aikyam fund - Making resilience accessible to early stage NGOs, ideas & at risk NGOs
Making resilience accessible to early stage NGOs & at risk NGOs
Abundance of good people doing great work...
- Right to information(RTI), Forest Rights Act - FRA, Protection of Children from sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Juvenile Justice Act, Right to Education, Internet Freedom, Digital Personal Protection Act, 2023(DPDP Act) are a reality because of Civil Society efforts in India.
- Just 10 years ago - 15L-20L Active For Impact , Not For Loss orgs(NGOs) (~130-150NGOs/1L Citizens)
- Donations have increased. Private philanthropy at 1.3 lakh crore in FY24 (1.05 lakh crore in FY22) even with FCRA Inputs reducing.
- More Talent studying, preparing to work in the Social Sector (TISS, APUs, IRMA, etc)
But, there is scarcity of resilience in Civil Society Organisations
- Only 4.1L active NGOs (July 2025) are listed on DARPAN. The ratio of NGOs to citizens in India is approximately 28 NGOs per 1L citizens, compared to 186 in Brazil, 64 in China, and 200 in Russia.
- Indian Trusts & Foundations estimate that number of fundable (>1 Cr/year) organisations in India could be less than 4000.
- 6/10 early-stage NGOs do not get funding due to challenges with capacity around compliances, outreach.
- 3/10 mid sized NGOs do not get repeat funding from trusts and foundations due to capacity and systems around compliance challenges, program delivery and monitoring frameworks.
- 5/10 NGOs (all sizes, stages) have less than 3-month cash runway.
- 8/10 NGOs (all sizes, stages) struggle to obtain indirect costs funding (capacity building, technology, operational infrastructure, team building) leading to organisation stunting
Unpacking Interconnected Components of resilience for NGOs
Working with partner NGOs, we broke down Resilience to its key components
| Mostly Internal and can be controlled | Mostly External/Changing |
| 👩🏼💻 Psychologically Safe Workspaces, Teams |
🏛️ Compliance |
| 🏛️ Efficient Operations | |
| 🌍 Measurable, Impactful Programs | |
| 💰 Diverse, Predictable fundraising streams |
Important to work urgently on improving state of Resilience of Civil Society Orgs
Below is a an estimation (Desk research, Inputs from 80 NGOs) of the maturity level across each of the key components of resilience
TEST: Tiny Experiments for Social Transformation as a way to finding practical solutions
We didn't have many of the answers to improve the above metrics so we ran 200+ Tiny Experiments with partner NGOs to solve for parts of the above challenges and learnt from each experiment.
One of our objectives was to understand the key barriers in increasing maturity levels across various components of resilence (e.g Website is not a tech challenge but a storytelling challenge, ERPs are not a tech challenge but a Internal Policies, Training Challenge, Firing is a hiring problem, etc)
| Problem & Barrier | Tiny Experiment | Learnings |
|
Driving Values, Mission & Vision from Leadership to Team Level |
A 1 Day workshop with all team members co-facilitated by the organisations leadership | Workshops around Listening, Appreciative Inquiry, Shared Values, Imagine the Future on a regular basis in psychologically safe spaces helps towards mission aligned teams. Should be led by Leaders(s) Link |
| Resources around compliance mostly in English, not easily discoverable, accessible | An online Free library of curated resources on Compliance accessible in 14 Indian Languages with AI podcasts | Finance teams across NGOs visit the platform regularly, Content is now more discoverable through Google Search, AI Searches. Content shared by different stakeholders freely to contribute. |
| Challenges around learning to ask for help among Civil Society Organisaions team members. | An online forum for NGO team members to ask questions co created by aikyam, RNPF, Saathi | Questions through Email & Whatsapp easier to collect, Anonymous posting of Questions with Answers around sensitive topics helpful, Language Translate made discussions more accessible. |
| Laws that affect vulnerable communities are not accessible to them | aikyam fellows did In person campaigns with gig workers in bangalore to share an online Free library of curated Acts with NotebookLM Video Audio summary and translations in 14 Indian Languages | Native Language Video Summaries uploaded on Youtube very helpful to gig workers, Stickers with QR Codes to access the laws, Grievance Redressal workflows are still lacking. |
| Funders, Technology and NGO Leadership has more agency in design of programs for vulnerable communities but are least affected if their design fails | In Person and online Vulnerability Centered Program Design workshop with a partner NGOs
Details 🔗 |
