What does it take to turn intent into impact that endures? Season 5 of Catalyzing Change, a series on the Unusual Suspects podcast by Moneycontrol in collaboration with GivingPi, brings together voices from across the Indian diaspora who are rethinking how philanthropy is practiced across borders.
Featuring GivingPi Founders Circle Members Sunny Gurpreet Singh and Rashi Mehta, and GivingPi Members Ramesh Srinivasan, Raj and Anna Asava, and Shruti Deorah, the season explores a wide spectrum of approaches, from holistic wellbeing and value-led institution building to leadership as strategy, proximity in giving, and the role of expertise in shaping policy and systems.
To listen to episode 1 with Sunny Gurpreet Singh, click here. To listen to episode 2 with Rashi Mehta, click here. To listen to episode 3 with Ramesh Srinivasan, click here. To listen to episode 4 with Raj and Anna Asava, click here. To listen to episode 5 with Shruti Deorah, click here.
As the intersections between climate and public health become more pronounced, philanthropy is being pushed to respond in more coordinated and systems-led ways.
At a closed-door convening co-hosted by GivingPi with the Gates Foundation and Temasek Foundation, a curated group of India’s leading philanthropic families and principals came together to examine what it will take to respond meaningfully to the intersecting challenges of health and climate.
The discussion brought together diverse, experience-led perspectives grounded in both practice and scale. Participants included Ng Boon Heong, Executive Director and CEO of Temasek Foundation; GivingPi Members Adam Khorakiwala, Mohit and Gouri Gupta, Raj Mariwala, Dr. Sanjay Arora, and Dr. Sarika Kulkarni; as well as Mangesh Wange of the Swades Foundation (founded by GivingPi Member Zarina Screwvala), Dr. Vanita Gupta of the Reliance Foundation, and Akshat Shukla of the Piramal Foundation.
Adam Khorakiwala highlighted the need for a shift toward long-term, risk-taking, ecosystem-led philanthropy - where capital is deployed not just for outcomes, but to align stakeholders and build enabling infrastructure and processes. Raj Mariwala underscored the deep interlinkages between climate and health, calling for more inclusive, community-centric, and mental health-aware approaches. Dr. Sanjay Arora emphasized the urgency of moving from reactive care to prevention, early diagnostics, and detection, while also addressing gaps in the healthcare workforce. Dr. Sarika Kulkarni focused on scaling through integrated, community-owned models, and Ashwin Iyer of the Gates Foundation noted that effective collaboration requires aligned incentives, clear roles, and the ability to navigate institutional complexity.
Across the discussion, a clear set of priorities emerged: moving beyond fragmented efforts toward coordinated, systems-led collaboration; scaling high-impact innovations in preventive care and diagnostics; and anchoring solutions in community realities. The conversation also reinforced the role of catalytic philanthropy in unlocking partnerships, strengthening ecosystems, and building long-term infrastructure for impact.
As India navigates the dual challenges of climate and public health, the roundtable underscored that progress would depend not just on how much capital is deployed, but on how intentionally and collaboratively it is used.
As Indian cities expand, the question of human-animal coexistence is becoming harder to ignore, and even harder to solve in silos. Recently, Dasra and the Ashraya Hastha Trust - led by GivingPi Member K Dinesh, convened a diverse set of stakeholders to launch a report titled ‘The Kindness City: Human–Animal Co-Existence and the Future of Bengaluru’, bringing this conversation into sharper focus.
The launch brought together a diverse group of stakeholders - nonprofits, veterinarians, caregivers, citizen volunteers, and city system leaders, ensuring that the dialogue reflected the full complexity of urban animal welfare. This breadth of participation was critical in moving the conversation beyond fragmented efforts toward a more coordinated, systems-led approach.
The session reinforced a key shift: building a ‘kindness city’ is not a standalone intervention, but a collective outcome. The Kindness City Blueprint offers a starting point for cities to translate this into action, grounding coexistence in collaboration, shared responsibility, and locally adaptive models.
As momentum builds, the opportunity now lies in carrying this forward by strengthening cross-sector alignment and embedding these approaches into how cities are designed and governed.
To read the report, click here.
GivingPi Founders Circle Member and Founder of the Iron Lady Foundation, Rashi Mehta, is working to address structural barriers that limit access to education for girls in India. With continuity in education often disrupted at critical transition points, the Dr. Leela Scholars Programme is designed to enable sustained access and support for young girls. Named in honor of her mother, Dr. Leela Mehta, the program reflects a long-term commitment to expanding opportunity through education. It combines financial support with mentorship, exposure, and guidance - recognizing that outcomes are shaped not only by access, but by confidence, aspiration, and sustained encouragement. Delivered in partnership with local educators and community leaders, the program is designed to be contextually relevant and embedded within the communities it serves. By supporting girls who are navigating social and economic constraints, it aims to enable continuity in education while contributing to stronger and more resilient communities over time. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Member Sarita Chand, Co-Founder of IndicAI Foundation, is working to expand access to specialized eye care in underserved regions of Haryana. Through a new non-profit eye hospital in Hisar, scheduled to be operational in 2026, the initiative aims to address critical gaps in vision care across more than 175 villages, reaching over 2 million people.
Developed in partnership with Dr. Shroff’s Charity Eye Hospital, the model integrates community outreach with advanced clinical care, offering a mix of free, subsidized, and paid services to ensure both accessibility and sustainability. In its first year alone, the intervention is projected to generate ₹16.79 crores in economic savings across 2,000 patients, alongside measurable health gains, including an estimated 5.76 additional healthy life years per individual.
By combining access with quality care at scale, the initiative is not only restoring sight but also enabling greater independence, productivity, and long-term wellbeing across communities. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Member Digvijay Singh Kathiwada is advancing a long-term, community-led model of rural transformation through the Kathiwada Foundation in Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh. In a region often defined by structural challenges, the Foundation’s approach focuses on strengthening interconnected systems of education, ecology, and economy rather than isolated interventions.
