Funding Pride: Meet Sappho for Equality
No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi
Release Date: 03/13/2025
Lessons in Leadership
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The Dasra Social Impact Leadership Programme began in 2006 as the DSI accelerator programme for leaders of not-for-profit organisations early in their scaling journeys. The DSI Leadership Programme was launched in 2014 in collaboration with Harvard Business School and today has an alumni base of over 600 leaders. Earlier this year, we caught up with the Dasra team and the current cohort of the Leadership Programme to learn more about this initiative. Our thanks to Amit Chandra, Kavneet Kaur, Saiprasad Sale, Kirti Chaturvedi, Disket Angmo, Nita Row, Sohan Mutha, Ahona Krishna and Nehal...
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Game changer for Good? Exploring the role of data, tech and AI in social impact
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Earlier this year during Dasra Philanthropy Week 2025, innovators, changemakers, and thought leaders came together in Bengaluru to explore the role of Data, Technology, and AI in driving social impact. We caught up with three panellists to find out what was discussed at their sessions and to hear their views on the future of technology in the social sector. , the founder of the was on the panel “Gender inclusive Data technologies - Need for a paradigm shift”. She shares with us how her work intersects with AI and her views on the opportunities and challenges raised by it. ...
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Bhagwan Thacker: Giving With An Open Heart And Mind
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Bhagwan P Thacker is the founder of The Empowerment Fund, a private, charitable foundation with an aim to support underserved communities in the Kutch District of Gujarat with a focus on education, health and technology. Born in Anjar, a town in Kutch, a remote region of Western Gujarat, Bhagwan P Thacker had fairly humble beginnings. He was one of the first young people in Anjar to go to a college and attended Saint Xavier's in Ahmedabad. He then studied chemical engineering at Bombay University after which he left for the United States of America, where he worked at IBM before...
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Meet Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti
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Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. The Chhattisgarh Mitwa Sankalp Samiti is a Community Based Organization working for the development and mobilization of the transgender community in the region of Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The organisation works to change societal attitudes towards the community, ensuring that government policies and schemes reach the transgender community and also conduct health related workshops. They have also collaborated with the government to set up a...
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Funding Pride: Meet Deepshika Samiti
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Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Deepshikha Samiti is committed to fostering socio-economic development in Delhi/NCR through education, health initiatives, and employment opportunities, with an aim to empower women, youth, and transgender communities Since 1994, they have been building a safe, healthy and empowered environment for the transgender and MSM community and provide opportunities for them to earn a livelihood and integrate within society. Listen in to Tajuddin...
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Funding Pride: Meet Vikalp
No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. is a women’s rights group that advocates for the rights of marginalised women & gender/sexual minorities, working closely with and in rural tribal areas. Formed in 1996 to combat domestic violence and discrimination against women in Gujarat, India, particularly tribal women, over time Vikalp has evolved at the intersection of class, caste, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation, intervening in the everyday lives of...
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Funding Pride: Meet Payana
No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. What is Payana? Payana means Equality. is a community owned and managed organization based in Bengaluru that aims to address the many challenges of transgender individuals from underserved backgrounds. Their goal is to remove discrimination towards non-English speaking, working class members of sexual minorities and ensure their social inclusion and a life of dignity. The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists: Radhika Piramal,...
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Funding Pride: Meet Basera Samajik Sansthan
No-Cost Extension with Deval Sanghavi
Meet the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. is a non-profit organization that strives to promote and protect the rights of the LGBTQ community. It advocates for transgender rights, anti-discrimination laws, protection against hate crimes, documentation and reporting of gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS awareness. Basera has been instrumental in facilitating employment for members of the transgender community across industries and organisations. You can find out more...
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Funding Pride: Meet Karna Subarna Welfare Society
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Over the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. The Karna Subarna Welfare Society is a network of seven organisations headquartered in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal and addresses the needs of the transgender and queer communities in surrounding areas. Their main verticals cover rural livelihoods, research and advocacy and awareness. You can find out more about the work of KSWS here: https://ksws.in/ The Pride Fund is...
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Funding Pride: Meet Ya_All, The Youth Network
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Over the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025. Sadam Hanjabam is the founder and CEO of Ya_All The Youth Network, a United Nations recognized LGBTI+ youth led and focused organisation working in Manipur, India. Ya All aims to capacitate, educate, empower equip and strengthen vulnerable communities. Listen to Sadam talk about his own personal experiences that lead to the setting up of Ya_All, how they’ve used football as tool to...
info_outlineOver the next few episodes we’ll be meeting the grassroots organizations who are part of the first cohort of The Pride Fund, India’s first dedicated LBTQIA+ fund launched in February 2025.
Sappho for Equality has been working to address the unique, intersectional challenges faced by lesbian, bisexual and transmasculine individual for over a quarter of a century. The organisation has evolved from an emotional support network to one that works in advocacy, public education and sensitising the police, medical professionals and the judicial system. Their repository of colloquial language writing on queer trans rights and experiences is something of immense importance and value.
You can find out more about the work of Sappho for Equality here: https://www.sapphokolkata.in/
The Pride Fund is led by three philanthropists. Radhika Piramal Keshav Suri, the executive director of the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group and the founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation, and Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej Dei Labs from the Godrej Industries Group. Read more about it here: https://thepridefundindia.org/about-the-pride