Unlike human centered designs - this framework gives more agency to Vulnerable communities/Planet in the solution of the design. Systems Thinking made it easier to identify Measurement and Evaluation Metrics in a more systemic way. Better Fundraising Slide Deck and Ask to Funders |
| Scarcity of Psychologically safe spaces for Dialogue, reflections, planning for the CSOs | We ran aikyam space a 12 bed stay and workshop space in Kochi and Carefully curated Workshops, bootcamps to bring together like minded folks from CSOs to solve urgent and important problems faced by the teams. | Increased sense of psychological safety, Felt safer to ask for help, Better mission aligned teams, Being away from the day to day field work for a few days in carefully curated workshops provided opportunities to reflect and course correct. |
| Abundance of stories of impact but scarcity of Storytelling | Make Zero Code Free & Open Source Tools and Storytelling Frameworks more accessible to 20 NGOs through hands on workshops | Tech is only 2% of the Website Problem, Helped bring the joy of storytelling to Change makers, Zero Cost through Volunteer support and Digital Ocean hosting donations for Non profits. |
| How to make important and urgent information accessible to change makers by building an online community | Nurturing PATTIC - an alliance and an online community of finance practitioners members from across CSOs | 1800+ Active Members with 76% of them active in the last 30 days. High open rates of above 50% on newsletters and a click rate of 12-14% |
| Scarcity of curated opportunities for aspiring talent in the social sector | aikyam jobs - Hand curated jobs from social impact orgs with rich job descriptions to attract talent | Adding context about the organisation within the job description, clear salary ranges and an option for NGOs to track applications became valuable to NGOs and job applicants. |
..and more.
This approach by running experiments on actual problems and creating live solutions with feedback helped us to create a first draft framework for solving this in a systematic way for our partner NGOs/Ideas/projects.
aikyam fund aspires to Make resilience accessible to early stage NGOs, ideas & at risk NGOs
At aikyam fund we believe that organizational challenges aren't isolated problems - they're symptoms of interconnected systemic gaps. A compliance failure often stems from team capacity issues. Fundraising struggles connect to storytelling and program design weaknesses. Team burnout links to operational inefficiencies and unclear mission alignment.
Every year, We identify a cohort of early stage social impact Ideas, non profits & at risk non profits in India working on urgent and Important challenges affecting vulnerable communities and the planet.
This cohort goes through our 12-month program that treats organizations/Ideas as complex adaptive systems, addressing four interconnected components simultaneously:
- Compliant & Efficient Operations
- Psychologically Safe Workspaces & Teams
- Measurable, Impactful Programs
- Diverse, Predictable Fundraising Streams
We define resilience across these four interconnected components and use a systematic L0→L1→L2→L3→L4 progression framework. The table below shows this level by level approach and the benefits unpacked at each Level in each key component.
Image: From L1 to L4: Participating NGOs are able to unpack benefits at each level.
| Level > | L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 |
| Compliance & Operations |
Regulatory Foundations Complete
12A, 80G, DARPAN, Audits, Statutory Filings, Banking, PAN |
Core Policies Implemented
Team trained on HR, Procurement, Travel, Expense Claims policies. PoSH ICC Committee formed. Data Privacy, Financial Procedures manual and Monthly reporting |
Tech Systems Integrated
Accounting, Fit for purpose ERP, Compliance Calendars, Quarterly internal audits, SOPs for key processes |
Compliance & Efficiency Optimized
Zero compliance violations, tech systems and SOPs adoption rate >80%, cost per beneficiary optimized, Mentoring other CSOs |
| Psychologically Safe Workspaces, Teams |
Leadership framework Established
Vision, Mission, Values Statements, Board, Founding team roles, Hiring process, First hirings |
Team Development Active
Onboarding, induction process in place, Team Building and capacity building plans created and first sessions started |
Collaboration Systems ready
Communications platforms, project management tools, knowledge management tools, regular knowledge sharing sessions) |
Psychologically Safety achieved in Workspace
Team recommends org to others, <15% annual attrition, mental health support available to staff, Innovation time/support for new ideas by team, sharing best practices with others in the ecosystem |
| Measurable, Impactful Programs |
Program Design co-created with agency to communities they work with.
