illustrious career, many years ago, Sonal and Deval were just two teenagers forced to wake up early and help clean up the Gandhi Centre in Houston, Texas after community events. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Sonal and Deval not only look back and reminisce, but they also talk about...2023-04-0439 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviWhen you plan for the most vulnerable, you make the world work better for everyone - Jo and Ravi ChopraJo McGowan and Ravi Chopra met in the 70s and fell in love through the post. They got married and moved to India in the early 80s and have since dedicated their lives to serving the communities they live in, albeit in very different ways. From helping set up The Front for Rapid Economic Advancement of India (FREA) to working with the Centre for Science and Environment to setting up the People’s Science Institute in Uttarakhand, Ravi Chopra has spent his life using science and technology to better the lives of others. The People’s Science Inst...2023-03-2247 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviThe first thing you have to know is that you don't know anything - Dr. Armida Fernandez and Vanessa D’SouzaHow do you begin to break intergenerational cycles of poor health and violence in a megapolis? What evidence based models of urban health interventions can we look to? Content Warning: This episode contains mentions of violence that some listeners may find disturbing and listener discretion is advised. In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval sits down with Dr. Armida Fernandez, founder-trustee of SNEHA Mumbai (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) and the organisation’s CEO Vanessa D’Souza. Listen in as Dr. Armida Fernandez talks about her start as a paediatrician and neonato...2023-03-0947 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDPW Conversations: Bring The Community Voice BackDasra Philanthropy Week is an annual gathering of diverse stakeholders and voices from the development ecosystem to convene, converse and continue sustained action towards the quest for a billion Indians to thrive with dignity and equity. As the 14th edition of Dasra Philanthropy Week 2023 gets underway, No-Cost Extension presents DPW specials: conversations that we believe will be of interest to our listeners. This episode is a conversation between Suparna Gupta, founder of Aangan Trust, and Deval Sanghavi and Neera Nundy at DPW 2022. How do we imagine a future of collaboration? How do we recognize privilege? How...2023-02-2321 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviThe Importance of Listening in Philanthropy with Alberto LidjiHow can we engage with policymakers in a timely and effective way? What can we do to address the power imbalance between the Global North and the Global South? Why does global philanthropy set aside only 2% of funding for the climate? In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval Sanghavi has a freewheeling conversation with Alberto Lidji, Founder of the Do One Better Knowledge Hub and Podcast. Alberto talks about his shift from working with private corporations to the world of philanthropy, why he thinks there needs to be a change in the way we work w...2023-02-0938 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviPeggy Dulany - SynergosHow can we challenge the top-down approach to solving social problems? Can we build bridges between powerful sectors and community organisations? What role does sustained inner work play in serving with love? Deval sits down with Peggy Dulany, Founder & Chair of Synergos, a global organisation helping dismantle systems that create the most urgent problems of our time: poverty, social injustice, and climate change From absorbing ideas about philanthropy ‘through her skin’ at dinner table conversations from a young age to starting The Global Philanthropists Circle (GPC) a home for individuals and families from around the world...2023-01-2643 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviLior Ipp - The Roddenberry FoundationHow should funders be rethinking philanthropy in the wake of the pandemic? How can they take their egos out of the equation? How can they operate with a greater sense of urgency, transparency, and trust with grantee centric mechanisms? In this episode of No-Cost Extension, Deval Sanghavi sits down with Lior Ipp, the CEO of the Roddenberry Foundation that is inspired by the life and legacy of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry who believed that human potential is remarkable and would lead us to a better, fairer world. Lior speaks with candour about the power dy...2022-12-1439 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviThe Rebuild Conversations - 2The Rebuild India Fund will support 1000 small community based organizations in the next decade through flexible funding and capacity building, enabling them to survive and thrive. How do committees select organizations for funding? What is it like to be on a selection committee? What can we learn and unlearn from the hundreds of small organizations doing meaningful work across the country? What can we do better next time? In this second episode of the Rebuild Conversations, Deval Sanghavi catches up with the Investment Committee after their meeting to select the first set of 23 organizations for t...2022-11-2419 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviThe Rebuild Conversations - 1When COVID-19 hit, it made clear the undeniable fact of just how vulnerable our poorest communities are. It was a setback of huge proportions, creating a crisis that extended well beyond health to impact on work and livelihoods, education, access to food and nutrition. It exposed how a shock in any one area can snowball pushing communities deeper into poverty. Many small grassroots organizations were the primary support for communities in the worst phases of the pandemic. The Rebuild India Fund was set up to support those closest to the ground - the small community organizations working a...2022-11-2415 min
