The Hindu Business Line : Chief concern officer

Throughout July, Venkatesh Raghavendra was touring India. His mission: to offer India as a destination, not to tourists but to NRIs “wanting to give back, to be involved in the change process”.

Raghavendra, who joined the American India Foundation (AIF) as Chief Philanthropy Officer in May this year, talks about the huge global interest in economically resurgent India, the growing sense of pride among NRIs, and the “great opportunity p resent”.

“More global Indians want to do something for their country. While on one hand the economy is booming, on the other, there are the poor, disparities. There’s now chance to create awareness about the other side of society and shape philanthropic policies,” he says.

His new title he says “reflects the changing citizen sector and the nature of giving these days”; he is working to leverage the philanthropic goals of entrepreneurs, individuals, businesses, Government, NGOs and local communities to match the needs of the underprivileged.

“It is not just seen as a fund-raising role. It is more about learning, and educating them about issues and critical needs, with the goal of getting best value for the investment,” says Raghavendra, who has worked over 20 years in the citizen sector, including eight years in Ashoka, a non-profit organisation that invests in people with ideas that can uplift their community.

Raghavendra travelled through Cuddalore (Tamil Nadu), Bangalore (Karnataka), Ahmedabad and Vadodara (Gujarat), Jaipur and Tonk (Rajasthan) where he saw first-hand work ranging from providing milch animals to women for economic upliftment and tech access to children in underprivileged communities, to bridging demand-supply for domestic help, and farmer-friendly communication systems.

Back in New York, where he works from, Raghavendra will spread the word among NRIs about the work being done here, the likely resource people who can be tapped to ensure the projects are implemented well, and new projects that can be taken up. “Usually, philanthropy is an afterthought, we want to make it as part of a big strategy,” he says.

The American India Foundation was formed with the mission of “accelerating social and economic change in India”. Working in three broad areas of education, health and livelihoods, AIF has about a dozen live projects in each of these sectors across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, to name a few. Its India offices are in Delhi and Bangalore, and in the US, it works out of New York and Silicon Valley.

In the US, it has emerged as a strong platform for diaspora giving and is creating high value for such support and investment.

To explain the kind of money that the diaspora can build, Raghavendra talks about the mid-May 2007 gathering in New York to raise funds for AIF. “The event was attended by over 600 companies, families, groups and raised $3 million. This shows the level of interest in India, and it’s definitely growing,” he says. AIF has raised over $40 million since its inception in 2001.

Working with the global diaspora isn’t new to Raghavendra. At Ashoka, he led its Global Diaspora Initiative, to reach out to entrepreneurs and key diaspora members across the globe.

Through ‘The Adventurers’, an outdoor and environmental organisation he co-founded, he engaged people through activities in the Western Ghats to protect the bio-diversity hotspot. Raghavendra’s India trip had a two-fold plan: one, to see for himself the kind of work happening here (mostly AIF projects), and the other, to identify young people who can be future professionals in the citizen sector. “The economic boom has left a chunk of society behind, but without the right talent, resources can’t be realised. Resources are stagnating now,” he says.

“Today, young talented people seek employment in BPOs, businesses, and technology-related firms. We want to show them that the citizen sector is also becoming professional, that’s it’s an exciting place to work in. Nobody notices that in some places it’s even outpacing Government and business sectors in terms of jobs, pace of growth and opportunities,” he says.

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