Identify stakeholders, their needs & vulnerabilities, barriers to those needs, solution, feedback loops. |
Community driven Monitoring System Operational
Program workflows mapped, output indicators tracked, outcome indicators defined with baseline, program review rhythm established with community |
Program Monitoring Active with monthly feedback from community
Mid course corrections, annual impact assessment, feedback loops with communities at risk |
Impactful Programs delivery demonstrated
Replicable program models that are recommended or adopted by others working on similar challenges, providing support to others replicating/improving the model |
| Diverse, Predictable fundraising streams |
Story & Impact Framework Ready
Why they exist, what they do, Theory of Change, 3-5 impact case studies, basic website, A basic clear communication deck/document |
Outreach Plan Active
Fundraising plan in place, Donor lists, engagements, key fundraising opportunities identified, 1-3 Funding proposals submitted, Individual Giving started with 30-50 regular givers |
Diverse streams of fundraising active
Individual giving CRM, 1-2 CSR/Trust Partnerships established, Grant Management systems, Active Website, Engagement with stakeholders through newsletters, events |
Financial Resilience Achieved
6+ months cash flow reserves, Revenue streams diversifed with no source more than 40% of total annual income, multi year grants secured (1-2), Individual Giving retention >60% |
We support select Ideas, NGOs by covering costs (INR 5L-15L) to implement recommendations during the above programme. (This could include cost of expert consultant on compliance, facilitation, logistics, Financial Support for Founders if no income source, etc). These costs are directly paid to the Service providers, consultants, interns and not to the NGO.
The program also provides Office hours with aikyam fellows, alumni and Conversations and mentoring with other Founders, Frontline workers, Teams
Building alliances and free infrastructure, resources that can benefit Civil Society as an Ecosystem
Eco-system approach by nurturing/co-creating an eco-system of "infrastructure" for NGOs through public resources/projects/alliances like:
Small but Committed team with expertise and experience of solving problems faced by Civil Society Organisations
Key team members
- Shemeer Babu is aikyam fellow and Co-founder providing leadership and implementation support to the team
- Jinso Raj is aikyam fellow and helps make Free & open Source tech more accessible to CSOs
- Sumi Thomas is aikyam fellow and helps make storytelling tools more accessible to Changemakers
- Pooja Thyagi is aikyam fellow and runs PATTIC that makes regulatory compliances more accessible to CSOs
- Minah Jalal is aikyam fellow and runs aikyam space to make psychologically safe spaces accessible to change makers.