Untapped PhilanthropyHow are intermediaries shaping India’s giving landscape?Guest: Deval Sanghavi, Partner and Co-Founder of Darsa.Dasra is a strategic philanthropy organization in India's multi-stakeholder development ecosystem, helping funders to give more strategically to vulnerable communities. When COVID struck India, the team led by this week’s podcast guest, Deval Sanghavi, sprang into action and employed swift and effective trust-based philanthropy practices to support communities throughout India. To learn more about Fluxx, visit fluxx.ioTo learn more about Dasra, visit dasra.orgCheck out Deval’s podcast, No-Cost Extension, to learn more about India’s giving landscape.Episodes of Unta...2022-11-1729 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviMaya Patel - Tarsadia FoundationHow can community philanthropy grow organically in a way that serves the community, unlocking its potential? Why do we use the word risk so much in philanthropy? How can family philanthropies involve the next gen meaningfully in their work? Deval Sanghavi, host of No-Cost Extension Pod sits down with Maya Patel, the CEO of The Tarsadia Foundation, a family philanthropy working both in India and the United States in health and human services, economic empowerment and education. In 2016, the National Center for Family Philanthropy recognized the Tarsadia Foundation as a model of successful next-generation engagement in philanthropy....2022-11-1045 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviAnshu and Meenakshi Gupta - GoonjCan urban discard be used as a tool to alleviate poverty? How can the poor be involved in evolving their own solutions with dignity? Why must we focus on the receiver’s dignity instead of the donor’s pride? In this episode of No-Cost Extension, host Deval Sanghavi speaks to Anshu and Meenakshi Gupta, co-founders of Goonj. Goonj aims to build an equitable relationship of strength, sustenance and dignity between the cities and villages using the under-utilized urban material as a tool to trigger development with dignity, across the country. Founded in 1999, today, Goonj works in 31...2022-10-261h 05
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviMatthew Spacie - Magic Bus How can loving a sport lead someone to found an NGO? How can we empower young people to make their own life decisions, rather than giving them solutions? What is the secret to scaling such social initiatives across the world and what changes can one hope to see from the Indian social sector funding landscape? In the first episode of season 2, Deval Sanghavi speaks to Matthew Spacie, the founder of Magic Bus, an NGO that works with children and young people in India taking them on a journey from childhood to livelihood and ou...2022-09-2948 minNo-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviNCE Season 2 TrailerDeval Sanghavi is back with another season of No-Cost Extension, ready to engage more deeply with the theme of rebuilding. Through conversations with social leaders, small NGOs and voices from philanthropies, Season 2 will focus on rebuilding communities, rebuilding India, and rebuilding the fabric of our society. The first episode drops next week! For more information on NCE go to dasra.org/nce and follow Deval on Twitter at @Deval_Sanghavi and @Dasra2022-09-1401 min
Do One Better with Alberto Lidji in Philanthropy, Sustainability and Social EntrepreneurshipDeval Sanghavi, Co-Founder of Dasra, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss strategic philanthropy in India
Deval Sanghavi, Co-Founder of Dasra, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss strategic philanthropy in India. Dasra began as a venture philanthropy fund to invest in early stage non-profit organizations in India.
After listening to this episode you will have better insight into the philanthropic landscape in India; understand how grant-making foundations are including the voices of NGOs into their grant-making decisions and how NGO leaders are being supported.
Thank you for downloading this episode of The Do One Better Podcast. Visit our website at Lidji.org for information on more than 150 interviews with remarkable t...2022-03-1434 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviWhether it's COVID or environmental issues, our children will always pay the biggest price says Safeena HusainDeval Sanghavi speaks to Safeena Husain, the founder of Educate Girls, an NGO that works to support girls’ education across India. Educate Girls has just completed 14 years, and during this period they have grown from working with fifty schools to working in over 18,000 villages across India and reaching millions of children. Safeena talks about her own personal journey that led her to set up Educate Girls and how they learnt to use machine learning to identify the most vulnerable locations to work in. She also speaks about how she set up the world’s first Develop...2021-12-061h 03
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviOften we get stuck in taking these sides of are you a rights-based organization or are you a service delivery organization, the beauty is in looking at both sides, says Aakash SethiDeval Sanghavi speaks to Aakash Sethi, the CEO of Quest Alliance, a non-profit organization that equips young people with 21st century skills. Aakash shares what it was like to grow up in a family dedicated to development work, what it means to him to build for a world where young people feel empowered and included, how to grow from loss and the impact of COVID-19 on education in India. They also chat about how Quest has become one of the best places in the development sector to work in, and the importance of eating and sharing together for a...2021-11-231h 09
