How can philanthropy better support organizations that are closest to the communities they serve? On September 12, Anjana and Ashvin Patel, supporters of the Rebuild India Fund, hosted a closed-door gathering in Los Altos Hills, California, bringing together the GivingPi and wider Bay Area community for a conversation on supporting grassroots organizations in India.
The evening featured Sujana Krishnamoorthy, Executive Director of Under The Mango Tree Society, and Bhanumathi Kalluri, Executive Director of Dhaatri Trust, in conversation with Vishal Kapoor of Alameda County Community Food Bank. Drawing on their work with communities across India, they reflected on locally led solutions, women’s leadership, and the importance of enabling communities to shape the decisions that affect them. The convening was attended by GivingPi Members Radhika Shah and Ashit Patel, Amit Varshneya, Reetu Gupta, Nitin Kumar, Deepak Chopra and Mari Tilos.
Deval Sanghavi, Co-founder and Partner of Dasra, brought the evening to a close with a reflection on what it takes to back proximate organizations with the trust, capital, and long-term support needed to deepen their work.
We are grateful to Anjana and Ashvin Patel for opening their home and making space for a thoughtful exchange on community-led change and the role philanthropy can play in enabling it.
On the 16th of September, GivingPi Members Vivek and Nilima Ragavan hosted an intimate dinner bringing together philanthropists and sector leaders to explore what it takes to strengthen public education in India. The gathering offered an opportunity to look beyond individual interventions and learn from organizations working alongside communities to build change within the public education system, including the work of Mantra4Change and the Shikshagraha movement.
Santosh More and Khushboo Awasthi, Co-founders of Mantra4Change, shared the vision behind the Shikshagraha movement and its approach to advancing public education through community-led, decentralized action. GivingPi Founders Circle Member and Founder of Iron Lady Foundation, Rashi Mehta, reflected on her own engagement with Mantra4Change, offering a perspective on how connections between philanthropists and organizations can deepen over time and open pathways for more informed giving and collaboration.
An introduction to GivingPi and its approach to personal philanthropy also formed part of the evening. Together, the conversations highlighted the value of trusted networks in helping families understand complex issues, learn from credible organizations, and find meaningful points of connection with others working towards shared goals. GivingPi Members Radhika Shah and Ashit Patel, Deepak Chopra and Rekha Pai Kamath were present alongside other guests.
We are grateful to Vivek and Nilima Ragavan for hosting the evening and helping deepen the conversation on the role philanthropy can play in strengthening public education in India.
On the sidelines of the India Philanthropy Forum New York City 2026, GivingPi brought members and friends of the platform together for a screening of GURLZ CLUB, hosted by Suparna Gupta and Nikkhil Advani in collaboration with Dasra.
Directed by Zoya Parvin and inspired by true events, the 22-minute film is set in a remote Indian village and follows six spirited young girls whose simple request is refused by the village council, sending their solidarity into a tailspin. GURLZ CLUB explores friendship, freedom, and the girls’ determination to claim space for themselves.
The screening was followed by reflections and a conversation with the makers, exploring the themes and realities brought to life through the film, as well as the role of storytelling in shaping narratives and advancing futures for women and girls in India.
The evening brought together GivingPi Members Amit Varshneya, Anne Lindsay-Makepeace and Tarun Jotwani, Andy Kalambi, Ashit Patel and Radhika Shah, Mari Tilos, Salma Merchant Rahmathulla, Dr. Satish Tripathi, Sejal Desai, and Urja Shah alongside other guests.
We are grateful to Suparna Gupta and Nikkhil Advani for co-hosting the screening and using film as a starting point for reflection on the realities, aspirations and agency of women and girls in India.
The India Philanthropy Forum New York City 2026 brought together 230+ philanthropists, family principals, sector leaders, and changemakers to explore how India’s relationship with the world is evolving, and what it means to move from giving back to building forward. The Forum examined how capital, ideas, culture, community, and leadership can move across borders in both directions, creating new possibilities for India and the world to learn from, contribute to, and strengthen one another.
Across the Forum, a recurring theme was the need to question familiar approaches to philanthropic decision-making. Discussions explored what lasting change can look like beyond organizational scale, the role of proximity and context in understanding what communities need, and how funders can create the conditions for stronger institutions, local leadership, and systems change. Conversations on the next generation, AI, and culture extended this lens to changing forms of influence, contribution, and connection to India.