- Femina Fathima is aikyam fellow and helps make benefits of design more accessible to changemakers
We have raised INR 3.5 Cr out of INR 13.5 Cr needed to support 70-75 Ideas/NGOs in India in 3 Years
| S No | Description | Funding |
Y1 |
Y2 |
Y3 |
| 1 | People (Fellowships, Salaries, Consulting, Interns) | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹67,20,000 | ₹69,88,800 | ₹72,68,352 |
| 2 | IT Infra for NGOs (Hosting, Laptops, Devices) | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹17,50,000 | ₹18,20,000 | ₹18,92,800 |
| 3 | IT Consulting for NGOs (Customisations of FOSS) | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹7,00,000 | ₹7,28,000 | ₹7,57,120 |
| 4 | Office/Space (Rent, Utilities, Medical, Facilities) | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹28,00,000 | ₹29,12,000 | ₹30,28,480 |
| 5 | Space (Furniture, Fixtures, Maintenance) | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹3,50,000 | ₹3,00,000 | ₹3,00,000 |
| 6 | Legal & Compliances | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹2,50,000 | ₹2,60,000 | ₹2,70,400 |
| 7 | Total Aikyam Operating Costs (1 to 6) | Y1, Y2 Funded | ₹1,25,70,000 | ₹1,30,08,800 | ₹1,35,17,152 |
| 8 | Support for Ideas/NGOs 15 in Y1, 25 in Y2 & 35 in Y3 ~ 9.6 Cr INR for 3 years = Total 75 Ideas/NGOs | 10% of total Funded | ₹1,82,20,000 | ₹3,11,16,800 | ₹4,64,65,536 |
| ₹3,07,90,000 | ₹4,41,25,600 | ₹5,99,82,688 |
Note:
- Year on Year Inflation at 4%,
- aikyam operating costs are optimised/capped in Y1 and Y2 by leveraging on public infrastructure, support that we are a part of (like PATTIC, OASIS, etc) and support/mentoring by alumni as a way of paying it forward
What is Support for Ideas/NGOs? (#8 in table above)
We define resilience across four interconnected components and use a systematic L0→L1→L2→L3→L4 progression framework. Not all NGOs will advance through every level - progression depends on organizational readiness, capacity, and specific needs. Some may graduate early, others require extended support at certain levels.
Investment for a cohort of 10 NGOs/Ideas : ₹1,08,20,000 for 1 year (average across varied NGO development stages). Breakdown is shared in below table.
|
Levels > |
L0–L1 |
L1–L2 |
L2–L3 |
L3–L4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
# of Partners |
10 |
10 |
~6 |
~5 |
|
Compliance & Operations |
₹50,000 –
Regulatory Foundations Complete |
₹60,000
Core Policies Implemented |
₹90,000
Tech Systems Integrated |
₹90,000
Compliance & Efficiency Optimized |
|
Psychologically Safe Workspaces |
₹50,000
Leadership framework Established |
₹60,000
Team Development Active |
₹70,000
Collaboration Systems ready |
₹1,00,000
Psychologically Safety achieved |
|
Measurable, Impactful Programs |
₹80,000
Program Design co-created |
₹1,00,000
Monitoring System Operational |
₹1,60,000
Monitoring with feedback |
₹1,70,000
Impactful delivery demonstrated |
|
Fundraising Streams |
₹1,00,000
Story & Impact Framework Ready |
₹1,00,000
Outreach Plan Active |
₹1,00,000
Fundraising streams active |
₹1,00,000
Financial Resilience Achieved |
|
Per NGO per Stage |
₹2,80,000
NGO reaches L1 across 4 key components |
₹3,20,000
NGO reaches L2 across 4 key components |
₹4,20,000
NGO reaches L3 across 4 key components |
₹4,60,000
NGO reaches L4i8 across 4 key components |
High Level Financial Projection [Draft]
References for Due Diligence, Impact Stories
Note: Contact details to be added.
- Nasmina of iLab India
- Rohit for Awaaz Leadership Labs
- Hassan from Parivartan
- Anjali from Thudippu
- Pranav from OASIS
- Sharad from PATTIC
Grant Request of INR 3-5 Cr for 3 years from Trusts & Foundations in India
A total of INR 3-5 Cr in 3 tranches as a support/fund for around 30-50 NGOs/Ideas (out of a total of 75) over 3 years (September 2025 - August 2028)
We are a Sec 8 Non Profit - Compliance Documentations
Note: NO FCRA
Company Registration
- List of Directors.pdf
- AoA.pdf
- CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION T4G.PDF
- PAN_T4G.pdf
- License for Section 8 of Companies Act.PDF
- MoA.pdf
- Darpan_Registration.pdf
12A & 80G
CSR Registration
Audit Reports
Income Tax Returns
- FY 2022-23
- FY 2023-24
Annual Reports
Policies