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviUnless idealism meets reality somewhere, it will always be two parallels running and never meeting, say Anu Aga and Meher PudumjeeDeval Sanghavi speaks to Anu Aga and Meher Pudumjee, a mother and daughter philanthropic team who are deeply committed to equity and inclusion. While many families grapple with intergenerational philanthropy, Anu and Meher are examples of how different perspectives can come together to shape a long-lasting philanthropic engagement. Anu Aga has been a trailblazing corporate leader when there were a few like her. She has led the energy and environment business Thermax Ltd. Anu is a social worker, and has been a Member of Parliament (in the Rajya Sabha) and is actively engaged with multiple no...2021-11-111h 06
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviHansal Mehta asks Deval Sanghavi, What's Bad Philanthropy?This special episode is a conversation between Deval and Hansal Mehta that took place earlier this year at Dasra Philanthropy Week. Listen in as Hansal speaks to Deval about his perspectives on philanthropy, what he believes is real impact, and his lockdown beard. Hansal Mehta is a well-known National Award winning filmmaker, director, and writer. Some of his well-known films are Shahid, City Lights, and more recently, the web series Scam 1992. Hansal is a longtime friend of the development sector. His wife Safeena Husain is a social worker and the founder of the non-profit, Educate Girls in Mu...2021-09-2842 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviYour intent is to make impact , there is no machine that can actually test that says Vineet RaiDeval Sanghavi speaks to Vineet Rai, the Founder and Chairman of Aavishkaar Group, a leading global impact investment platform. Although they have very different perspectives when it comes to development and social change, they share a long friendship that goes back to their early years in the development sector. Listen in as Vineet and Deval talk about the shared idealism that shapes their values, their history of travelling together across the country to learn and understand how issues play out on the ground, how capitalism and philanthropy each approach development, and what impact investing is all about. (30:00) "O...2021-09-1450 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviWhat would happen to those lives if I closed the shelter down? Sharda Nirmal and Karen Doff from the Sharanam CentreDeval Sanghavi speaks to Sharda Nirmal, the founder of the Sharanam Center, a home for girls in Dharavi, Mumbai, and Karen Doff, the founder of the Aasha Foundation and a longtime collaborator of the centre. The Sharanam Center is not an institution - it is a home. Sharda talks about how she established the Sharanam Center as a young woman and with her husband over twenty years ago. Karen first encountered Sharanam as a visitor, but soon became a close collaborator, working with Sharda, and finding ways for many people - from her mom’s hairdresser, to her colleagues at...2021-08-3152 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviIf you're doing something for the public good, why don't you give the public ownership of it? Asks Donald LoboDeval Sanghavi speaks to Donald Lobo, one of India's most unassuming philanthropists. Listen in as Lobo deftly steers the conversation away from the Rolling Stones article he was featured in, and as he talks about his giving philosophy and why he trusts organizations that are truly embedded in communities, what people think the terms impact and scale mean versus what they should mean, and why Lobo’s hopeful about the Indian social sector. (42:39) ” If you're doing something for the public good, why don't you give the public ownership of it? And I think this is where funders, founda...2021-08-1651 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviDo you really want them to be sitting in front of an excel sheet? Asks Suparna GuptaIn the first episode of No Cost Extension, Deval sits down to talk to Suparna Gupta, the founder of Aangan Trust, a Mumbai-based foundation that works with vulnerable children. Listen in as they discuss what a no-cost extension really means, Suparna’s early years working with children and how Aangan grew, what she has learnt from her journey and of course, the usefulness of sitting in front of excel sheets. Suparna Gupta (@Suparna_Aangan) is the Founder Director of @Aangan_Trust. Her career began in advertising, but when her volunteering experience at various shelters and homes from her...2021-08-0345 min
Outlet: A podcast by Kaitlin McCulleyInside the Covid-19 crisis in India: What's going on and how you can help"It's like a war except everyone who's dying are innocent civilians." – Deval Sanghavi, Partner & Co-Founder at Dasra"Our team members are sick, unable to get a hospital bed, get oxygen. They're scrambling." – Sneha Sheth, CEO & Co-Founder at Dost EducationIn the US, more than 44 percent of people are at least partially vaccinated against Covid-19, but in India, it’s a much different story. Only nine percent have had at least one shot. Meanwhile, the health care system is overwhelmed as the country experiences the world’s worst outbreak, with new cases staying...2021-05-1127 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviA MessageWe're taking some time to support efforts to help people in the pandemic. We will be releasing the series in a few weeks time, but in the meantime, here's how you can help. For more information, go to dasra.org2021-05-0301 min