This is reflected in the initiatives anchored by the Foundation, including Kamal Vidya Niketan, which supports over 120 first-generation learners through a contextual education model, and Swarnabhoomi, a 55-acre regenerative farming campus that restores soil health while building farmer livelihoods. These efforts are complemented by investments in sports and community infrastructure, including a 17-acre sports and community centre, contributing to over 150 acres of integrated, on-ground development.
Together, these initiatives form a connected ecosystem designed to restore land, expand opportunities, and build local capacity over time. By aligning environmental restoration with human development and economic participation, the Foundation is shaping a self-sustaining and replicable model for rural India. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Member Neelesh Hundekari, through Kearney’s CSR support to Srujna, is enabling women from underserved communities across India to move toward sustained economic agency. Srujna, a social enterprise focused on building sustainable livelihoods, has reached over 3,000 women across five states through a structured pathway that integrates income generation, financial inclusion, and leadership development.
Under Project Maitree, 50 women generated ₹1.8 lakhs in two months through the production of reusable sanitary pads - while simultaneously improving menstrual health access for over 2,000 women and girls. This is complemented by financial literacy training, with 100% of women actively using bank accounts and 90% initiating savings, alongside grassroots leadership development where 20 women leaders have trained over 200 others.
By combining livelihoods with financial inclusion and leadership development, the initiative is enabling women to move beyond income generation toward long-term economic participation and agency at scale. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Member Mamta Anand, through NavGurukul, is opening pathways to digital careers for young women in underserved regions such as Kishanganj, Bihar. In a district where female literacy remains below 50% and fewer than 5% of women access formal employment, the girls-only residential campus creates structured entry points into the digital economy. Students, many of whom are first-generation learners, undergo 1,500 to 2,000 hours of intensive training in areas such as programming, data analytics, and digital marketing, alongside workplace readiness and life skills. Delivered in partnership with Project Potential, the program combines community outreach with a self-driven learning model. Over the past year, more than 70 young women have been supported, with over 35 securing placements or internships. By enabling access to formal employment, this initiative is driving a shift in both income and aspirations. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Member Amitabh Sonthalia, in partnership with the Calcutta Foundation, is supporting the development of the Apni Kutir model in Mandawa, creating community-based pathways for women to move from learning to earning.
Rooted in the Sonthalia family’s deep ancestral connection to the region, the initiative is designed to be locally embedded, building opportunity from within the community rather than as an external intervention. At its core, the model addresses a critical gap: enabling women not just to learn skills, but to translate them into sustained income and economic participation. Alongside this, engagement with the local school focuses on early exposure, ensuring that younger girls grow up with a broader sense of possibility and access.
Currently, over 150 women are engaged in structured training across sewing, beautician services, mehendi, and digital literacy, each linked to livelihood pathways. In addition, more than 200 women have participated in sessions on health, financial literacy, and digital awareness, supporting a more holistic transition toward financial independence. The focus extends beyond skills to building confidence and ownership, from opening personal bank accounts to understanding pricing and managing earnings.
As women progress toward income readiness, the model is enabling a deeper shift, from passive participation to active economic agency by contributing to more sustained and locally grounded workforce participation, and stronger community-level outcomes. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Members Vinati and Manjari Makijany, Co-Founders of Desert Dolphin Skatepark, are creating new pathways for young people in rural Rajasthan through access to sport. What began as a film set for Skater Girl has evolved into a sustained, community-led initiative in Khempur village.
Built on a one-acre campus, the 14,500 sq ft skatepark operates as a free, open-access space, engaging hundreds of children from surrounding areas through daily workshops. In a region where access to structured sport is limited, the initiative is enabling not just participation, but confidence, exposure, and aspiration - opening pathways to competitive sport and broader opportunities.
Desert Dolphin reflects how creative storytelling can translate into long-term, on-ground impact - building both access and agency for young people over time. To learn more, click here.
GivingPi Member Siddharth Somaiya, Co-Founder of IMMERSE, is strengthening pathways for emerging artists in India by addressing gaps in access, visibility, and sustainability. IMMERSE 5.0, a six-month artist and curator residency at Somaiya Vidyavihar University, brings together underrepresented voices from across geographies and disciplines, combining mentorship, funding, workshops, and institutional exposure. The program creates space for artists to develop and present work on their own terms, while also engaging with the realities of the art market. A defining feature of the model is its focus on sustainability, with 100% of artwork sales going directly to the artists, enabling viable creative careers. By bridging artistic development with commercial opportunity, IMMERSE is contributing to a more inclusive and enabling ecosystem for contemporary Indian art. To learn more, click here.
By T. Vishnudatta Jayaraman | South Asian Herald
This article captures key conversations from Indiaspora Forum 2026 - anchored by Indiaspora, founded by GivingPi Member MR Rangaswami - where leaders across sectors reflected on the diaspora’s growing role in shaping India’s future through collaboration, innovation, and giving. It underscores how cross-sector engagement is driving more coordinated and impactful approaches to philanthropy.
By Nancy Lindborg, Peter Laugharn, and Srik Gopal | Devex
This collaborative opinion piece by the Presidents and CEOs of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, and Humanity United argues that while philanthropy cannot replace declining global aid, it can play a catalytic role in shaping the future of development. It calls for approaches grounded in local agency, collaboration, and innovation, particularly in the context of constrained public funding.
By Lydia Gichuki | Development Aid
This article traces the often-overlooked role of women in shaping philanthropy, highlighting a long-standing tradition of trust-based, community-led giving. It argues that while women have historically driven impactful change, their contributions have remained under-recognized within formal narratives.
