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Some ideas germinated at Hubli-based Deshpande Foundation have reached critical scale and impact level. The foundation plans to showcase these ideas generated through its network of about 60 non-government organisations (NGOs) at the three-day Development Dialogue 2011 beginning here on Thursday.
The Deshpande Foundation is the family foundation of Gururaj ‘Desh' Deshpande, a serial entrepreneur who is well known for creating Cascade and Sycamore in the US. Founded in 1996, it is one of the leading philanthropic foundations in Massachusetts, US and India in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship and international development. Through its grant, the Deshpande Foundation has helped launch innovative companies.
“The foundation, through the Deshpande Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (DCSE), is helping network of NGOs and individuals to take the ideas generated at the local level to the next level to impact a larger population and area,” said Mr Gururaj Deshpande.
“This year has been a successful year for us, our programmes are scaling: The Deshpande Fellowship Programme (DFP) now runs two batches concurrently — Entrepreneurship Academy has worked with over 50 faculty members and 1,000 students through 11 partners. LEAD has reached over 10,000 students through 40 partner institutions and supported 1,500 projects,” he added.
The Development Dialogue 2011 will showcase developments in different programmes run by it like Hubli-Dharwad Champions, Global Exchange and Grantmaking.
Mr Deshpande said “Our work encompasses this year's theme, ‘Leveraging opportunities'. The goal of the sandbox (an environment where fresh ideas get incubated and build a meaningful relationship with like-minded peers, learn from senior leaders and gain access to opportunities that will help them grow) is to create a catalytic environment, where collaboration thrives and organisations seize and make use of the opportunities available to them.”
“The opportunities can be through network, financial resources, human resources, or capacity building. Regardless, we hope that all of our partners — NGOs, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, citizens — able to make the most of the sandbox,” he added.
Foundation Programmes
Champions ( is a forum consisting of professionals from all walks of life, who are keen to bring about change in society.
The programme runs for six months, with activities scheduled for one Sunday of each month. It has 99 members in Hubli and Dharwad from five batches.
Global Exchange is a short-term opportunity for individuals interested in gaining experience in growing organisations, the DCSE and other non-profit organisations based in Hubli.
Opportunities are available in cost/benefit analysis, teaching, documentation, monitoring and evaluation, and curriculum design. The time frame is 5-6 months and has four senior, three sandbox fellows and five junior fellows.
Through Grantmaking, the foundation has helped launch innovative companies, helped NGOs develop an international presence and launched partnerships with change agents.
Currently the foundation works with 53 partners in the areas of health education, agriculture, and livelihood and cumulatively reaches out to over 5 lakh families.
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