Taking ChancesEP 8: The Art of Giving with Deval SanghaviIn this episode we have Deval Sanghavi, Partner and Co-Founder of DASRA. Deval’s journey is one that is rooted in change that is so critical for the betterment of the world. He graduated early from the University of Texas and volunteered with children living on Mumbai's streets. He left his career at Morgan Stanley in New York and returned to India to create DASRA . His organization serves marginalized communities, enables NGOs to scale nationwide, advises philanthropists and foundations on their giving strategies and supports collaborative action in dealing with urban sanitation, adolescents and informal workers. This is...2021-04-1945 min
No-Cost Extension with Deval SanghaviTrailer - No-Cost ExtensionIt’s time for India’s philanthropy sector to step down from its pedestal, stop hiding behind lofty jargon, and have a frank conversation about what’s really working, and more importantly what’s not. After dedicating twenty years to the philanthropy sector, Deval Sanghavi, co-Founder of Dasra, is now on a mission to hold a mirror up to the country’s philanthropy sector and examine why even after so much innovation and investment, the inequality gap in India is ever widening. No-Cost Extension releases in March 2021. Produced by Vaaka Media. For more information go to dasra.org...2021-03-0802 min
Working on PurposeThe Pull to Matter: Dasra’s Ripple Across IndiaA couple of years into his first job at Morgan Stanley in New York, Deval Sanghavi realized he wanted to be in India, to focus on the lives of the many millions that live without dignity and equity. So the Texas-born investment banker packed up, came to Mumbai, and co-founded Dasra. Its very first workshop, for around 20 non-profit organizations working with children, was to support them in learning from each other – and this collaborative, learning philosophy remains central to how Dasra functions today, nurturing powerful partnerships among stakeholders across the spectrum – including government, donors, organizations, experts and the media. In this...2020-12-0950 minWorking on PurposeThe Pull to Matter: Dasra’s Ripple Across IndiaA couple of years into his first job at Morgan Stanley in New York, Deval Sanghavi realized he wanted to be in India, to focus on the lives of the many millions that live without dignity and equity. So the Texas-born investment banker packed up, came to Mumbai, and co-founded Dasra. Its very first workshop, for around 20 non-profit organizations working with children, was to support them in learning from each other – and this collaborative, learning philosophy remains central to how Dasra functions today, nurturing powerful partnerships among stakeholders across the spectrum – including government, donors, organizations, experts and the media. In this...2020-12-0950 min
Working on PurposeThe Pull to Matter: Dasra’s Ripple Across IndiaA couple of years into his first job at Morgan Stanley in New York, Deval Sanghavi realized he wanted to be in India, to focus on the lives of the many millions that live without dignity and equity. So the Texas-born investment banker packed up, came to Mumbai, and co-founded Dasra. Its very first workshop, for around 20 non-profit organizations working with children, was to support them in learning from each other – and this collaborative, learning philosophy remains central to how Dasra functions today, nurturing powerful partnerships among stakeholders across the spectrum – including government, donors, organizations, experts and the media. In this...2020-12-0950 minWorking on PurposeDasra’s Ripple Impact Across IndiaA few years into his first job at Morgan Stanley in New York, Deval Sanghavi realized he wanted to be in India, to focus on the lives of the many millions that live without dignity and equity. So the Texas-born investment banker packed up, came to Mumbai, and co-founded Dasra. Its very first workshop, for 20 non-profit organizations working with children, was to support them in learning from each other – and this collaborative, learning philosophy remains central to how Dasra functions today.Working on Purpose is broadcast live Wednesday's at 6PM ET.The Working on Purpose TV Sh...2020-12-0351 min
Play to Potential Podcast31.00 Neera Nundy on Transitioning from a corporate career to social impact: Journey and challenges as co-founder of Dasra.GUEST
Neera Nundy is Co-Founder at Dasra - India’s leading strategic philanthropic foundation. Dasra actively shapes the process of social change by forming powerful partnerships with funders and social enterprises. 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, nonprofits, social businesses, government and media). Over the years, Dasra has deepened social impact in focused fields that include adolescents, urban sanitation and governance and has built social capital by leading a strategic philanthropy movement in the country.
In our co...2018-07-131h 01
The Entrepreneur Talk Show | Indian Entrepreneurs I Interviews with people in the start up ecosystem2 : Deval Sanghavi of Dasra on bringing rigor, discipline and professionalism to the non-profit sectorDeval Sanghavi, Partner and Co-founder at Dasra, has provided philanthropists with intelligent investment strategies directing over $35 million into the Indian social sector over the past 14 years. Deval's background as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley has equipped him to develop a unique philanthropic investment model that brings rigor and discipline to the social sector. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, completing his Bachelor of Business Administration with a dual Honors degree in Business and Finance and a minor in Asian Studies. Listen in to hear Deval talk about his journey, challenges, discuss future trends...2014-04-1324 min