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
- 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
Components of resilience for NGOs - key functions
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 |
Current state of Resilience of Civil Society Orgs based on key components
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
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 |
High Quality 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 Staff. Especially in public forums. | An online forum for NGO team members to ask questions | Questions through Email & Whatsapp easier to collect, Anonymous posting of Questions with Answers around sensitive topics helpful, Language Translate made discussions more accessible. |
| Important Laws that affect vulnerable communities is not accessible to them and not easy to understand | 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 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 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. | |
A few
listed
Can workshops around listening enhance team work and org vision?Details🔗Can we make high quality Compliance Content accessible & discoverable?Details🔗Can online forums encourage finance teams to ask questions to experts?Details🔗NotebookLM's podcast tool make complex laws accessibel to gig workers?Details🔗Vulnerability centered program design leads to better fundraising request?Details🔗Psychologically safe physical spaces helps team reflect, collaborate better?Details🔗Scarcity of safe spaces to bring like minded folks together?Details🔗- How can we make vulnerable art/music more accessible to everyone? Details 🔗
- How to nurture a highly engaged community of practitioners from NGOs? Details 🔗
- Can zero code tools like Ghost be used by NGOs to amplify reach? Details 🔗
- Can high quality job descriptions help talent find right social impact jobs? Details 🔗
- Monthly fellowship income to change-makers makes their ideas resilient?
..and many 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 - Making resilience accessible to early stage NGOs, ideas & at risk NGOs
What is aikyam fund?
- A 12 month program for early stage social impact Ideas, non profits & at risk non profits
- Goal is to enable them to become resilient.
- Resilient means
- Compliant & efficient, sustainable operations,
- Mission aligned teams in a psychologically safe workspace,
- Impactful (measurable) programs delivered to vulnerable communities,
- Diverse, predictable and reliable fundraising streams.
- We support select Ideas, NGOs by covering costs (INR 5L-15L) to implement recommendations during the programme. (Cost of expert consultant on compliance, Financial Support for Founders if no income source, etc)
- Ego-system to Eco-system approach by creating public free open high quality infrastructure (like PATTIC) for NGOs for their tech, fundraising, compliance, storytelling, etc needs.
Image: Making resilience accessible to early stage, at risk NGOs - 1 Level at a time
The table below shows our level by level approach to achieve the highest level across each of the key components of resilience. Our program helps them navigate through each box.
| L4 |
Compliance & Efficiency Optimized (Zero compliance violations, tech systems and SOPs adoption rate >80%, cost per beneficiary optimized, Mentoring other CSOs) |
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) |
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) |
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%, |
| L3 |
Tech Systems Integrated (Accounting, Fit for purpose ERP, Compliance Calendars, Quarterly internal audits, SOPs for key processes) |
Collaboration Systems ready (Communications platforms, project management tools, knowledge management tools, regular knowledge sharing sessions) |
Program Monitoring Active with monthly feedback from community (Mid course corrections, annual impact assessment, feedback loops with communities at risk) |
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)) |
| L2 |
Core Policies Implemented (Team trained on HR, Procurement, Travel, Expense Claims policies. PoSH ICC Committee formed. Data Privacy, Financial Procedures manual and Monthly reporting |
Team Development Active (Onboarding, induction process in place, Team Building and capacity building plans created and first sessions started) |
Community driven Monitoring System Operational (Program workflows mapped, output indicators tracked, outcome indicators defined with baseline, program review rhythm established with community) |
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) |
| L1 |
Regulatory Foundations Complete (12A, 80G, DARPAN, Audits, Statutory Filings, Banking, PAN) |
Leadership framework Established (Vision, Mission, Values Statements, Board, Founding team roles, Hiring process, First hirings) |
Program Design co-created with agency to communities they work with. (Identify stakeholders, their needs & vulnerabilities, barriers to those needs, solution, feedback loops.) |
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) |
How do we do it?
- Structured guidance through workshops, bootcamps, trainings, actual implementation support around
- Support Compliance, Day to Day Operations
- Support Team Building, Mission & Leadership, Collaboration, Psychological Safety
- Co-design programs that are Impactful and measurable with vulnerability at the center of design
- Support to build Diverse, predictable and reliable fundraising streams
- Office hours with aikyam fellows
- Conversations and mentoring with other Founders, Frontline workers, Teams
- Nurturing an eco-system of "infrastructure" for NGOs through public resources/projects/alliances like:
Financial Projections (Aug 2025 - July 2028)
| S No | Description |
Y1 (Aug 2025 - July 2026) |
Y2 (Aug 2026 - July 2027) |
| 1 | People (Fellowships, Salaries, Consulting, Interns) | ₹67,00,000 | ₹69,68,000 |
| 2 | IT Infra for NGOs (Hosting, Laptops, Devices) | ₹17,50,000 | ₹18,20,000 |
| 3 | IT Consulting for NGOs (Customisations of FOSS) | ₹7,00,000 | ₹7,28,000 |
| 4 | Office/Space (Rent, Utilities, Medical, Facilities) | ₹28,00,000 | ₹29,10,000 |
| 5 | Space (Furniture, Fixtures, Maintenance) | ₹3,50,000 | ₹3,64,000 |
| 6 | Legal & Compliances | ₹2,50,000 | ₹2,60,000 |
| 7 | Support/Fund for NGOs/Idea (Average 10L per unit) | ₹50,00,000 | ₹50,00,000 |
| 8 | Support/Fund for NGOs/Idea (Average 10L per unit) | ₹1,00,00,000 | ₹1,00,00,000 |
| ₹2,75,50,000 | ₹2,80,50,000 |
Note on #1 to #7 above: Samagata Foundation is considering supporting aikyam for 2 years to cover operational costs plus a cohost of 5 NGOs/Ideas
Note on #8 above:
- Support/Fund for NGOs/Idea will be used to cover urgent and important expenses for the projects in the cohort. Basic Salaries for Founders, Compliance Consulting costs, Medical Insurance, Workshops, Capacity Building, any other expenses as they go through the 12 month journey.
- We will reach out to other funders to top this fund as we progress and enroll more ideas/projects/NGOs. The goal is to grow this to a INR 2-3 Cr/ year fund over the next 2 years.
- Moonshot - to raise a Corpus of 200 Cr in 5 years that could potentially make aikyam fund sustainable in the long term.
Grant Request (Aug 2025 - July 2027)
A total of INR 3 Cr (Three Crores Indian Rupees Only) in 3-6 tranches as a support/fund for around 30 NGOs/Ideas over 3 years.
- August 2025: ₹1,00,00,000 (One Crore Indian Rupees only)
- August 2026: ₹1,00,00,000 (One Crore Indian Rupees only)
- August 2027: ₹1,00,00,000 (One Crore Indian Rupees only)
Compliance Documentations
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
- HR Policies.pdf
- PoSH Policy.pdf
- Travel Policy.pdf
- Reimbursement Policy.pdf
- Advance Policy.pdf
- Procurement Policy.pdf
- Banking and Cash Approval Policy.pdf
Bank Details
T4G Impact Tech Foundation
IDFC Saving Bank a/c: 10184006257
IFSC Code: IDFB0080151
Branch: Residency Road, Bangalore