Constructive charity is more than just about money

Nimesh Sumati, an investment consultant, was once approached by an NGO that provides healthcare for the Korku tribals living in the Melghat region. They wanted funds for a project to provide spectacles for the tribals and needed around Rs10,000. But Sumati’s philanthropic side involves more than just donating money. He is part of Caring Friends, an organisation that helps NGOs working in rural areas meet urban donors. “I agreed on the sole condition that they should sell the spectacles, not give it away for free,” he says. The NGO’s founder, Dr Ashish Satav, argued that the tribals would not be able to afford it. But Sumati felt that nothing should be taken for granted. As it turned out, the tribals bought the frames. “Even Dr Satav was surprised. He never thought this was possible in Melghat. Today, we are not giving them a single rupee. It’s running on its own,” says Sumati.

Sumati represents a different breed of philanthropists who engage actively with the NGOs, donating their time and expertise to the cause besides money. About once a month, he heads to the countryside, meets founders of NGOs, assesses their operations and suggests improvements in their functioning. He joined Caring Friends six years ago when he attended one of their meetings involving NGOs and potential donors. There, out of the 20 people, about a dozen were from NGOs. Sumati felt he could help by tapping into his vast network of contacts in Mumbai.

“I am not an easy person to convince. When I am asking money from others, I am answerable to them. I couldn’t take chances. Till I am sure about an NGO, its founders, and the work they are doing, I will not bring them to our group,” says Sumati, explaining why he started visiting rural areas to check on the NGOs. “Constructive charity is something that is sustainable and long term. It involves more than just giving advice. You have to give them the implements and skills.”

Givers like Sumati help fill an important gap in the NGO sector. “NGOs are excellent at what they do. For instance, if there is an NGO working on child sexual abuse, they will know the technical aspects of running that programme. But they will not have an understanding of scale, sustainability, or marketing. And that’s where the corporate guys come in,” says Aarti Madhusudhan, founder of Governance Counts, which helps NGOs create better governance structures. Suman Srivastava, CEO of ad firm Euro RSG, agrees.

Srivastava, who is on the board of NGOs such as Arpan and Under The Mango Tree (UTMT), calls founders of NGOs “unreasonable visionaries”. “They want to change the world tonight. Before dinner, if that’s possible. In some ways, my task is more than bringing my special skills. I also have to be their sounding board without necessarily puncturing their enthusiasm or passion and help them get focus.”

For example, UTMT is an NGO that helps farmers set up bee farms. Bees help pollinate the crop and increase productivity. Farmers also sell the honey to UTMT, which in turn sells it to consumers under its own brand name. But there were a few things the NGO was doing wrong.

“A lot of their communication — label, bottle, the leaflet that came with it, website — was about the honey. As if (the founder) Vijaya’s mission in life is to sell honey!” says Srivastava, “The key reason I was working with her and why people would buy (UTMT) honey is the work they do with the farmers. That is UTMT’s real mission. I told her that all communication should talk about farming because that was a good reason to buy their honey even if it was more expensive than other brands.”

Srivastava got in touch with UTMT and other NGOs when he agreed to be a panellist on sessions organised by UnLtd, an organisation that supports social entrepreneurs by investing in them and providing guidance when needed. Over the last two years, he has interacted with NGOs working in a variety of fields. And in this period, he got more involved with a few of them.

“It doesn’t feel like work. Every time I meet these people, I come back energised because they are incredibly good human beings. You interact with people who are not talking in the air. I come back feeling less cynical about life in general,” says Srivastava.
Most people who start working with NGOs know this feeling. Aashu Calapa, vice-president, HR, First Source, is on the board of Masoom, an NGO which is working to improve the quality of education in night schools. Calapa got involved with Masoom when his company raised Rs10 lakh for the NGO during the Joy of
Giving week. Nikita Ketkar, founder of Masoom, soon started interacting with Calapa. One of her queries was about developing a HR policy for the 10-member organisation. Calapa told her that an organisation that small didn’t need an HR policy. He encouraged her to share specific problems she was facing instead, and eventually, helped her develop a more robust recruitment process. He now advices her on several matters.
“When you get involved and see that money is being spent well, you are a bit more confident. Recently, I wrote to my classmates in the US and told them that ‘I am on the board of Masoom and it’s a good cause. If you guys are looking to contribute then open your purse strings.’ Today, I have that much confidence.”

According to Aarti of Governance Counts, working hands-on with an NGO helps people appreciate the constraints within which it works. And as the results of their efforts are much more evident, people like Srivastava, Sumati and Calapa tend to donate more money as well.

“Until everybody gets their hands dirty, nothing is going to change. There is enough money in the country, then why are people not giving? That’s because they are not able to empathise with the problem enough. It is important to get people involved. Money will follow. Involving people in change is a far easier and sustainable way to get them to give,” says Aarti.