Centre For Social Impact And Philanthropy At Ashoka University Releases “The Impact Of COVID-19 On India’s Nonprofit Organisations: A Snapshot Report”

Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy has released “The Impact of COVID-19 on India’s Nonprofit Organisations: A Snapshot Report”, after interviewing 50 leaders of nonprofits in April and May 2020. The report highlights the multiple ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Indian social sector. It also captures a preliminary assessment of how India’s nonprofit organisations are dealing with the COVID-19 triple crisis of health, social, and economic challenges.  

As soon as the coronavirus hit India, thousands of nonprofit organisations and citizen groups across the country provided their aid to those in need. From providing millions of meals, dry ration kits, and personal protective equipment to other forms of temporary income support, their response to help people assumed various roles.   

However, nonprofit organisations are grappling with their operations, staff, and finances. The report reveals six good practices for nonprofits and 10 implications for funders to help strengthen this vital component of civil society. It suggests that for short-term response, ensure that funding reaches communities quickly and do not forget about vital regular programmes outside of immediate relief work; for medium-term recovery, invest in digital technology capability and infrastructure, fundraising capacity and flexible financing options for the post-pandemic world; for long-term resilience: create a corpus for disaster relief and strengthen nonprofit networks.  

Commenting upon the issue, Ingrid Srinath, CSIP Director, said, “There is no time to lose. The crisis has laid bare the great gaps and schisms in India’s health, food, sanitation, education, housing and social protection systems; and the inequities of caste, gender and class that underpin them. One of the few positive consequences of this is that solutions long advocated by civil society are no longer deemed politically unfeasible. Seizing this window of opportunity to reimagine these systems must be a core priority for philanthropy, business, government, and nonprofit organisations in the months ahead. 

The report calls attention to the fact that these nonprofits have been affected by financial stress, unpreparedness to switch to digital platforms, and loss of progress on existing programmes. It lays bare the importance of considering the solutions long advocated by civil society. 

Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy, Ashoka University is organising a webinar on June 17. The webinar will present key findings from CSIP's survey of nonprofit leaders followed by a frank discussion with nonprofit leaders on what kind of financial and non-financial investments are most needed to support community response, recovery, and resilience.
 
Speakers will include: 

• Ingrid Srinath, Director, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy 

• Lina Sonne, Interim Research Director, Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy 

• Amit Chandra, Philanthropist and Chairman, Bain Capital India 

• Renuka Gupta, CEO, Pardada Pardadi Educational Society 

• Pritha Venkatachalam, Partner, The Bridgespan Group 

• Anshu Gupta, Founder Director, GOONJ