Just 'Charity', not 'Social Change' for Rich Indians

Bangalore: "Philanthropists are still geared towards a charity mindset, rather than where they can play a role in engineering large-scale social change," says Nidhi M. Reddy, one of the writers of the report titled "Catalytic Philanthropy in India". Philanthropy in India is still at a very nascent stage but the inclination right now is more towards charity than focusing on social problems and its impact. A joint survey done by India School of Business and social impact consulting firm FSG on high net worth individuals of India found that 200 HNIs and 45 individuals were very active in philanthropy but do not play a vital role in addressing the most pressing problems of the country. There has been very less focus on the impact of giving. The conclusion of the survey was, donors in India have always leaned towards giving rather than focusing where the giving is heading to. To have an a effective practice, many are implementing 'Catalytic philanthropy', a new approach towards philanthropy where donors do beyond check writing and transcend from traditional philanthropy to implementation of effective tools and practices in the genre of philanthropy.