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With the tightening of institutional and foreign funding, Indian nonprofits are increasingly relying on "everyday giving" -- small, regular contributions of money, time, and skills from ordinary citizens -- to sustain operations and deepen community ties, according to a new study. The 'UDARTA: Everyday Giving (EG) Report 2025' has been developed by 13 social sector organisations and guided by more than 50 others and is India's collaborative research effort on how nonprofits are leveraging citizen philanthropy. Jointly funded by GivingTuesday and Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, the study surveyed 304 nonprofits across 26 states, ranging from small grassroots groups to large institutions with annual budgets exceeding Rs 100 crore. The report finds that donations from everyday givers already make up around one-third of nonprofit funding, and 96 per cent of organisations engaged in such fundraising found it worthwhile. Everyday giving also helps nonprofits secure unrestricted funds --
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday cited a media report which claimed that some "anonymous parties" in Gujarat received donations of Rs 4,300 crore between 2019-20 and 2023-24, and asked whether the Election Commission will investigate this or ask for an affidavit. There was no immediate reaction from the Election Commission (EC). Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, shared on X the media report which claimed that in Gujarat, 10 anonymously registered political parties received Rs 4,300 crore in donations from 2019-20 to 2023-24. During this period, across three elections -- 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls and 2022 assembly polls -- these parties fielded only 43 candidates who together secured 54,069 votes, according to the report. Their election reports showed expenses of just Rs 39.02 lakh, while audit reports recorded Rs 3,500 crore in spending, the report said. In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "There are some anonymous parties in Gujarat whose names no
Melinda French Gates says she will be donating USD 1 billion over the next two years to individuals and organisations working on behalf of women and families globally, including on reproductive rights in the United States. It's the second billion-dollar commitment French Gates has personally made in the past five years. In 2019, she pledged over ten years to expand women's power and influence. Earlier this month, French Gates announced she would step down from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and vowed to focus on women and families. As a part of leaving the Gates Foundation, French Gates received USD 12 billion from Bill Gates for her philanthropy going forward. French Gates, one of the biggest philanthropic supporters of gender equity in the US, said on Tuesday in a guest essay for The New York Times that she's been frustrated over the years by people who say it's not the right time to talk about gender equality. "Decades of research on economics, well-being and governance
Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Thursday said the regulator's board will consider a proposal for allowing staff to donate money for causes through the social stock exchange (SSE). Speaking at an event to mark the listing of first five non-profits on the newly created SSE, Buch said Sebi personnel are not allowed to invest in securities right now and they need to be allowed to participate in the upliftment of the disadvantaged people. "We are actually going to the Sebi board tomorrow to take permission for Sebi staff to be able to buy zero-coupon, zero-principal bonds because we are not permitted to buy securities," she said, adding she is hopeful of the proposal going through. Buch added that personally, she is very keen to support the cause for emancipation of girls. As per the Sebi website, nearly 1,000 people worked at the capital markets regulator as on March 2022. The 'zero-coupon, zero-principal' are instruments for donating money to non-profit organizations listed on t
The newly constructed Ram temple has received donations, including 25 kg gold and silver ornament, of around Rs 25 crore in a month after the consecration ceremony on January 22, trust officials on Saturday said. Prakash Gupta, office in charge of the Ram temple trust, said the amount of Rs 25 crore include cheques, drafts and cash deposited in the temple trust's office along with those deposited in the donation boxes. "However, we are not aware of the online transactions done directly in the trust's bank accounts," he added. Gupta said that a total of around 60 lakh devotees have had darshan since January 23. "The devotion of Ram devotees is such that they are donating items made of silver and gold for Ram Lalla which cannot be used in Shri Ram Janmabhoomi temple, despite this, considering the devotion of the devotees, Ram Mandir Trust is accepting jewellery, utensils and materials made of gold and silver," he said. Gupta said the temple trust is expecting an increase in donation
A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling then dismantling her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history. The actions impacting Joan Donovan's work coincided with a USD500 million donation to Harvard by a foundation run by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan. In a whistleblower disclosure made public Monday, Donovan seeks investigations into inappropriate influence" from Harvard's general counsel, the Massachusetts attorney general's office and the US Department of Education. The CEO of Whisteblower Aid, a legal nonprofit supporting Donovan, called the alleged behavior by Harvard's Kennedy School and its dean a shocking betrayal of academic integrity at the elite school. "Whether Harvard acted at the company's direction or took the initiative on their own to prote
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday paid floral tributes to former Chief Minister K Kamaraj on his 121st birth anniversary and donated books, which he has received as gifts over time, to public libraries. The chief minister who attended the Education Development Day function marking the birth anniversary of the Independence activist and Congress leader said he donated over 1.5 lakh books that he received from well-wishers and party members to public libraries for the benefit of the people. "I participated in the Education Development Day event held at the Nehru Government Boys Higher Secondary school, Nanganallur, today marking the 121st birth anniversary of leader Kamaraj, and paid tributes to him," the chief minister said in a tweet. Ever since he took over as DMK's working president in 2017, he has been requesting people who call on him to present books instead of bouquets and shawls, he said. Accordingly, I have received 1.5 lakh books and donated them all to the .
Warning that Afghanistan faces deepening poverty with 6 million people at risk of famine, the U.N. humanitarian chief on Monday urged donors to restore funding for economic development and immediately provide $770 million to help Afghans get through the winter as the United States argued with Russia and China over who should pay. Martin Griffiths told the U.N. Security Council that Afghanistan faces multiple crises -- humanitarian, economic, climate, hunger and financial. Conflict, poverty, climate shocks and food insecurity have long been a sad reality in Afghanistan, but he said what makes the current situation so critical is the halt to large-scale development aid since the Taliban takeover a year ago. More than half the Afghan population -- some 24 million people -- need assistance and close to 19 million are facing acute levels of food insecurity, Griffiths said. And we worry that the figures will soon become worse because winter weather will send already high fuel and food ..