Life continues to get more difficult for foreign-funded NGOs in India. On June 20th this year, the Indian government issued a notification laying down procedures for “public servants” to disclose their income and assets under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013, an anti-corruption law. This notification requires all board members, trustees, chairpersons, and other office bearers of NGOs that receive foreign donations to declare both their personal assets and the assets of their dependents to the government. NGOs fear that the law would strongly discourage people taking on such positions and has already resulted in board members resigning. This is just one instance of the government’s crackdown on NGOs, and unsurprisingly, these requirements do not apply to the private sector, where foreign investment continues to be actively encouraged.
Social entrepreneurship—a possible way forward?
It was in this repressive environment that I set up my organization, Schools of Equality, as a non-profit social enterprise. The aim of the organization is to shift social attitudes that perpetuate identity-based discrimination. We work in both public and private schools, running activity-based programs that aim to sensitize children to inequalities entrenched in society, such as gender bias, class and racial discrimination, and religious intolerance, through discussions, art and theater-based activities. Through dialogue amongst diverse populations, including individuals who have not previously confronted these issues, we have witnessed a deepened understanding of the stereotypes and challenges faced by different social groups and increase in the level of mutual respect and empathy within the classroom.
We wanted to develop a revenue-generating model that reduced our dependence on funding sources that restrict how and when the money can be spent. Given the nature of our activities, we wanted to develop a revenue-generating model that reduced our dependence on funding sources that restrict how and when the money can be spent. Currently, the organization gets paid for the program by private schools and offers it free to public schools. Finding progressive private schools to partner with in the largely conservative landscape has been challenging, so although earned revenue is the most common funding source for most startups, we require other sources of funding—especially at the early stages. Since we wanted to access grants and donations, especially as donations to non-profits get tax benefits, we chose to set up as a non-profit social enterprise, rather than a for-profit one.
