New Delhi, India, and New York, NY—February 24, 2021. Candid, in partnership with the Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP) of Ashoka University, has launched ‘Philanthropy in India’, a one-of-its-kind website that provides the most comprehensive information available on Indian philanthropy. For the first time, funding data to support India’s social sector is made publicly available, with free-of-cost complete access to the information.

India is home to one of the fastest-growing social sectors in the world. Yet, despite its growth in recent years, the overall size, contribution, and impact of philanthropic activity in India remain mostly unknown. Candid’s Philanthropy in India website aims to address this void. The website includes a dashboard that gives a high-level snapshot of how funding flows; a funding map that shows in-depth data; reports, insights, and other resources that highlight philanthropic work in India.

Bradford Smith, President at Candid, says, “The philanthropy sector in India is experiencing substantial growth. This website supports the robust philanthropic work that’s already occurring in the country. It will help people and organizations make informed decisions and efficiently work together to promote the causes that matter most to the Indian philanthropic community.”

The portal will enable ways to maximize philanthropy in India. Funders both within and outside India can use Philanthropy in India to find other funding organizations supporting the causes they care about and learn about their work to make a change or collaborate. Analyzing trends and identifying funding gaps for informed development of program strategies, will be another big advantage, by making knowledge produced from the field easily accessible.

Ingrid Srinath, Director at Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP), says, “The lack of reliable data on philanthropy hampers decision-making and prevents the effective allocation of scarce resources. CSIP is pleased to support this pioneering effort by Candid to fill this gap.”

From 2015 through 2018, Candid has identified 155,121 grants serving India totaling about $10.7 billion and tracked 11,004 grants in bi/multilateral aid totaling $14.1 billion.

Key findings, based on the available data, include:

• Corporate donors, overwhelmingly based in India, funded the majority of grants.
• The top foundation funders who are supporting programs in India are based outside India.
• Private donors invested most heavily in: Health causes (30 percent of grant totals), Education (21 percent) and Community and economic development (20 percent)
• More than 70 percent of bi/multilateral aid was designated for the community and economic development subject area.

Zohra Zori, Vice President of networks at Candid, says, “There is still much more to learn about philanthropy in India, and funders can help. When funders share their grants data with Candid, it helps them elevate their work, creates a fuller picture of the social sector, and ultimately, better supports Indian philanthropy. We invite all funders to submit their grants data.”

Visit Philanthropy in India at india.candid.org. Funders can share their grant data here.