GivingPi Members Tarun Jotwani, Salma Merchant Rahmathulla, Akash Mehta, Govind Iyer, Donald Lobo, Xerxes Mullan and Srividya Prakash were among the speakers contributing to these conversations.
The Forum ultimately pointed to a broader shift in philanthropy - from inherited approaches of giving towards placing greater value on context, relationships, local leadership and long-term institution building. It also underscored the role that capital, knowledge, and influence can play when they move across borders with greater intention.
At the Ford Foundation in New York City, Dasra and the Ford Foundation convened philanthropists to examine what it will take to move philanthropy for women and girls in India beyond access towards agency, decision-making power and systems change. Bringing together research and field experience, the session asked whether current funding models are equipped to match the complexity and long time horizons of gender work.
A central theme was that access alone is no longer enough. Progress must also be understood through women’s ability to exercise agency, control resources, and influence decisions. The discussion highlighted how gender intersects with health, education, livelihoods, safety and financial inclusion, making siloed programs and narrow measures of success increasingly inadequate.
Attention also turned to the funding architecture needed to sustain this work. Research shared during the session showed that many grassroots, women-led organizations are addressing complex challenges while operating with limited financial runway. The discussion underscored the need for more flexible, multi-year and general operating support, alongside greater investment in leadership, governance, staff wellbeing, and organizational capacity. Proximity emerged as a form of expertise in itself, reinforcing the importance of funders learning from the organizations and communities closest to the work.
GivingPi Members Anne Lindsay-Makepeace, Donald Lobo, Rashi Mehta, Rekha Pai Kamath, Salma Merchant Rahmathulla, Sapphira Goradia, Sejal Desai, Srividya Prakash, Uma Venkataraman, Urja Shah, and Vandana Pamecha were among those who attended the gathering.
The session pointed to a broader shift in philanthropic practice: advancing agency for women and girls requires investing not only in programs, but in the institutions, people and ecosystems that can sustain change over time.
At The Rockefeller Foundation in New York City on the 24th of September, Dasra convened a closed-door roundtable with diaspora philanthropists, climate leaders and ecosystem partners to explore what it takes to translate growing interest in climate into sustained engagement with India’s climate transition. Supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, the discussion examined what can help philanthropists move from understanding the issue to identifying credible pathways for action.
A key thread was that climate becomes more actionable when connected to issues people already care about. Conversations on food, health, education, livelihoods, nature and community resilience showed how climate can be integrated into existing philanthropic priorities rather than treated as a standalone issue.
The discussion also explored where philanthropy can add value: testing practical solutions, building evidence and creating proof points that can eventually be taken to scale through government and public systems. Examples from waste management, grasslands, climate education and climate-health interventions reinforced the value of focused pilots and measurable outcomes, rather than attempting to address the full climate agenda at once.
GivingPi Members Rekha Pai Kamath, Akash Mehta, Amit Varshneya, Amrita Bhandari, Dr. Kamal Bawa, Andy Kalambi, Rashi Mehta, Govind Iyer, Ashit Patel and Radhika Shah were among those who attended the gathering.
The conversation also underscored the importance of trusted networks, practical guidance, credible organizations, and opportunities to learn directly from practitioners and communities. Together, these insights pointed to a more grounded approach to climate giving: start with clearly defined needs, build on what works and create clearer pathways for capital, expertise and partnerships to contribute to India’s climate resilience.
Over the past month, The Network Effect has brought GivingPi’s role into sharper focus - showing how the platform has helped families navigate pivotal moments in their philanthropy with greater clarity, confidence and direction.
Across eight stories, our role took many forms: shaping giving strategies, identifying credible organizations, opening new areas of support, connecting peers and experts, creating pathways for collaboration, and enabling contributions that extended beyond capital. The common thread was not any one service, but GivingPi’s ability to understand what could move a member forward and bring the right knowledge, relationships or opportunities to that moment.
Featuring Amit and Ruchi Varshneya, Anupama Dalmia, Deepak Chopra, Fiona and Luis Miranda, Jayanta Roy, Nalini Saligram, Oliver Bangera, Rashi Mehta, and Vivek Jain, the campaign captured what can happen when philanthropic intent is matched with the right infrastructure to act on it.
At its core, The Network Effect made visible something that often happens behind the scenes: GivingPi helping turn questions into choices, connections into collaborations, and intent into informed action.
We are grateful to our members for sharing their experiences and allowing us to tell these stories.
Explore the stories here:
